A blue denim jacket belongs in your closet, no question, but it can end up feeling a little too ranch hand for a night out. Especially if that night out involves $16 artisanal cocktails, a steak dinner, or a ticketed cultural activity that doesn't have general admission. On those nights, a denim jacket in black is the cooler, edgier, dressier—dare we say—sexier option. It even looks decent with a button-down and a tie if that’s where you feel like taking things. And because denim jackets won't cost you an entire paycheck (unlike, say, this season's heart attack-inducing shearlings) what’s the harm in owning blue and black? Here, a few men who wore the black denim jacket and wore it well, for daytime and night, and a few jackets on shelves now.
Denim Jacket You Can Wear Out at Night
Zac Efron
Break up an all black outfit with a gray T-shirt for a cool (but not too goth) nighttime look.
RRL
If you want to invest, Japanese selvedge denim is the way to go.
The Weeknd (a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye)
We love The Weeknd's boxy jacket/skinny jeans thing.
Levi's Made & Crafted
This spare, Japanese-inspired update to the iconic Trucker jacket is brilliant.
Matthew Hitt
Dakota Johnson's model/rocker boyfriend looks damn cool in his
Helmut Lang
The chore-coat styling makes this denim jacket perfect for taller, bigger guys.
David Beckham
If you want to step it up a notch, look for a jacket with leather or shearling details.
David Beckham for Belstaff
This modern take on the denim jacket is our favorite style from Beckham's collab.
Chace Crawford
If double denim isn't your thing, the black jacket takes it to a different place.
Topman
A little lining goes a long way as the weather cools down—look for this detail.
Author: Megan Gustashaw