Lord John was a boutique set up on London's Carnaby Street in 1963 by three brothers, David, Harold and Warren Gold, who enjoyed great success, perhaps in part because of the inevitable but mistaken association of their brand with John Stephen, known as ‘the King of Carnaby Street’. Lord John clothes responded to new styles quickly and the Gold brothers expanded their company, which became a chain of over thirty shops in the early 1970s. The donor of this jacket also bought clothes from Chelsea boutiques including 'Granny Takes a Trip'.

This ‘Nehru jacket' made of a bright synthetic woven floral brocade exemplifies the Carnaby Street take on the ‘Peacock Revolution’—a phrase used to describe the exuberant, bold approach to dress embraced by many men from part way through the 1960s into the 1970s.

'Nehru jackets' - tailored, hip-length, and with a standing collar and long placket of buttons - became popular in places including Europe in the late 1960s. The name is a reference to Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964. Nehru wore the archkan, a knee length coat and the more informal bundi waistcoat, both of which had standing collars and long button plackets. Those who wore 'Nehru jackets' outside of India in the 'Swinging Sixties' tended to be expressing an interest in breaking away from traditions, sartorial and otherwise. This helps to explain why 'Nehru jackets' were often made from luxurious fabrics such as silk and velvet that were colourful and/or patterned, rather than the plainer materials that had long been favoured for menswear by many cultures. The style had its heyday in the late 1960s but was revived in the 1980s and 1990s in places including Britain and the United States.