Yahoo Style
You Need One of These Wear-Everywhere Denim Jackets in Your Life
- 1/12
You Need One of These Wear-Everywhere Denim Jackets in Your Life
Forget dogs – a great denim jacket is a man's best friend. It's the solution to a slew of tricky style dilemmas, whether giving some edge to your smart clobber, or by adding a bit more protection on those unexpectedly chilly mornings. It's a layering superhero (what else works just as well under a blazer as it does a bomber?) and the workhorse of the fashion world, made from a true fabric of the earth.
However, the denim jacket has had a turbulent past. Over the last century, it's transitioned from workwear for the miners to uniform for cowboys, then a subcultural go-to for everyone from bikers and punks to indie kids, metalheads and Shoreditch-based baristas. And now it's had another overhaul. Forget the Canadian Tux (double denim), take down the poster of Dave Grohl and move away from your fixed-gear road bike – the denim jacket has had a rebrand.
Labels like Acne Studios and Balenciaga are redesigning the jacket with boxier fits and subtle alterations to the traditional design style; Visvim and The Workers Club – brands deeply obsessed with quality of production and materials – are raising the bar on the best denim jackets, crafting their pieces with fabrics from the finest denim mills in Japan.
In 2021, a denim jacket could be the most versatile garment in a man's wardrobe. Pick right and you can pair it with tailoring (yes, tailoring) and leisurewear. To help you in that endeavour, here are some of our absolute favourites.
- 2/12
1) The Workers Club
The Workers Club is becoming famous for its denim thanks to a near-obsessive search for the perfect fit and fabrication. Following on from the brand's successful indigo-dyed, Japanese selvedge denim jacket, for spring summer it has developed a natural tone equivalent.
With unique brass hardware and authentic chain stitching throughout, this 13oz selvedge denim jacket will last a lifetime (prepare to add it to your will). And don't be put off by the lighter shade, it's just as easy to style as indigo.
The Workers Club Denim Jacket, £275, theworkersclub.co.uk
- 3/12
2) Acne Studios
Creative Director of Swedish brand Acne Studios, Johnny Johansson, started the brand by making 100 pairs of selvedge denim jeans and handing them out to his (unbearably cool) friends.
Since then, the brand has continued to make super nice jeans and also super nice denim jackets. If you are looking for a moody, over-dyed, boxy fit denim jacket (and aren't we all?) then you can consider your search over.
Black Denim Trucker Jacket, £290, mrporter.com
Yahoo News is better in the app
Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories
- 4/12
3) A.P.C
If you want cool, simple basics, that can be styled together with ultimate ease, then look to French label A.P.C. This denim jacket is cut from a flexible 12.75oz. Japanese denim and detailed with engraved buttons and contrasting marigold topstitching. An essential for any mans wardrobe.
Denim Jacket, £210, mrporter.com
- 5/12
4) Citizans of Humanity
This vintage, slate-grey shade is not a traditional colour for a denim jacket, but it's a bloody good one. This is a tastefully faded jacket, with whiskered cuffs and stonewashed buttons, cut in a classic fit. The pale tone will sit prettily with blue jeans and your whitest white T-shirts.
Vintage Grey Classic Denim Jacket, £480, citizansofhumanity.com
- 6/12
5) Frame
If you don't own a black denim jacket, then you need to have a word with yourself. Although it may have a hard-rock past, it is also incredibly versatile. Pair with grey, pleated trousers and a navy roll-neck and you're ready for that virtual date on Zoom.
L'Homme black denim jacket, £270, matchesfashion.com
Yahoo News is better in the app
Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories
- 7/12
6) Kapital
No harm in having a little fun with your denim jacket. Japanese brand Kapital decorate the sleeves with their embroidered smiley face logo and have the jacket cut in some serious 11.5 ounce denim. This may take some breaking in, but once softened a bit, the jacket will fit like a glove.
Embroidered Denim Jacket, £505, mrporter.com
- 8/12
- 9/12
8) Nudie Jeans
Founded in Gothenburg in 2001, the Swedish denim company has been recognised for its work with sustainability, both environmental and social. The denim being made from 100% organic cotton and with transparent production methods, it's cut with a slim fit and has all the classic fixtures and fittings.
Billy Slim-Fit Organic Denim Jacket, £115, mrporter.com
Yahoo News is better in the app
Keep up to speed at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories
- 10/12
9) Polo Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren makes good clothes, always has, always will. He's stood the test of time. So if you're struggling to pick a denim jacket, put your faith in a man who knows how to make you look good.
Washed denim jacket, £175, matchesfashion.com
- 11/12
10) Samsoe and Samsoe
Scandinavian brand Samsoe & Samsoe has decided to take a more eco-conscious approach to its denim line. The brand has cut back on water consumption by using Eco-tex certified cotton, and donates €1 from each jacket sold to charity:water, a non-profit organisation that provides clean water to some of the world's poorest communities.
Try pairing this with more formal tailoring: think black pleated trousers, chunky derbies and a white, relaxed fit shirt.
Mick Black Denim Jacket, £150, samsoe.com
- 12/12
11) Wrangler
A classic indigo blue, authentic western denim jacket from Wrangler, a brand that started making denim in the form of workwear in 1904. This will work well with a t-shirt underneath in the summer, and a soft cashmere knit in the winter.
Authentic Western Jacket in Blue/Black, £90, wrangler.com
The wear-everywhere classic is one of the hardest-working – and best-looking – pieces in your wardrobe
