If there was ever a reason to care about global warming – aside from total death of all living things on this planet – our ability to wear cool jackets should be it. As each year gets warmer and warmer, it feels like the opportunity to wear our favorite fall and winter clothes is getting shorter and shorter. It’s been unseasonably warm these past few months, but luckily the temperatures just dropped low enough to break out our favorite outerwear. And let’s be honest. Men’s style revolves around outerwear.
Menswear blogs this time of year are often filled with lists about seasonal essentials – the perfect pea coat, the ideal trench. All of which can be great, but also feel a bit too generic to be personal. So while this isn’t a list of menswear essentials, here’s a list of eight outerwear styles that have me excited this year. Hopefully you can find something here that also works for you.
OVERSIZED RAGLAN COATS
As suits and sport coats have slowly disappeared over the years, so have their accompanying outerwear. These days, you can find a billion designer versions of parkas and bomber jackets, but only a handful of topcoats at any traditional retailer.
On the upside, some styles are coming back. One is the nearly forgotten Balmacaan, a long, loose-fitting style made with a fly front and raglan sleeves. Since it was designed to keep out the rain and wind, the collar can be buttoned all the way up to the neck, and the coat’s shell is typically made from a densely woven gabardine or heavy tweed.
The great thing about a Balmacaan – or any oversized raglan coat – is that you can wear it with suits, sport coats, and almost any kind of casualwear. Fashion forward stores such as Totokaelo have almost built their businesses around the uniform of loose overcoats paired with chunky turtlenecks and trim jeans. And unlike set-in sleeves, it’s easier to wear this style loose and oversized without having seams falling off your body.
Drake’s has a nice Balmacaan this season, which was made for them by one of England’s best outerwear producers. Trad shops such as Cordings and O’Connell’s are also worth a look. And while not technically Balmacaans, I like this season’s Eidos and Kaptain Sunshine overcoats (I bought the second one last week and love it. See how Kyle in NYC looks in his). Eidos is particularly good at making tailored topcoats that can be worn a bit more casually.
BELTED WRAP COATS
Wrap coats may seem like a fashion novelty, but they’re not totally without precedent. Early versions of the polo coat – an American classic, if there ever was one – were intended to be wrapped around the body and loosely secured with a belt. The style at the time was known as a “wait coat,” called so because English polo players would wear them while waiting in-between chukkas (a period of play in a polo match). At some point the wait coat became more detailed, transforming into the double-breasted polo coat we know today.
Some designers have brought the wait coat back in the last couple of years. Does it look a bit like a bathrobe? Yes. But is it awesome? Absolutely. I have one from Document, which I like layering over textured sweaters. Like a lot of outerwear, the coat looks better when worn open, with the belt loosely hanging at the back.
You can find wrap coats from a few different companies this season. Document is making them again in navy and green wool, as well as a cozier puffer style. Camoshita has them with notched lapels, which pushes the style a bit further away from bathrobe territory. Deveaux has a tremendous looking version in some heavily textured herringbones, while Rosenrot has a uniquely oversized design.
MAISON MARGIELA’S FIVE-ZIP
The best clothes are often just as much about how they make you feel as how they make you look. And few things make me feel better than Maison Margiela’s take on the cafe racer, a close-fitting motorcycle jacket defined by its symmetrical zip and band collar. It’s the friendlier version of the double rider – more Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, rather than Marlon Brando in The Wild Ones.
I’ve written about this jacket endlessly, but only because it’s a genuine staple in my wardrobe. It’s easy to wear with either jeans or trim trousers, paired with t-shirts, henleys, or textured sweaters. I find the jacket works better in more contemporary colors, such as navy, tan, or black (especially black), rather than dark brown. Given the modern design, such colors will make an outfit look more directional.
Margiela has been making this design for over fifteen years now – a testament to the relative timelessness of more avant-garde designs – and you can find it in a dozen or more iterations. A quick search reveals some right now in brown, navy, and black. You can also find them for about $1,000 on eBay.
LEATHER JACKETS IN GENERAL
I often hear people say they don’t feel like they’re a “leather jacket kinda guy,” but leather is just a material, no different from wool or cotton. And like with any material, you can use it to make anything. If Margiela’s five zip doesn’t appeal, find something that works for you. Generally speaking, flight jackets will feel a bit more conservative than moto styles. You’ll also want to pay attention to the leather. Supple lambskins and thin suedes can be dressy enough for wine bars, while rugged cowhides and horsehides will seem like they’re meant for the open road.
For something you can wear with tailored trousers, check in with companies such as Stoffa, Enrico Mandelli, and Valstarino. All three make the sort of jackets you can wear as substitutes for sport coats (although, in keeping with a more casual look, you’ll want to leave out the tie). Workwear brands such as RRL, James Grose, and Schott feel more at home with beat-up jeans and hefty work boots. Contemporary-styled brands such as Todd Snyder, Taylor Stitch, and Golden Bear sit between these two worlds.
Given the colder weather, one of my favorite leather jackets at the moment is my Schott Perfecto. The company has three main versions of their iconic double rider. The 613 is their traditional model, which has football-shaped gussets under the arms. Some people find it a bit too full fitting for casual, non-riding purposes. There’s also the 626, which is trimmer and longer. My favorite is the 519, which combines the two – the slimmer body of the 626, but with the shorter length of the 613. If you can buy a Perfecto used, all the better. These are better when they look like they’ve been through a war zone.
KAPITAL’S RING COAT
This oversized coat is arguably Kapital’s most famous design. Its T-shaped sleeves and militaristic pockets makes it something like a lovechild of a Japanese kimono and an American field jacket. Like with many things from Kapital, this looks like something a hobo pirate would wear in some dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. And I love it.
The style isn’t for everyone, but it’s surprisingly easy to wear. Just think of it as a more interesting version of your basic M-65 field jacket. The Ring coat can be worn with something as basic as jeans and an Aran sweater, or with more offbeat workwear button-ups, five-pocket cords, and chunky zip boots. On a cold day, few things will feel cozier than this enveloping blanket with a hundred buttons. You just have to embrace the oversized style.
You can find Kapital’s Ring coat at Unionmade, Up There Store, and Independence. StyleForum member GusW, who normally wears more traditional sport coats, can be seen here trying one on at Standard & Strange. Frankly, I think he looks great, which says something about how easily more traditionally-minded guys can wear this style.
EIDOS X VANSON’S DOUBLE RIDER
Eidos is terrific for more conservatively minded guys. Their designs are often easy to wear, but a bit more stylish than the basics you’d find at J. Crew. This season, the team collaborated with Vanson, a leather jacket specialist based in Fall River, Massachusetts. While Eidos’ production typically takes place in Italy, where their parent company Isaia is based, they needed someone with the heavy equipment necessary to sew through thick cotton. That’s where Vanson came in.
This double rider is based on one of Vanson’s stock models, but with stripped down details, such as adjusted pockets and side closures. They also made the jacket out of indigo-dyed denim. Some of the jackets have been washed in order to give them a broken-in look, while others come clean (Eidos designer Antonio washed the jackets himself in his backyard). I like how Eidos’ take on the double rider makes the style contemporary enough to be worn off a bike. You can find it this season at Barney’s and Unionmade. Just note that the sizing runs a bit slim (or so I’m told).
REPURPOSED LINER JACKETS
I love the idea of repurposing liners as standalone outerwear. Designers have used this more in womenswear (the photos above are from Rag & Bone’s FW16 show), but the same concept can be applied to men’s style. It’s just a question of finding the right liner.
Mine is from Ten C. It’s made to be buttoned inside the company’s outerwear, but I find the suede-and-nylon body, along with the shearling collar, makes it interesting enough to be worn on its own. Unfortunately, the company replaced it with something that has puffier, channel quilted sleeves (I prefer the older sleeve design). On the upside, Alpha Shadows has something vaguely similar this season from the Korean workwear brand Eastlogue. You can also find military liners for less than $20 at Amazon and local surplus stores. A friend of mine wears one with workwear shirts and faded jeans. The style looks even better when you replace the stock buttons with something unique.
ROBERT GELLER’S THOMAS BOMBER
On face value, Robert Geller’s Thomas bomber seems like any other. The collar is unusually plush, which is hard to appreciate in photos, but the slightly cropped body and spacious pockets aren’t too different from what you’d find on any aviator. In person, however, you’ll find this jacket is comfortably oversized (a theme in this post). I bought one during No Man Walks Alone’s anniversary sale and love it.
For the last fifteen years, menswear has been dominated by a singular, almost columnar-like silhouette, with tight jackets matching similarly tight pants. This oversized bomber gives you something like a “circle on a stick” look, which allows you to play a bit more with shape. The model above is wearing jeans that fit a bit skinnier than I would choose, but you get the idea. When trying this on, pair it with chunkier sweaters to fill out that body – it’ll help give you the intended silhouette.
You can find the Thomas bomber at No Man Walks Alone and Acrimony.
To end, here are some photos for outerwear inspiration. Tis the season to wear something really great, while the weather still allows.
