Forget dogs – a great denim jacket truly 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 and change, it's transitioned from workwear for the miners to uniform for cowboys, then subcultural colours 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 2020, a denim jacket could be the most versatile garments 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.
11 of the Best Trucker Jackets
Sandro
The perfect all-rounder and a great entry-level option for the denim jacket novice. A stylish slim-fit, blue denim jacket that will go with almost anything.
Sandro does basics very well, so pair with its organic cotton t-shirts or chunky knits. Tabs on the back of the jacket can help tailor the fit to ensure it sits just right.
The Workers Club
The Workers Club is becoming famous for its denim thanks to an 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.
Samsoe & 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.
Mother Denim
Denim jackets aren’t all doom and gloom, indigo and black. There’s always space for a bit of fun. LA-born, boutique brand Mother Denim has gone for a heavily bleached, tie-dye-dipped style that will add some rock 'n' roll energy to even the simplest looks.
The bright white jacket will work well as a statement piece when it's sunny, but can also be pared down in the winter with black jeans and a Breton style t-shirt.
Richard James
Savile Row, but make it casual. Richard James's spin on the denim jacket has been designed by some of the best tailors in London, with a fit and feel that draws on the cut of a bespoke suit.
Crafted from 13oz selvedge denim, with a stiff structure, it will look great with your smart stuff. Think a white shirt (although maybe not your best white shirt, since odds are there'll be some indigo transfer) with a knitted tie and pleated trousers.
Citizens of Humanity
Sea foam: not the traditional colour for a denim jacket, but a bloody good one. This is a tastefully faded jacket, with whiskered cuffs and a slight stretch, which will add an extra element of comfort.
The pale pastel will sit prettily with blue jeans and your whitest white T-shirts
The Elder Statesman
Another statement piece from another Los Angeles-born brand (funny, that). The tie dye dons at The Elder Statesman have taken a more colourful approach to the traditional denim jacket, hand-dyeing theirs in LA with a white and lilac abstract swirl.
The chilled all-the-way-out design is amplified with a relaxed silhouette and wooden buttons – a very Californian approach to a menswear staple. Pair with ecru jeans and a pair of Vans. Peace out.
Levis Vintage
Reviving iconic style pieces from the past is Levi’s Vintage Clothing's specialty. This one is a reworked version of the original workwear staple. First released in the Thirties, the ‘type 1’ quickly became the unofficial uniform of the American working man.
Dual pleats on the front with a vintage-style, single cinch on the back, helps recreate that era-authentic look. Have this jacket as your outfit's statement piece, with wide leg trousers and a cream knit beneath.
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.
Visvim
If you’re after a denim jacket that looks lived-in, nothing comes more authentically lived-in than Visvim’s Social Sculpture 1000. Founder Hiroki Nakamura and his team have worked on the perfect ‘dry damaged’ denim recipe for more than a decade – by removing the oils during a special shrinking process, it feels like a favourite hand-me-down even straight off the rack.
Rope-dyed yarns and hand painted metal buttons add to the well-used denim aesthetic, but know that Visvim's clothes fit small, so try a size up. Go all in on the denim thing with a darker shade of indigo jeans (ideally, Visvim's loose-fitting Social Sculpture 03s).
Wrangler
Taking influence from a traditional chore jacket – case in point, those diagonal pockets – Wrangler's western jacket is part of its new Icons range, which is inspired by denim's most important style moments, from cowboys to rockstars.
Cut from Wrangler's environmentally responsible denim, with a boxy, cropped fit, it looks best when you flip the script: think pleated trousers and chunky loafers, rather than jeans and work boots.
Author: Dan Choppen