Rowing Blazers: Revised and Expanded Edition

Renowned designer and former US national team oarsman Jack Carlson’s revised and expanded edition of Rowing Blazers is an essential and glorious celebration of the classic garment.

This handsome, eye-catching ode to the classic rowing blazer is a must-have for anyone who has raced the rivers or cheered on their favorite crew.

Classic American style was born in British boathouses, where the very first blazers were made for college rowing clubs. This book, now revised and expanded, was created by champion rower Jack Carlson, who offers an insider’s guide to the elaborately striped, piped, trimmed, and badged garments, as well as the stories, historic clubs, and races associated with them and, of course, the elite athletes themselves.

Featuring stunning color photographs, Rowing Blazers is a visual feast, transporting readers to the highly atmospheric boathouses, campuses, and team rooms of clubs around the world.

The new edition of the book features many clubs and teams that were not in the original edition, from Shanghai Rowing Club to Buenos Aires Rowing Club; from Nassau Rowing Club in the Bahamas to Partez Rowing Club in Japan. New U.S. clubs include the the storied program at the University of Washington, recently featured in George Clooney’s film The Boys in the Boat, as well as the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas, and Manley Career Academy High School in Chicago — home of the nation’s first all-Black high school rowing team — alongside prep schools like Groton and Deerfield. The book also features Row New York and London’s Fulham Reach Boat Club, two rowing programs focused on diversity, access, and inclusion, and Olympic rowing champions from Britain, Germany, South Africa, the United States, and more.

Jack Carlson is a designer, archaeologist, former athlete, and founder of the acclaimed New York–based clothing brand Rowing Blazers. A three-time member of the United States national rowing team, he is a World Championships bronze medalist, Henley Royal Regatta winner, and Head of the Charles champion. Carlson has a PhD in archaeology from Brasenose College, Oxford, and an undergraduate degree in classics and Chinese from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and a member of the IBF (the International Bar Flies) at Harry’s Bar in Paris.