I was in a Zoom meeting today, and a female colleague was wearing a jean jacket that made me want to get one of my own. But then I thought: Wait, I’m a middle-aged guy in the suburbs who generally dresses quite casually and conservatively. Do I have any business thinking about buying a jean jacket? — Howard, Atlanta
Denim jackets are so rife with associations, they are like a Ph.D. thesis in a garment. They have been the uniform of cowboys and the counterculture, not to mention greasers, rock stars and rebels (with or without a cause). That’s probably why you are second-guessing your own desire to wear one in what sounds like fairly settled middle age.
After all, if you are now the establishment, and jean jackets are the signifiers of youth and rugged individualism, doesn’t wearing one as a suburban dad come awfully close to false advertising? Or mutton dressed as lamb? Or some sort of embarrassing wishful thinking that shouldn’t be exposed to the light of day?
These are valid concerns. Yet, presumably you still wear jeans and don’t feel like a pretender in those. So what’s the difference?
There really isn’t one. At this point, jeans and jean jackets are just basics, like white T-shirts and sneakers. They have a place in every wardrobe, especially during seasonal transitions, and they’re beyond age. The question isn’t really whether or not you can still wear one. The question is what kind of jean jacket you would wear and how you’d wear it.
Think of it by another name: the trucker jacket. Then, as Derek Guy, the men’s wear critic behind the “Die, Workwear!” blog, suggested, think of “The Electric Horseman,” the movie starring Robert Redford as a 40-something retired rodeo star given to wearing … denim jackets.
You just have to pay attention to certain details, Mr. Guy advised.
That means staying away from ripped, patched denim and opting for “a clean fit and simple lines.” And consider the angle of the chest pockets. If they lean toward the shoulder, Mr. Guy said, they can even suggest suit lapels. Heavier denim jackets with contrasting collars in corduroy or fleece or blanket linings provide more of a frontiersman vibe, while dark denim is a little more formal.
Then think about what to wear with the jacket. Leave the white T-shirt and faded jeans to James Dean. (In fact, leave the styles of the past, especially your own past, to the past.) But also, as Guy Trebay, our men’s wear critic, who often wears his own denim jacket to the office, wrote recently, know that there’s no reason to be afraid of “double denim.”
His proof: a man spotted in Paris “wearing aviator shades, an indigo four-pocket jacket that hit right at the waistline and some midblue jeans so crisp, they could probably stand on their own,” he wrote. “With the denim, he wore a sharp white spread-collar shirt and a neatly knotted necktie.”
More proof: Bruce Springsteen, now in his 70s and still partial to a denim jacket. GQ called his current denim look “Luxury California Granddad Bruce.” Also Ralph Lauren, who is in his 80s and still his own best denim model.
If you are still anxious about eliciting snarky comments about a Canadian tuxedo, Mr. Guy advised pairing your trucker jacket with khakis or workwear pants in a different color — black, tan or olive.
And remember the best thing about jean jackets: They don’t demand hefty investment. You can experiment with styles found in thrift stores and on eBay and Etsy (Mr. Guy is partial to vintage) without feeling as if each garment will require a lifetime commitment. That’s the mature way of thinking about it, anyway.
Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.
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