Fracket

A fracket is a disposable outerwear that can be ditched at a party.[1] The term was coined by American college students to describe an inexpensive jacket or sweatshirt that is used with the sole purpose of attending a fraternity party to keep warm but may get lost.[2][3][4]

History

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The term "fracket" may have originated at Pennsylvania State University.[5] In their study of university campus parties, sociologists Ashley Mears and Heather Mooney noted that the need for frackets arose from the lack of coat rooms at fraternity and final club houses.[6] The difficulty of keeping track of one's jacket while attending a fraternity party, paired with the need to stay warm to and from the event, led to concept of frackets.[1] The term fracket combines "frat jacket" or "fraternity" and "jacket".[7][2]

What sets a fracket apart from a jacket is its owner's voluntary suspension of the expectation that the jacket will remain in their custody. The practice essentially allows for the situational social acceptance of theft – under the pretense that the property was expected by the original owner to be stolen.[8][9][3] As a result, wearer do not store anything valuable in their fracket's pockets when they take it off.[5]

Two characteristics of the fracket are that it is inexpensive but distinctive.[7] Mear and Mooney noted the care put into the selection of frackets, as well as the evaluation of potential organizational members based on this selection.[6] In 2023, CNET included a fracket on its list of ten wardrobe essentials to pack for college.[10]

Frackit

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In 2014, University of Pennsylvania students Caroline Calle and Melissa Greenblatt created FRACKIT, a company that manufactured and sold waterproof hooded jackets.[11][12] The company's name was deried from the fracket.[12] Calle and Greenblatt were members of the Delta Delta Delta at the University of Pennsylvania.[12]

Literary references

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Author Anna Caritj mentions a fracket in her 2022 novel, Leda and the Swan.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lange, Maggie (2014-10-24). "The Best Idea Ever to Come From a Frat Party | The Cut". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  2. ^ a b DiSorbo, Dan; Applebaum, Ben (2013-08-20). The Book of the Party Animal: A Champion's Guide to Party Skills, Pranks, and Mayhem. Chronicle Books. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-4521-2977-8 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b Swiatkowski, Megan (2013-02-22). "The Fracket Bible". Onward State. Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  4. ^ Shoket, Ann; Editors of Seventeen Magazine (2014-07-08). Seventeen Ultimate Guide to College: Everything You Need to Know to Walk Onto Campus and Own It!. Running Press. pp. 31 and 159. ISBN 978-0-7624-5193-7. {{cite book}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ a b "An Unofficial Guide to the 'Fracket'". Her Campus. 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  6. ^ a b Mears, Ashley and Mooney, Heather. "Getting In: Status Stratification and the Pursuit of the Good College Party". Qualitative Sociology, 47, 221–247 (June 2024).
  7. ^ a b Aribindi, Priyanka (September 17, 2014). "5 Party Essentials for Your Year on Greek Row" (PDF). The Vanderbilt Huster. Vanderbilt University. p. 11. JSTOR community.34447057. Retrieved August 8, 2024 – via JSTOR.
  8. ^ Halper, Emma (March 20, 2023). "Frackets and Beaters and Bears, Oh My!". 34st Street Magazine. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  9. ^ Cobb, Emma C.; Rubin-Budick, Sylvie; Steinman, Jill E. (December 5, 2013). "Anatomy of a Fracket". Flyby, The Harvard Crimson. Harvard University. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  10. ^ Maracina, Charlotte (July 21, 2023). "10 College Wardrobe Essentials to Put on Your Packing List for 2023". CNET. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  11. ^ Mathis, Joel (2014-09-23). "Penn Juniors Create "Frat Jacket"". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  12. ^ a b c Husain, Zahra (September 23, 2014). "Designing a frat jacket, from zipper to hood". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  13. ^ Caritj, Anna (2022). Leda and the Swan. Penguin. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-525-54015-1 – via Google Books.
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