Denim jackets are most readily associated with poorly produced PSAs from the 90’s. Though we have to admit, recently, there’s been a push to reclaim the classic jean jacket from the depths of unfashionability. Plenty of designers and companies are putting out denim jackets that would fit in at a professional dinner party as well as they would at a recreational trip to the bowling alley. These are 8 denim jackets you can wear no matter where you’re going.
8 Trucker Jackets for Every Budget
Lot, Stock and Barrel
Perhaps the most interesting entry on this list, Lot, Stock and Barrel is a full service design studio and customization shop that takes run-of-the-mill denim jackets for men (or women) and turns them into something completely unique with a full host of personalization services. You want custom, handmade embroidery on your jacket? LS&B can do it. Need an older jacket that you’re in love with tailored to fit your modern self? LS&B can do it. With clients ranging from Levi’s Vintage Clothing to Billykirk, LS&B is a one-stop shop for jacket personalization.
Levi’s Trucker Jacket
Do enough research about the origins of the denim jacket and eventually you’ll end up at the “working blouse,” Levi’s original piece that would eventually become the trucker jacket we all know and love. The Levi’s Trucker Jacket is the OG. The original. The one jacket that started the trend for everyone else. Often imitated, but never truly duplicated, the Levi’s Trucker is the place to start when it comes to denim jackets.
The Gap 1969 Icon Denim Jacket
If you’re one of the guys that’s incompatible with Levi’s sizing (and we’re not shaming, we’ve all been there) the GAP has a pretty close alternative with slightly different styling in the 1969 Icon Denim Jacket. The straight, tailored fit of this jacket hits at the hip, and it’s available in a number of denim washes and styles like the original. It also features welt pockets for your hands, button-flap chest pockets and similar style cues, but the tailoring and the fit are a little bit different than the original.
Carhartt Work in Progress Michigan Chore Coat
Like everything else that comes out of the Carhartt Work in Progress office, the Michigan Chore Coat takes a few different things that you’re familiar with and combines them to create something all together different. The Carhartt Work in Progress Michigan Chore Coat combines a traditional chore coat (three patch pockets and a button-down chest pocket in this case) with lightweight, 100% cotton denim construction in a number of colors to create the perfect alternative to a traditional trucker denim jacket.
Taylor Stitch The Long Haul Jacket
Taylor Stitch takes classic pieces and does them even better than the originals. It’s kind of their thing. Handmade in California, Taylor Stitch’s The Long Haul Jacket takes everything that made the Levi’s trucker such a classic and made it even better. 13.5 ounce Cone Mills ’68 Custom Selvage Denim. Rounded patch pockets with pen slot on the left. Interior pockets at the waist. Front welt, unadorned hand-warmer pockets. Interior, map-style lining with a Wickett & Craig leather patch. This is the kind of jacket we could see Steve McQueen wearing if he was filming a sequel to Bullitt.
Jean Shop Wayne Denim Jacket OD Green
New York’s Jean Shop has always had a habit of “taking extraordinary to perfection for quality,” as Zagat likes to say. The Jean Shop Wayne Denim Jacket OD Green takes 100% cotton selvedge twill plenty of other denim jackets are made out of and turns it into something truly unique. You’ll get the classic patch, button-close pockets on the chest like you’re used to, but the hand-warmer pockets are skipped in favor of a more streamlined profile. It’s a slim-fit, true to size style that feels familiar while being different enough to look good over jeans and denim shirt–without looking like an absurd Canadian tuxedo.
Rogue Territory Wool Lined Ranger Jacket
Rogue Territory has been one of our favorite denim brands since they started almost a decade ago, and while we love everything they produce in the pants department, their wool-lined Ranger Jacket might be our favorite piece they’ve ever made. 100% wool lining made exclusively by Faribault Woolen Mills. 14.5oz sanforized selvedge denim from Nihon Menpu Mills. Styling that has one left chest pocket and two hand-warmer pockets. The Rogue Territory Wool Lined Ranger Jacket is the perfect combination of a trucker, bomber and blazer with all the positive aspects of each.
Ralph Lauren Limited Edition Denim Jacket
Ralph Lauren is a brand that requires no introduction so let’s get right to their jacket. What they did with their Limited Edition Denim Jacket is worth talking about for a number of reasons. The 10.6 ounce rigid Japanese denim build includes slightly offset chest patch pockets, waist patch pockets and train-embossed snaps throughout that call back to the original while still being completely original. This is a jean jacket you can unabashedly wear to dinner as a substitute to a blazer without feeling stuffy.
Author: Ben Dahl