The Sherpa
Levi's denim jacket, or the trucker as it’s otherwise known, is about as ubiquitous as outerwear gets, but not without good reason. Even before you get to its cool factor, there's the practical element. Hard wearing and generally lightweight, a good denim jacket will last you a very long time and can be worn in all sorts of different scenarios - over a T- shirt, under a pea coat, even with smart trousers and a shirt and tie if you want to tip your cap to our transatlantic cousins.
However, there is one thing that, sadly, it cannot do, and that is stand up to the rigours of winter. For that, Levi's worked out pretty quickly that you'd need something a little more heavy duty.
Cue sheep everywhere looking nervously at the hair clippers.
By lining it with shearling, the trucker became known as the ‘sherpa trucker’ (great in the cold…) a brilliant mix of practicality and durability. Oh and the added fabric hasn’t done it any harm in the looks department, either.
Cut straight in the body and sleeves to allow for more room given the extra lining and the fact that you'll probably be wearing it over a jumper, the white shearling collar pops against the dark denim.
Notable wearers include but are not limited to Tom Hardy, Ryan Gosling and, of course, David Beckham. All three decided to wear it over a T-shirt with dark denim jeans but as we’ve already mentioned, it’s a versatile jacket.
How To Wear It
Use it to your advantage and you can smarten it up by wearing it under a camel or navy overcoat- the yellow and blue will work well together.
Alternatively, it will work just as well with a pair of black jeans and Chelsea boots. It’s enough to make you pray for bad weather.
For more denim knowledge, pick up a copy of next months’ Men’s Health, featuring everything you ever wanted to know about jeans but were too afraid to ask.
Author: Matt Hambly