When the weather starts warming up, outerwear is probably the furthest thing from your mind. You just want to get the barbecue fired up and retire your parka from service for another year. But to miss out on the joy of light outerwear is to do yourself a disservice because spring and summer, oddly enough, are the seasons when some of the finest jackets ever designed come into their own.
Outerwear doesn’t have to be big, bulky and heavy. It can be breezy, light and subtle. Something you can throw on over a T-shirt on a cool May evening or sling over your shoulder to head out for an al fresco meal by the marina on vacation. We’re talking about jackets that can carry you through the transitional months and beyond without breaking a sweat… and without you breaking one either.
With that in mind, we’ve included a selection of our favourite styles for spring/summer 2025 below, from classic British waxed jackets to luxurious suede bombers.
Cropped Worker Jacket
- Carhartt WIP Detroit Jacke
- Arket Cotton Canvas Jacket
- Dickies Jacquard Eisenhower Jacket
- Brixton Mechanic Garage Jacket
These short, boxy, blue-collar jackets have all but replaced the classic chore coat as the workwear jacket du jour. Think corduroy collar, thick duck-canvas fabric, slanted hand pockets and a zip fastening.
Carhartt’s Detroit jacket is the most obvious example, and extra style points are awarded the more battered and busted it is. Thanks to the cropped fit, it looks great with high-rise jeans in a straight-leg cut for a classic American workwear look.
Team it up with lugged leather boots or slim sneakers, and depending on the temperature, top things off with a baseball cap or beanie.
Gore-Tex Shell
- Haglöfs Kaise Men’s Gore-Tex Jacket
- Salomon Outline 3L Gore-Tex
- Arc’teryx Beta SL Gore-Tex Jacket
- Patagonia Triolet Jacket
A good Gore-Tex shell is a modern investment piece. It’s something you can use all year round, depending on how you layer it, and if you buy a good one, it will last you many years.
From a fashion perspective, it’s well worth having, too, particularly if you’re a fan of the outdoorsy look that the menswear industry insists on referring to as ‘gorpcore’.
Arc’teryx is the brand with all the hype around it (and the heritage to back it up), but there are plenty of other options for those seeking something a little different. Check out Haglöfs, Mountain Hardwear and Patagonia to get started.
Lightweight Puffer
- Patagonia Down Sweater Jacket
- Uniqlo Ultra Light Down Jacket
- Montbell Superior Down Jacket
- Gant Light Down Jacket
That oversized puffer with the massive down-stuffed baffles that served you so well over winter will leave you cooking as soon as the weather begins to warm up. But there will still be those days when a little insulation is needed to take the sting out of that crisp morning air. That’s where a lightweight down jacket comes in.
It’s thinner, easier to layer, and it still provides a reliable barrier against the cold. Plus, you can wear it with anything and everything.
Get one without a hood for easy layering, and check out brands like Mont-Bell, Patagonia and Taion for some of the best.
Quilted Liner
- Arket Upcycled Down Liner Jacket
- FRIZMWORKS M1965 Twill-Trimmed Quilted Ripstop Jacket Liner
- Carhartt WIP Skyler Liner
- Norse Projects Military Liner Jacket
A quilted liner fills a similar gap in your transitional wardrobe but offers a completely different aesthetic. This layering piece is designed to be used with unlined outerwear, providing an extra layer of defence on cooler days.
But that’s not where its usefulness ends. This type of jacket also looks great as a standalone piece—its collarless design and stitched-through construction adding an interesting visual element to your outfits.
Play it safe with olive, or go for orange to add a splash of colour—both are classic options.
Barn Jacket
- Velasca Gromo
- Barbour OS Peached Bedale Jacket
- Kestin Strathblane Jacket
- Gant Spring Decker Jacket
This one has become a bit of a buzzword lately, and it’s definitely a bit of an Americanism. Here in the UK, you might see it referred to as a field coat or shooting jacket, with a mid-length hem, corduroy collar and two deep bellow hand-warmer pockets. It also tends to be insulated.
Avoid tweed unless you want to be mistaken for a descendant of the landed gentry, and combine it with simple, casual pieces for best results.
Waxed Jacket
- Billy Reid Hunting Jacket
- Barbour Spey Wax Jacket
- Belstaff Racemaster Jacket
- Nili Lotan Kylian Corduroy-Trimmed Waxed Cotton-Canvas Field Jacket
Another British country classic, the waxed jacket features a distinctive waxed-cotton fabric that blocks wind and repels rain. It’s usually unlined, which makes it great for layering, and depending on the cut and colour, it can be dressed up or down.
To maximise its versatility, go for one with a relatively trim and flattering fit rather than one of the oversized, knee-grazing variations, and keep the colour subtle.
Barbour and Belstaff are two of the biggest names in the game, both approaching the waxed jacket from slightly different directions.
Minimalist Leather Jacket
- Wax London Kendal – Black Lamb Leather Jacket
- Reiss Cast Leather Bomber Jacket
- Kingman Padded Full-Grain Leather Jacket
- Polo Ralph Lauren Leather Jacket
Ditch the biker jacket for 2025, with all its zippered embellishments and chrome dangly bits. Instead, opt for something sleeker and minimal. Something with a clean, uncluttered design, classic collar and, of course, a slightly cropped fit.
Don’t get us wrong, leather biker jackets like the Schott Perfecto will always have a place in the pantheon of menswear greats, but in terms of what’s trending this year, if you want to do leather, the key is to be less ostentatious about it.
Wear a brown jacket with cream straight-leg jeans and a pair of suede loafers to welcome spring in style.
Suede Bomber
- Reiss Brick Leather-Sleeve Suede Brick Bomber Jacket
- Velasca Notaresco
- Luca Faloni Classic Bomber Jacket
- MR P. Suede Bomber Jacket
The bomber jacket is a military classic that has earned its stripes in the world of menswear over decades, but it’s not the smartest jacket out there. If you’re looking for something to pair with tailored trousers for smart-casual settings, a nylon MA-1 bomber probably isn’t the most appropriate tool.
However, take that same silhouette, slim it down and cut it from suede, and it’s a different story. What you have now is luxurious, light outerwear that can be used to dress casual outfits up and bring dressy outfits down to earth.
Just make sure to look after it well and try not to wear it on rainy days if you want to preserve the fabric’s characteristic softness.
Unstructured Twill Blazer
- SIRPLUS Bay Green Cotton Twill Blazer
- Drake’s Dark Navy Heavy Cotton Twill Games Blazer Mk. I
- MR P. Garment-Dyed Stretch-Cotton Twill Blazer
- Universal Works London Jacket in Black Twill
This one sits somewhere between a tailored jacket and worker jacket. It might not sound like the most versatile garment, but it fills a huge gap in most men’s wardrobes.
It’s smart but not too smart – the sort of jacket that rarely looks out of place, whether you’re at a wedding or the pub. Brands such as Universal Works, Uskees, Drake’s and Wax London have mastered this type of outerwear, so make these your first ports of call if you’re in the market.
As for how to style them, go for a matching set of trousers and a crisp white tee for a relaxed take on a classic two-piece suit, or throw one on with a pair of selvedge jeans and brown leather work boots for a more casual,blue-collar-inspiredd take.
