Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: finding the perfect summer jacket

The Guardian

5 hours ago

The summer jacket is one of the trickiest bits of your wardrobe to get right, because nobody really wants to wear one. I mean, isn't summer supposed to be lovely and warm? Isn't that sort of the whole point of a summer wardrobe? Sandals and shorts exist to celebrate carefree, balmy days. Sunshine is the raison d'etre of a sundress. The very existence of a jacket is a summer buzzkill. But you need one. Sorry, but you do. Seasons are unpredictable, heatwaves break, darkness brings a chill. So you definitely have to put some thought into a summer jacket unless you want your fabulous summer outfits to end up hidden beneath some random hoodie you grabbed off the banister.
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Your summer jacket needs to do two things. It needs to keep you warm and dry when the weather turns chilly or wet. And somehow, at the same time, it needs to keep your summer vibe bouncing along, rather than kill the mood. Like I said: tricky.
The most common mistake we make is to buy a summer jacket that is all summer and not enough jacket. Case in point: I once bought a jacket made of broderie anglaise. I was young and foolish, but still, what on earth was I thinking? In the changing room mirror, it paid visual lip service to the concept of jacket-wearing. The problem was, once I got outside, it wasn't actually warm.
The most iconic summer jacket looks are where the jacket is there to do a job. It feels like a simple, low-key foil to summery clothes. I'm thinking of Alexa Chung at Glastonbury, in a waxed Barbour jacket over hotpants and bare legs. I'm thinking of Marilyn Monroe, hugging a sturdy Lee Storm Rider denim jacket over her flimsy white blouse on the set of The Misfits. The vibe works best when the jacket is deliberately mismatched, a contrast to the summery pieces beneath. You know that thing when you sling a tuxedo jacket – yours or someone else's – over your party dress to walk home? That.
A Barbour jacket still works. I love my Barbour and will be once again wearing it at Glastonbury this year – the classics are classics for a reason, after all. And a denim jacket can be a brilliant holiday piece: it has pockets; blue denim is basically a neutral, so the colour works with everything; you can shove it on a luggage rack and it won't crumple, and the texture is a nice contrast over beachy crochet or linen.
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This summer, fashion is serving up three alternatives: the barn jacket, the leather blouson, and the haute anorak. The barn jacket (squared off and contrast-collared like this one by H&M) works for exactly the same reason a Barbour jacket does, so if you invested in one this winter, you are in clover. The leather blouson (roomy at the shoulders and sleeves, collared, and gathered at the hip) is the more lo-fi cousin of the biker jacket. Your reference here is either John Nettles in Bergerac, or Justin and Hailey Bieber on a courtside date night, depending on your vintage. At the most recent round of shows, the slightly geezerish leather blouson was edging out the blazer as the look to be seen scooting around town in, accessorised with a slicked-back bun and a banana-shaped bag under one arm.
The haute anorak, like this one from Iets Frans, meanwhile, is exactly what it sounds like: a raincoat, but fancy. A raincoat like this which has main character energy is also a smart choice if not getting your hair wet in the rain is of equal concern to you as keeping warm. With Oasis back on stage any minute, this is the perfect moment to pull out your most obnoxious anorak. Wear it zipped to the chin for extra attitude.
A caveat to this. None of it is going to work if you are going to, say, a wedding. For that you need a summer jacket that harmonises sweetly with your outfit, rather than riffing off it. A sleeveless dress with a matching jacket is a summer occasion investment worth considering here. But never forget: it's a hard pass on the broderie anglaise.
Main picture Hair and makeup: Delilah Blakeney using Moroccan Oil and Charlotte Tilbury. Model: Jen at Milk Management. Jacket, £49.99, Zara. Dress, £35.99, Mango. Earrings, £98, Missoma