The first thing that came to my mind when I came across the Germanism “Kutte” (pronounce: ‘koote with a short “o”) in the English language was the traditional garment of a monk. A cloak with a hood and a rope-like belt; the fabric coarse and simple, the color black, gray, brown, or white. Think of the movie The Name of the Rose. Encountering a monk wearing this is still something that sets my mind in motion about an entire way of life. It’s a symbol not for a profession but rather for the dedication to a specific path of Christian life.
It was only when I looked more into the word that I came across another meaning of the term, a way more worldly one but sometimes associated with equally dedicated ways of life. Because a cut-off vest is also the chosen garment of bikers, of soccer fans, and of rock music fans. Now, these are all covered in badges, and I have to admit that I had to check Wikipedia for more detail.
It seems like the predecessor of the U.S. Air Force was the trendsetter of patch jackets. During WW II, airmen decorated their flight jackets with all kinds of badges. I know of somebody who even painted the backs of some regulation garments – famous Washington painter Fred Oldfield (you find a museum and art school dedicated to him next to the Washington Fairground in Puyallup). When they returned, the idea was taken up by bikers and other so-called subcultures.
Among bikers, these (sleeveless) vests with their colorful adornments will tell you about the club somebody belongs to and maybe even about their rank within. There are quite a few Christian biker clubs around here. So, driving around with a kutte and looking kind of dangerous doesn’t mean that they are Hell’s Angels. One has to simply read the back of such a kutte or the badges if you get close enough.
The step from biking to music is easily made. Rock music and Heavy Metal conquered the world in the second half of the 20th century. We all connect the music with veterans of the Vietnam war, respectively with biking veterans – and then there was the movie Easy Rider that used the group Steppenwolf’s song Born to Be Wild as a theme, howling bike motors included. The band’s lead singer is wearing an unadorned kutte in this video:
Last but not least, I was very familiar with Fußball-Kutten (pronounce: ‘foos-bull-kootn) in my childhood days, sleeveless jeans vests that were deemed not quite fashionable, but also told everybody which soccer club one was rooting for. Stuttgart had two clubs, at one time even both in the Bundesliga (National League), the VfB (still playing there) and the Kickers. The former fan club colors are red and white, the latter one’s blue and white. At one time, I was in the same grade with the son of the Kickers coach; I can’t just remember whether he ever wore such a vest in school. Probably not, as a kutte was not deemed cool at this sophisticated educational institution …
None of such kutten were ever around in my childhood family home. Sleeveless vests of all kinds, yes – but they were usually worn at more formal or business occasions. Yeah, I guess you already knew that because I had to look up this term. And whereas I listen to prog rock every once in a while, I have never been one for biking. To me, a kutte will always firstly be associated with a monk.
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