Cool Jackets You Can Wear Year-Round

The Varsity Jacket

Loved by preps, jocks and – more recently – menswear dons, the varsity jacket is a versatile, youthful style which segues between smart-casual and elevated sportswear.

You don’t have to be an inducted Ivy Leaguer with a bulging trust fund to put your spin on this preppy classic, though. There are plenty of options that’ll get you extra style credits, without the need to set foot on campus, all of which will add a healthy dose of collegiate cool to your weekend wardrobe.

Bomber Jacket

Along with varsity jackets, bombers have been one of the most sought-after outerwear designs for the last couple of years, precisely because they’re so in tune with menswear’s current preoccupation with all things laid-back.

Whether you recruit the design to round off a streetwear look or use one to dress down an Oxford shirt, tailored trousers and loafers, with a bomber at your command you can target almost any dress code.

Field Jacket

There are wardrobe classics, and then there’s the field jacket, which manages to sit pretty season after season, completely avoiding fashion’s fickle plot twists.

Whether you head for high-end heritage or enlist a vintage design that may have actually graced the back of a serving military member, this mid-weight style is more than happy to play nice with spring and summer staples alike.

Down Gilet

The down gilet may have once been the preserve of style-phobic country dwellers, but thanks to a timely reappraisal by practicality-loving designers, the mid-layer has become an essential for city types too.

The beauty of down-filled styles is their weight – or lack of it – and ease of wear. It’s a fact that’s no longer lost on luxury brands such as Brunello Cucinelli, which now styles padded gilets over and under suit jackets, cementing this sleeveless wonder’s place as a trans-seasonal essential.

The Coach Jacket

The coach jacket may not have the household-name status of the varsity jacket, but just like its more famous stablemate, it was born in the USA, worn by sports coaches as they paced the touchline. Unsurprisingly, practicality is at the design’s heart: being lightweight and waterproof were non-negotiable for this all-season MVP.

Many styles on offer now retain those handy tech specs and but use canny design to elevate the coach jacket from sideline to star player – whether its teammates are streetwear essentials or Scandinavian basics.

Trucker Jacket

The trucker jacket has been a casualwear staple for more than 150 years because it’s so unbelievably handy: it’ll accommodate plenty of layers when the temperature’s not pleasant, but it’ll really earn its worth on those days when you’re not sure whether it’s jacket weather or not.

Best of all, this neat slice of American workwear can easily be worn with a pair of jeans and hiking or Chelsea boots.

Just never pair it with a trucker cap.

Biker Jacket

Cut short, asymmetric, and close to the body, the leather biker jacket has proven to be one of the most timeless pieces of menswear over the last century. It’s one of those trans-seasonal garments that can be thrown on with anything and instantly makes you look infinite degrees more bad-ass.

Blizzards aside, it’s the closest thing you’re likely to get to a four-season jacket too, so there’s no inappropriate time to buy one.