Last week, I spent some time with our leadership team in Las Vegas. The trip had nothing to do with the Superbowl, Adele, or slot machines but was a combination of business meetings during the day and group dinners in the evening, so I had packed for casual and business casual moments. During the trip, with the weather being rather chilly, my colleagues and I were more often than not reaching for our Shirt Jackets rather than for a sportcoat in the after-hours moments at dinner. Trust me, I do not believe the sportscoat is dead; on the contrary, how can we do without a perfectly tailored sportscoat to dress up any social moment? But in some of the more upscale restaurants, I noticed more men like us opting for a Shirt Jacket than I had seen before.   Up until recently, I considered the Shirt Jacket a purely casual piece deriving from workwear and generally a classic of outdoor brands, but seeing versions show up in runways from Zegna, Dior, and Brunello Cuccinelli, the modern Shirt Jacket today owes more to tailoring techniques and suiting fabrics than to work gear and utility. What has remained across the Shirt Jacket evolution is the practical layering characteristic it adds over knits or shirts, but unlike its rugged outerwear cousin, the new Shirt Jacket doesn’t need to be removed at the table and sits perfectly well amongst most dress codes, at home alongside any tailored piece.

Undoubtedly, men are loving this style, discovering its flattering length and easy adaption to coordinate with other parts of a man’s wardrobe. Over any casual pants, dress pants, and equally, as I mentioned with knitwear and shirting, it is a modern layer that probably owes its success to the hybrid factor that we have seen across most of the menswear as a macro trend of the modern era. Just as dress shoes have become melded with sneakers or the five pocket is seen as a stand-alone pant in so many other options other than denim, The Shirt Jacket finds itself part of the menswear traditional playbook being redefined in the time we are in for a wardrobe that doesn’t dictate rules but rather plays with them to provide interesting and practical pieces that all men can participate in.

We currently offer Shirt Jackets in a range of our suiting fabrics from our JHS range, Reda Flexo, and two 150’s solid options from Loro Piana, offering options at every pricing tier and something for everyone and every budget. Why not suggest it to your clients as an alternative to a sportcoat this spring? Especially for clients who are comfortable being style setters and not trend followers, adding a Shirt Jacket to his closet will add a fresh take and a whole series of new outfit ideas that I guarantee he will be pleasantly surprised by.