Article: Beyond the Sports Jacket: Three Casual Alternatives
Beyond the Sports Jacket: Three Casual Alternatives
We are very fond of sports jackets, but there are perhaps times when something less formal may be more appropriate.
Good outerwear can perform much the same role. It gives an outfit shape, introduces another texture or colour, and makes a shirt and trousers feel more put together, pulling separate clothing pieces together into a cohesive look.
Three styles we particularly like are the chore jacket, safari jacket and G9 Harrington. Each comes from a practical background, and each offers a different way of looking dressed without necessarily looking dressed up.
1. The Chore Jacket
Photo: Our good friend Affan in his Japanese-denim chore jacket, made with his days in the workshop in mind.
The chore jacket began, quite simply, as clothing for work. It was comfortable, hard-wearing and equipped with generous pockets because the people wearing it actually needed them.
Our good friend Affan, resident shoemaker at Bridlen Shoes, gives us a rather apt modern example. We made this chore jacket for him in Japanese denim with his days in the workshop in mind. It needed to be comfortable enough to work in and useful enough that he wouldn't feel precious about wearing it. Denim seemed particularly suited to the job too. The more it is worn, handled and worked in, the better it should become.
What we particularly like is how Affan wears it away from the workbench as well during international trunkshows. With a gingham shirt and tailored trousers, it occupies that useful space just below a sports jacket: distinctly more casual, but still put together.
And if a jacket can spend its days around shoemaking tools and still look this good afterwards, it is probably doing its job rather well.
2. The Safari Jacket
Photo: Our take on the safari jacket — the familiar four-pocket front, cut with a cleaner, shaped silhouette. Made here in Donegal wool by Porter & Harding.
Its origins were similarly practical, traditionally combining a lightweight cloth with four generous pockets and a belted waist. There is quite a lot going on, which is why taken too literally today it can occasionally feel more costume than clothing.
Our preference is to keep the recognisable elements but approach them through tailoring. The example pictured here has proper lapels and shape through the waist, while the four-pocket front keeps things firmly on the casual side. Made in linen or cotton, it becomes an easy, practical layer for our climate. In wool, it takes on a more refined character—an elegant outer layer for cooler weather.
Photo: A cotton safari jacket, paired with a shirt and tie to bring a more refined edge to its utilitarian roots.
Wear it with a shirt and tailored trousers and it can look quite dressed. Put a T-shirt underneath and it becomes something else entirely. That versatility is much of the appeal.
Photo: Our tailored safari jacket in a Solbiati Linen, featuring a cinched waist for a more defined silhouette.
3. The G9 Harrington
Photo: A G9 jacket, dressed beyond the usual casual pairing. Worn here with a jeans, a chambray shirt and grenadine tie (Image shown for styling illustration purposes.)
Coming soon to Seamless Bespoke.
The G9 began life as a British golfing jacket, and its sporting origins still make sense today. It is short, uncomplicated and easy to throw on.
Of these three, it is probably the furthest removed from traditional tailoring, which is precisely why we like it.
The shorter length works particularly well with higher-rise trousers, while the clean shape gives an outfit some definition without the formality of lapels or a tailored shoulder. Worn over a polo, knit or simple shirt, it is often enough to make an otherwise straightforward outfit feel complete.
Our own interpretation is currently in the works.
A Little Less Formal, Still Put Together
That, ultimately, is what we like about all three.
A sports jacket naturally brings a certain formality to an outfit. These jackets can perform a similar visual role, adding shape, texture and another layer, but with fewer of those formal associations.
They also open up rather more of the wardrobe. Denim, chinos, tailored trousers, polos, T-shirts and knitwear can all sit comfortably alongside them.
Sometimes you want to look dressed without looking dressed up. These are three rather good ways of doing it.
If any of these styles appeal to you, they can all be commissioned with us at Seamless Bespoke. Come by and we can work through the cloth, details and fit together.
