What Is a Bolero Jacket?

Where does the bolero jacket come from?

The bolero jacket comes from Spain: the name is Spanish, and Etymonline records the jacket sense in English by 1864, for a jacket worn in Spain by men and by women elsewhere. A Spanish museum links one couture bolero to the dress of the majos of 18th-century Madrid. “Bolero” first named a dance. Merriam-Webster dates that sense in English to 1787, and Etymonline traces the word to Spanish, probably from bola, “ball”. The jacket sense is recorded in English by 1864, for a short jacket “worn in Spain by men, by women elsewhere”, in Etymonline’s words. Neither dictionary explains how the name passed from the dance to the garment.

The majos of Madrid

The V&A explains that during the 18th century Madrid drew newcomers from other regions of Spain, who brought their own styles of regional dress. These newcomers were known as majos. Madrid’s elite then adopted majo dress as a patriotic Spanish style and a rejection of French fashion.

A man’s fancy-dress suit in the “majos” style in the V&A, made in Spain between 1800 and 1825, shows the shape of their jackets. The V&A does not call it a bolero. Its jacket, in pink silk satin, reaches the waist. It has a 7.5 cm standing collar and long two-piece sleeves laced to the body with white silk ribbon, and its front does not fasten. According to the V&A, the majo style was still worn as fancy dress in the 19th century.

The bullring and couture

Couture drew on Spanish dress in more than one way, and two Balenciaga boleros show it. The Met says Cristóbal Balenciaga kept an interest in Spain, rustic traditions and “the costumes of the toreador”. It describes his evening bolero for autumn/winter 1946–47 as “redolent with the bullfight”. The Cristóbal Balenciaga Museoa in Getaria, a Spanish museum, associates a different jacket, his 1946 bolero, with “the eighteenth-century aesthetic of the majos”. None of the sources consulted here names the matador’s jacket as the single origin of the bolero.

The word in Spanish today

In Spanish, the Real Academia Española (RAE) defines bolero, as a garment, as a “chaquetilla corta de señora”: a short women’s jacket. It lists chaquetilla and torera among the synonyms. The two dictionaries describe different settings. Etymonline’s 1864 English sense has the jacket worn in Spain by men and by women elsewhere; the RAE’s current Spanish definition describes a women’s jacket.

What makes a bolero jacket a bolero?

A bolero is defined by its short length and its open front: Merriam-Webster calls it “a loose waist-length jacket open at the front”. In practice, three things separate it from other jackets.

• Length. It stops at or above the waist. The V&A majo jacket reaches the waist; the Balenciaga Museoa’s 1946 example ends just below the bust.
• Front. The front is left open or held by small fastenings. The majo jacket does not fasten at all, while the 1946 Balenciaga closes at the front with hooks.
• Cloth. The museum examples are cut from woven cloth and made like tailored jackets: silk satin in the majo suit, velvet in the 1946 Balenciaga. A short knitted cardigan is a different garment.

The word shrug overlaps with bolero, and the two are used loosely. The Balenciaga Museoa itself calls its 1946 jacket “a bolero or shrug”.

What are the main types of bolero jacket?

The sources used here document three forms: the Spanish majo jacket, the bolero worn as womenswear outside Spain, and the couture evening bolero.

The Met lists the 1946–47 Balenciaga bolero as silk, cotton, wool and beading, and calls it “highly ornamented”. The Getaria museum notes that its 1946 piece combines its style and decoration with the rounded, defined shoulders of the 1940s, and calls it “a magnificent accessory for evening dresses”.

How do you tell a well-made bolero jacket?

Judge a bolero from the inside as much as the outside, because an open front shows its facings and lining whenever it moves. The checks below follow New Mexico State University’s guide to judging sewn clothing, which sets standards for coats and jackets.

Physical checks

• Pinch the front edge and collar. The guide expects jackets to have interfacing “in the front facing, across the shoulders and chest, and in collars”. If the front edge feels as soft as a single layer of cloth, it has little support.
• Look along the front edge from the outside. Facing and collar seams should be understitched so they roll to the inside and stay out of sight.
• Check the lining for ease. The guide asks for 1/2 to 1 inch (about 1.3–2.5 cm) of ease in linings at the sleeve and hem. The lining should be caught at the armhole and underarm “but not so tightly that the seam pulls”.
• Look at the sleeve head. Fullness at the top of the sleeve should be evenly spread, with no tucks, pleats or gathers unless the design calls for them.
• Follow any stripe or check. Plaids and stripes should match where they meet, and the cloth should run on the correct grain.
• Test the fastenings. Hooks or buttons should be neatly and firmly attached. Hems should be inconspicuous from the outside.
• Tilt it to the light. The guide warns against obvious pressing that leaves a shine or shows the seam lines through the cloth.

Red flags

• Facing seams visible along the front edge
• A lining that pulls the sleeve or hem when you raise your arms
• Puckers or gathers in a sleeve head meant to be smooth
• Shiny press marks or seam lines showing through on the outside
• Stripes or checks that break at the side seams or centre back

How do you wear a bolero jacket?

Wear a bolero over something with a clear waistline, because the jacket ends at or above the waist and leaves it visible. The pairing the Balenciaga Museoa names is the evening dress, and a bolero in silk or velvet over a strapless or sleeveless evening gown covers the shoulders and arms without hiding the line of the dress.

• Evening. Match the bolero’s weight to the dress. Heavy ornament such as sequins or beading suits a plain gown; a plain bolero suits a decorated one.
• Day. Over a blouse with a high-waisted skirt or trousers, a bolero keeps the waist in view; over hip-length tops the jacket can look as if it has shrunk.
• Fit. With the front open, the jacket should hang straight from the shoulders without pulling back; if it will only sit right when fastened, it is too small.

The RAE defines the garment simply as a short women’s jacket. Wearing one is not the same as wearing a bullfighter’s costume.