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It’s official, it’s now Springtime. The transition between the seasons is now over, the weather seems to be progressing nicely with a few nice sunny days under our belts and the temperature rising to a point where layers can be a lot thinner. The doors of our spring wardrobe are now wide open, the opportunity to start wearing those bright colours and bold prints without shame has come! As it’s only spring and the weather’s still unpredictable (well it is if you live in Britain), it’s still necessary to wear some item of outerwear. Now the choice is vast which means we can pick and choose depending on occasion and weather, with a whole collection available from rain coats to over-shirts the possibilities are endless. We’ve put together our guide to spring coats and jackets, showing the variety that’s currently available from a whole mix of names from the British greats of Burberry Brit and Barbour, to the continental contemporaries of J Lindeberg and Stone Island.
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1. THE OVER-SHIRT
The over shirt or Shacket (shirt-jacket) is the lightest of them all, merely a thicker and more durable version of the standard men’s shirt, it’s a great casual piece to be worn at the weekend. It’s the perfect transitional piece to throw on over a long or short sleeved t-shirt, solving all jacket conundrums in one. Another option which many are still quite dubious about is to layer shirt on shirt, so wear a thin patterned shirt underneath the ‘Shacket’. The whole concept is very casual so don’t expect versatility for day to night…We have this muted Paul Smith shirt with sturdy tack buttons which differentiates it from a standard shirt making it seem more jacket-like, and then this lovely grassy green Stone Island option which seems fitting for the time of year.
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2. THE BOMBER
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It’s a style which has been rising in popularity for the past few seasons but this is the year for it, with every designer under the sun choosing this old school piece to show off their creative flair. This means that there’s a huge amount to choose from this season, from the original black ‘working mans’ bomber to the more flamboyant boldly patterned designs. It’s fairly lightweight and has the means to be a pretty versatile jacket, where mixing it with a pair of trousers and a shirt wouldn’t look out of place. Burberry Brit’s offering is bold with it’s bright red sleeves matched against the deeper shade on the body, it’s a simple but a delightful piece. Paul Smith went down the buttoned route, typically bomber jackets are zipped but in this instance it works really well. The ink blue leopard print is subtle but noticeable, creating a fun piece that is going to look awesome paired with shorts later in the season.
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3. THE DENIM
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The old faithful denim jacket, it always seems to epitomise the season and brings back good memories of summertimes past (we all owned one back in our teens, hence the fond memories of youthful innocence…or something like that…). What can I say about it? There really is nothing to say, it’s an original piece that every man (and woman) should own. I love that you can just throw this on over wherever you want, even other denim if you’re doing it right. Dsquared have made this jacket their own by incorporating red and black leather into the classic cut, making this less of a ‘standard denim jacket ‘ and more of a ‘freaking amazing jacket’. We like to provide multiple options here at JA, and Diesel are there on hand for those who want to stick to the traditional denim jacket.
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4. THE MAC
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The erratic British weather often requires us to be equipped for all conditions so having a trusty raincoat is always essential. Now when you’re all dressed up in your finest you don’t want to be throwing on your hooded waterproof and ruining a perfectly good ensemble just because it’s raining, which is exactly why macs were invented! (cheers to Charles mackintosh). When you think of Burberry the first thought is usually of the trench coat, the piece which the British brand is renowned for so it would be rude not to include the Kensington double breasted mac within this category. If you want the traditional spring mac, J Lindeberg have created this simplistic yet very well cut beige mac for the more conventional look.
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5. THE PARKA
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The jacket which we’ve seen gone through a resurgence in the past 4 years, it’s not just the uniform of Liam Gallagher anymore, with every designer taking it’s turn to debut the jacket in their collections. A true parka should feature fur but there’s no point nit-picking over correct terminology when it does in fact feature some other of the original key components – like the multitude of pockets and a lovely hood! It’s nice to move away from the traditional khaki as it does have this stigmatism of being ‘scruffy’ (thats not necessarily a bad thing either – we look to Liam as one of our many heroes and style icons) especially as there’s so many other colours you could try out instead. It’s Spring so why not make a splash with this fire engine red parka from Barbour or if you prefer to fly under the radar, there’s always the navy from YMC. Both of these are not the best choice if you’re planning on wandering around in the rain all day, they’re definitely one those pieces where style trumps functionality…but the pockets are extremely handy and it’s a brilliant piece for the season.
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So there’s just 5 categories of spring jackets and coats, there’s obviously many more out there but these have been chosen for their versatility and suitability for the time of year. Other options to ponder are; Sports jackets (look to Y-3, Lyle & Scott and Stone Island) and a casual blazer (easily found with most brands offering it up but our favourites are coming from Oliver Spencer and J Lindeberg this season).