Wardrobe Essentials: The Military Jacket

Every once and a while when I'm getting dressed and just can't decide what to wear, in the back of my mind I know that there is that staple item that I can always fall back on. While some people consider white tees and clean boxers to be the staple essentials, I'm talking more about fashion essentials than survival essentials. So for the sake of this blog I'm going to call these items the "Wardrobe Essentials". In this segment I'll try and highlight a piece that should be somewhere in everyone's closet, starting this week with the military jacket.

Over the past few years many brands have been taking vintage military jackets and reinventing them or adding their own flair. The most popular model seems to be the M65, which came out in 1965 fittingly, for the Vietnam War. However my model, shown in the pictures, is actually a M42 Jump Jacket which was used in World War II by paratroopers.
These jackets are all a single layer of heavy weight cotton that was able to keep the soldiers warm but also mobile. As you can see below, even though the jacket is made to fit well so as to not get caught on anything, there are vents and pleats on the shoulders and back that still allow for range of motion.



While some companies go OG and use straight vintage jackets, there are many more that choose to reproduce these jackets and add their own flairs (stars, patches, name tags, buttons), as you can see with the custom patches below on my BBC M42.



Finally, probably my favorite part about these military jackets, is the pockets! Since soldiers had so much to lug around everywhere, these jackets are almost all equipped with tons of pocket space. While mine are all on the front, there are many models that features pockets on the arms as well.
Great for days when you don't want to carry a bag but still need all of the essentials. Headphones, check. Charger, check. Sunglasses, check. DS, check.



And how you wear the jacket is all up to you, it can be dressed up or down depending on the style. And the real beauty is that it can really be worn basically year round. While it's perfect for the Fall and Spring months, it also works on cool Summer nights and with some insulation can be pulled off in the Winter as well. (Except in Syracuse, you need something far more fierce for the Winter there)




So that is my spiel on the trusty military jacket. If you are interested in grabbing one, 3sixteen has been doing wonders reinventing military jackets and is worth checking out. Also CLOT does a ton of military inspired work, as does Neighborhood and W)Taps


*Salute*


-john-