I confess, after many years in the business I have never heard of an "Araca" jacket, either. When I do a google search, the jackets pictured all seem to be fairly standard style kilt jackets, most with Braemar cuffs.
One online shop did have a blog which allows people to leave comments. I noticed with amusement that on their page about their Araca jacket, the first comment left was: "I have searched the internet to find a meaning for this word ARACA. The only definition I found was a spirit made from molasses."
The shop's response: "Unfortunately I can’t give you a definitive answer on this, as I’m slightly unsure myself. My understanding is that it is the term used to describe the particular material used in this jacket. Whether that refers to the weave, the colour or the type of wool used would only be a guess."
A third person replied: "Should it not be spelt Arrocher? That solves the problem AND describes the cloth’s origin."
And the shop responded: "Yes, you are correct. The correct spelling (and hence what caused the confusion) is Arrochar. We picked up ‘Araca’ from a description sheet on the product and at the time the jacket was very new to us and didn’t check the name thoroughly enough!"
Although I have to also echo what Cyngus says above. Most all of these jackets labeled "Araca" seem to be of non-Scottish origin so I would doubt the cloth actually was woven in Arrochar, hence the spelling change. Although there is a town of Araca in Bolivia. Don't know if they weave tweed, though!
Originally Posted by M. A. C. Newsome
Bookmarks