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The Best Harrington Jackets Are Your Secret Style Weapon
It's much more than just Steve McQueen's favourite jacket. It's your new favourite jacket
Cor, lightweight outerwear, yeah? Fleeces, gilets, tactical waistcoats, fishing vests – they just keep coming and we just keep layering them up. But what of their forefathers? Spare a thought for the inter-season outerwear that paved the way. We’re talking your MA-1 bombers, your M-65 field jackets, your denim sherpas, and of course your Harringtons.
At some point, each of the above was de rigeur; the jacket you needed to make sure you weren’t dressed like your dad, or at least the jacket hip kids stole from their dads and reinterpreted. Exemplum: the Harrington was first designed in the Thirties as a golfing jacket (British brands Baracuta and Grenfell contest that theirs was first, but it’s generally accepted that the former got to the first hole before the latter), but was made cool by James Dean (Rebel Without a Cause, 1955) and Steve McQueen (Thomas Crown Affair, 1968), the greatest menswear influencers of all time. As the decades progressed it was adopted by a series of sub cultures: mods, then northern soul lads, punks, Britpop kids, indie kids and latterly, James Bond himself. Essentially, if you were ever a young man in the UK in the second half of the 20th century, you would have worn a Harrington at some point.
Traditionally, it’s a lightweight, weatherproof jacket characterised by a compact shape, stand collar, double zip closure, ribbed hem and flap pockets. Baracuta’s G9 – the original Harrington, supposedly – is still the purest iteration, however there have been scores of imitations and reinterpretations. It’s been rejigged, reworked and sexified, but at its core, the Harrington is still one of the best pieces of lightweight outerwear you can get. Here are the best to buy now.
Sunspel
Sunspel’s transeasonal Harrington jacket is a quintessential style guaranteed to pair well with your existing wardrobe linchpins.
£375; sunspel.com
Billionaire Boys Club
Despite the retro-ness of the silhouette, Billionaire Boys Club manages to imbue its corduroy Harrington with a space-age vibe.
£345; ssense.com
Stefan Cooke
London designer Stefan Cooke takes the much loved British silhouette to new heights of excellence.
£1,250; brownsfashion.com
Stone Island
A biker take on the Harrington style, this gabardine Stoney is durable, water-resistant and consciously made (from gabardine produced from recycled plastic bottles).
£635; matchesfashion.com
Marks and Spencer Collection
Crafted from a lightweight blend of linen and cotton, this M&S Harrington is more than just a high street basic.
£75; marksandspencer.com
Barbour
As part of a collection that pays homage to menswear deity Steve McQueen, Barbour presents an effortlessly suave Harrington complete with embroidered branding and a corduroy collar.
£169; endclothing.com
Burberry
Amongst the trench coats and cashmere scarfs, one can discover the perfect Harrington over at Burberry, officially entitled 'The Soho Heritage Harrington Jacket'.
£1,390; burberry.com
Our Legacy
This Matches Fashion-exclusive Our Legacy layer has all the trappings of a textbook Harrington – waist length, tartan lining, single colour exterior etc. – yet, it still manages to be much, much more.
£350; matchesfashion.com
Superdry
For a sporty take on a Harrington, look to Superdry. This one, for instance, called the ‘Training Harrington Jacket’, is durable, water-resistant, nicely padded and available in four approachable colours.
£79.99; superdry.com
Baracuta
The original, and an enduring piece of transatlantic menswear, this updated G9 is made with a water-resistant cotton blend, a slightly looser fit, as well as a moisture-wicking ‘Coolmax’ tartan lining. It comes in a selection of five colours, but we’re big fans of the green.
£340; mrporter.com
Baracuta
But if you’ve got the budget for a slightly more boujee Baracuta, something a little more extraordinary, allow us to recommend this cosy shearling iteration available on Mr Porter.
£1,900; mrporter.com
Rodd and Gunn
A simple, versatile design constructed from cotton twill, created by a New Zealand brand that understands the value of understatement.
£150; johnlewis.com
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren lets the Harrington be a Harrington – retaining the menswear silhouette’s timeless appeal by keeping things simple.
£179; selfridges.com
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