The Best Men’s Corduroy Jackets for Autumn

In season four of Netflix’s You, Joe Goldberg, the murderous protagonist played by Penn Badgley, moves to London, from California, where he poses as a university professor called Jonathan Moore. He wears corduroy, often, because he discerns that nothing says accomplished, whip-smart and trustworthy quite like the raised texture textile.

But corduroy hasn’t always been associated with the scholarly; it calcified its place in menswear during the Industrial Revolution when labourers espoused the fabric for their uniforms. German philosopher Friedrich Engels made note of the pervasiveness of corduroy (which he refers to by the blanket term ‘fustian’) in his father’s factory in Salford, Manchester, in his book The Condition of the Working Class.

Nowadays, corduroy belongs to everyone – even if it’s yet to shake the bookish connotations involuntarily acquired along the way. We say embrace the preppy vibes à la Goldberg by grabbing an old-school corduroy layer and rocking it with the other traditional pieces in your wardrobe.

Alternatively, you could elect for a contemporary corduroy layer – something your old geography teacher wouldn't be seen dead in – and incorporate it into a cutting-edge ensemble. Fear of God Essentials’ corduroy shacket perfectly demonstrates how the fabric can be used to form newfangled apparel, as do Sporty & Rich's neo-prep layers.

Discover our 12 top picks of corduroy jackets below.