Maybe you’re team Justin and Britney, or perhaps you’re more of Badlands-cum-Brokeback kind of a guy - either way, everyone loves a denim jacket. Which is fortunate, as we’re about to enter peak jean throw-on season.
To help you pick yours, here’s my selection of the best whatever your style.
1 | The Softboi One
If you like the idea of a denim jacket, but you’re nervous you’ll look a bit uncouth when you wear one, you’ll want in on YMC’s ultimate Softboi jean shacket.
Crafted from washed denim with a fluid handle and embroidered with a nice pixelated floral motif; wear this and she’ll know you’re the kind of guy who reads Proust on the tube without you actually having to do so.
2 | The One That’s Safer to Layer
I love a white denim jacket and this one from soft-edged Savile Row tailor Drakes is no exception - even if I know that the moment I wear it out of the house, it’s going to get stained.
The solution? Wear your new white jacket beneath a more durable outer layer (a navy car coat, say), and over a sweater. The flash of white sandwiched between two moody-hued layers will not only look knowing and chic, but it’ll also keep your jacket safe from the scourge of life.
3 | The All-Rounder
I often think about this washed denim shirt jacket from Bottega Veneta. It’s the perfect length, as it just covers the seat, and it’s got an abundance of useful pockets. Also, the arms are long and wide enough to make it feel more coat than shirt, which is exactly want you want when the weather is British.
4 | The Sexy One
The cropped cut of this slinky little white denim jacket will make your bum look great. Also, who cares if it gets grubby, it’s what it’d like.
5 | The Tricksy One
This denim blouson from Prada has all the futuristic elan you’d expect, being cut by the Italian mistress of challenging fashion.
Best worn with a crew neck white tee and some matching jeans, you’ll also need the figure of Timothee Chalamet to pull it off, but who needs food when you’ve got denim you’ll probably only wear once?
6 | The Weekend One
Trust Studio Nicholson to come up with the ultra-simple goods you never knew you needed. This roomy take on a denim chore-cum-trucker jacket is made in London by the denim experts at Blackhorse Lane Atelier. Lovely.
7 | The One to Swap with a Suit Jacket
The brand’s a little on the mumsy side, but this raw denim chore jacket from Toast would work quite well worn with some matching trousers, a white collarless shirt and some suede Wallabies from Clark’s (so long as you live in Walthamstow, wear conspicuous specs and have a child or dog named Cosmo, Maud or Margot).
8 | The Classic One
No matter how many denim jackets you own, it is imperative that somewhere in your circulation exists one made by Levi’s. Case in point, this trucker. A classic piece which will never go out of style, what’s more, it’s really affordable.
9 | The Mid-Layer
There’s something alchemic about a raw denim jacket finished with a zip. I have one very similar to the below, from Tiger of Sweden, and I like to wear it over knitwear and under tailored jackets.
It acts as a sartorial buffer, building modernity into the look but also a certain approachable ease. This one from Massimo Dutti will do the job.
10 | The Personality One
Emily Bode has a lot to answer for in the men-dressing-like-stoner-Hobbits stakes. This broad-collared, raglan-sleeved jacket with cropped base is classic Bode, finished as it is with bright red buttons and corresponding folksy stitching. Wear with tailoring to tone down the Struwwelpeter-with-an-SSense-account effect.
11 | The One for Home
Japanese creative director of Kenzo, Nigo does an excellent line in Kimino-inspired garments cut from traditionally Western fabrics. I recently bought a perfect kimono style DB blazer from the brand, made from crisp suiting wool.
This shawl collar, washed denim jacket is a perfect off-duty piece. Wear with fuzzy Elder Statesman-style knits, wide leg jeans and Birkenstock Bostons for lounging at home or, indeed, lounging at the office.
12 | The Actual Suit Jacket
I know, I know, we’ve already had a Prada piece in this list, but I couldn’t write about denim jackets and not include this season’s most important one - the synched waist denim blazer from the brand’s SS’24 collection.
Surprisingly adaptable and easy to wear; team with classic black tailoring in the evening, or with other denim pieces in the day and you’ll more than get your money’s worth by season’s end. Perhaps.
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I always want to try and be cool in a denim jacket. I fear the only person who can truly own this genre is Mr Day! 😎