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Traditional Inuit Anorak
Traditional Caribou Parka

An anorak or parka is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or fake fur. The hood protects the face from freezing temperatures and wind. The Caribou Inuit invented this kind of garment, originally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit anoraks require regularly coating with fish oil to retain their water resistance.

The words anorak and parka have possibly been used interchangeably, but they are somewhat different garments. Strictly speaking, an anorak is a waterproof, hooded, pull-over jacket without a front opening, and sometimes drawstrings at the waist and cuffs, and a parka is a knee-length cold-weather coat; typically stuffed with down or very warm synthetic fiber, and with a fur-lined hood.


The word anorak comes from the Kalaallisut word anoraq. It did not appear in English until 1924; an early definition is "gay beaded item worn by Greenland women or brides in the 1930s". In the early 1950s it was made from nylon, but changed to poplin by 1959, when it was featured in Vogue magazine as a fashion item. In 1984, the Observer newspaper used the term to refer to the type of people who wore it and subsequently, in the United Kingdom, it is sometimes used as a mildly derogatory term.[1]


The Inuit who speak Inuktitut use parkas and the Inuit have various terms related to them as follows:

Inuktitut Terminology[4]
English Inuktitut Syllabics Roman Inuktitut IPA
woman's parka ᐊᕐᓇᐅᑎ irnauti [iʁ.na.u.ˈti]
parka tail ᓂᖏᒻᓇᖅᑐᖅ ningimnaqtuq [ni.ŋim.naq.ˈtuq]
parka hood ᐊᒪᐅᑦ amaut [ˈut]
parka decoration ᑰᑦᓯᓂᕈᑎ kuutsinaruti [kuːʁu.ˈti]
parka material ᐊᑎᒋᑦᓴᖅ atigitsaq [a.ti.ɣit.ˈsaq]
parka button ᓇᑦᑐᕋᖅ naturaq [nat.tu.ˈʁaq]
parka belt ᑕᑦᓯ tatsi [tat.ˈsi]


Two young Inuit mothers wearing amautit (angajuqtaujaq) in 1995 in Nunavut.

The amauti (also amaut or amautik, plural amautiit)[5] is one of the world's most unique garments.[6] It is the parka worn by Inuit women of the eastern Canadian arctic. Up until about two years of age, the child nestles against the mother's back in the amaut, the built-in baby pouch just below the hood. The pouch is large and comfortable for the baby. The mother can bring the child from back to front for breast-feeding or for eliminatory functions without exposure to the elements.[6] This traditional eastern Arctic Inuit parka, designed to keep the child warm and safe from frostbite, wind and cold, also helps to develop bonding between mother and child.[7]

N-3B ("snorkel") parka[edit]

US Air Force, snorkel parka



In the late 1980s the snorkel parka became unpopular and was associated with geeks and nerds, helping to create the UK term anorak for such people (because trainspotters would supposedly wear anoraks whilst collecting numbers on cold railway platforms). As such it became highly unfashionable and for a time wearers became the subject of ridicule.

In Europe the snorkel parka started to regain popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, being worn by the likes of Liam Gallagher, Kenny McCormick (South Park), and David Beckham. Around 2004, the traditional association with "Anoraks" had faded and the Snorkel Parka became a main-stream fashion jacket once more becoming particularly popular in the indie scene and with now middle-aged people recapturing memories of their school snorkel parkas. It is also once again popular as a school jacket, though at nothing like the same level of popularity as it achieved in the 1970s and 1980s.

Most modern parkas more closely resemble the original 1950s design and have lost the orange quilted lining of the 70's and 80's school parkas, however the old school style are now considered highly desirable selling for high prices in vintage clothing shops.

Snorkel jackets remain very popular within Hip Hop culture being worn by both men and women and also have an association with Indie pop.

Fishtail parka[edit]

M-51 fishtail parka. This was a favorite amongst the mods.

Following the end of the Second World War the realisation was that the US army would need a new cold weather system for fighting in as the existing kit just wasn't up to the job, the result of a concerted effort was the fishtail parka.




The name fishtail comes from the fact that the coat is shaped like a fish tail at the back. This was so the coat could be tied around the upper legs, much like a Knochensack for added wind proofing as they are not, as some think, waterproof. The fishtail could be folded up using snap connectors, this enabled plenty of movement when most needed during combat.

The EX-48 parka is distinctive as it has a left sleeve pocket and is made of thin poplin, only the later production M-48 parkas are made of the heavier sateen canvas type cotton. The EX-48 also has a thin fibre glass based liner that is incredibly light and warm, the M-48 has a thicker wool pile liner with an integral hood liner made of wool. Both are distinguishable from any other type of parka by having the sleeve pocket. This was dropped for the M-51 onward The hood fur ruff is also fixed to the shell of an EX-48/M-48 as is wolf/Coyote or often wolverine.



The M-65 fishtail parka has a detachable hood and was the last revision. It features a removable quilted liner made of light more modern synthetic materials. These parkas featured fake synthetic fur on the hoods after an outcry from the fur lobby, only hoods for these parkas made in 1972 and for one year have real fur on as a result.

Designed primarily for combat arms forces such as infantry, they are to be worn over other layers of clothing; alone, the fishtail parka is insufficient to protect against "dry cold" (as used in the US military. As such all fishtail parkas are big as they were designed to be worn over battle dress and other layers.



A cagoul, cagoule, or kagoule is the British English term for a lightweight, weatherproof anorak or parka, usually without the lining and sometimes coming to knee-length.[8]

A cagoule which can be rolled up into a very compact package and carried in a bag or pocket was invented by Noel Bibby of Peter Storm Ltd. in the early 1960s.[9] It has an integral hood, elasticated or drawstring cuffs, and a few poppers or a short zip at the neck. Like the original Aleut anorak it does not open fully at the front and must be pulled on over the head. In some versions, when rolled up, the hood doubles as a bag into which the rest of the coat is pushed. It became very popular in the United Kingdom during the 1970s.

See also[edit]


  3. ^ Brewers Dictionary of 20th Century Phrase and Fable
  5. ^ Asuilaak Living Dictionary

External links[edit]