From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The name of this jacket is somewhat misleading, the "Snorkel Parka" has little to do with any form of deep sea diving, rather its main aim is to keep the wearer warm and dry during the harsh winter months. The original Snorkel Parka (N3B parka) was originally developed in the USA during the early 1950's for military use. Originally made with a DuPont flight silk nylon outer and lining it was padded with a wool blanket type material until the mid 70's when the padding was changed to polyester wadding making the jacket both lighter and warmer. It gained the common name of "Snorkel Parka" because the hood can be zipped right up leaving only a small tunnel (or snorkel) for the wearer to look out of. This is particularly effective in very cold, windy weather although it has the added liability of seriously limiting the field of vision.

The nylon snorkel parka with blue outer and orange lining became almost standard school wear in the late 70's to mid 80's

The snorkel parka attained its popularity high point in the late 70's to mid 80's when its cheap and hard wearing properties made it the jacket of choice for school kids. It became so popular that at many schools (in the UK) almost every boy had one. Whilst the original N3B parka lining was un-quilted and the same colour as the outer shell, the school type parkas usually has quilted orange lining. The measure of a school parka quickly became how grubby the orange lining got through natural wear without washing and many schoolboy parkas ended their days with the lining more black than orange.

Brands such as Lord Anthony, Campri, Keynote and Brutus made their names selling snorkel parkas.

In the late 1980's the snorkel parka became unpopular and was associated with geeks and nerds, helping to create the UK term 'anorak' for such people. As such it became highly unfashionable and for a time wearers became the subject of ridicule.

In Europe around 2004, the traditional association with "Anoraks" had faded and the Snorkel Parka became a fashion jacket once more becoming particularly popular in the indie scene and with now middle-aged people recapturing memories of their school snorkel parkas. Most modern parkas more closely resemble the original 1950's design and have lost the orange quilted lining of the 70's school parkas, however the old school style are now considered highly desirable selling for high prices in vintage clothing shops.

Possibly due to its prevalence during puberty, in many countries, paricularly in Europe and North America a snorkel parka fetish has developed amongst particularly males now ages in their 30's and 40's which would coincide with the parka's highest period of popularity as a school jacket. It remains to be seen whether the current crop of teenage parka wearers will join this group.

• A snorkel parka fetish website