The Evolving Odd Jacket

Among the more interesting, to me at least, things the Italians have done to men's clothing recently has been their reinterpretation of the odd jacket. You know the names: Luciano Barbera, Belvest and Brunello Cucinelli to call out just a few. Their new forms fall somewhere between traditional coats and less structured shirt jackets, varying in look from modified Norfolks to unclassifiable zippered constructions that have little other than their tweed in common with anything Savile Row might recognize.

The result of all this is that men on the street are wearing a profusion of styling details unlike anything we have ever seen before. There are hand warmer pockets, bellows breast pockets, elbow patches, metal buttons and collars with the undersides finished because they are meant to be worn turned up. The few styles without four button fronts that can be completely closed in the cold apparently accomplish the same result with another zipper.


Now despite my distaste for zippers for purposes other than closing a man's fly, and sometimes not even then, I have to admit that there is a certain logic to this stuff. Young men need pockets as much as the rest of us and some of the new models may be likelier to find favor with a potential partner than another copy of the same Harris tweed that their father wears. The only question is how many of them can afford it, for the cost is about the same as traditional bespoke tailoring if not a bit more.

Cost aside, the new odd jackets are refreshingly modern look paired with a checked overshirt and a scarf. The combination may be best suited for a campus or the country rather than urban areas, but then so is Dad's Harris tweed.