Lightweight spring jackets may have come in a cornucopia of styles, colors and prints on the runways this season, but if we had to pick one that would go the distance, we’d select the Harrington, named after the style of jacket worn by Ryan O’Neal’s Rodney Harrington in the 1960s classic soap, “Peyton Place.”
Traditionally a zip-front jacket with an extended tab collar and flap pockets made from lightweight summer fabrics with a Tartan lining, the jacket became an integral part of the Ivy look in the mid 1950s and, across the Atlantic, the pared down uniform of Mod boys on racer bikes.
Of all the makers over the years, however, the British heritage brand Baracuta would remain the most influential, channeling the utilitarian brilliance of British rainwear and the stylish simplicity of modern American sportswear into the G9, the choice of Elvis, James Dean and Steve McQueen in “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
This season design houses from Burberry to Valentino revisited the classic, offering it in a variety of bold prints. Here at The Manual, we recommend beginning with a simple, clean iteration of the everyday classic and throwing it on when the weather cools or when you just need that added layer to take a generic shirt-pant combo to the next level of effortless, casual sophistication.
Baracuta G9 Original, available at www.baracuta.com
Memory Nylon Harrington Blazer by Ben Sherman, $112.50; available at www.bensherman.com
Lifetime Collective Harrington Jacket in cotton twill, $250; available at www.topman.com
Barracuda Jacket by Club Monaco, $169.50; available at www.clubmonaco.com
Goose Bomber Jacket by Saturdays, $200; available at www.saturdaysnyc.com
Tipper Microfiber Jacket by Fred Perry, $190; available at www.fredperry.com
Garment Dyed Short Summer Jacket by Scotch & Soda; available at www.scotch-soda.com
Weeds Jacket by Gant Rugger, $196; available at www.gant.com
Leopard Print Bomber Jacket by YMC, $290; available at www.mrporter.com
Classic Barracuda Jacket by York Street by J.Press, $145; available at www.stevenalan.com
