Ditch your denim for the cool new khaki
THOSE who have been down to the park today may have noticed — in among the Lycra running leggings — some covetable khaki jackets.
It’s June, so it’s officially khaki jacket season from now through to October. But this year, this particular jacket seems to hit the spot perfectly.
The merits of a khaki jacket are legion and you probably don’t need reminding of them, but just in case, here goes: it flatters most skin tones (unless the jacket’s that harsh dark olive); it works with most colours (lightens up navy, sobers up pink, sets off white, softens black); it looks great slung over a dress or with trousers; adds that hint of military swagger that makes something utility plain automatically look cool, especially if you add sunglasses; it works in hot weather and cool, over a poloneck or a T-shirt, in the park or on a beach (in Dorset).
You need more? There is more. A khaki jacket is smarter than denim, quieter than leather, it’s the best jacket to travel in and, in my experience, it makes wearing white jeans possible ( without a khaki jacket they can look a bit too The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills).
In short, you need one — and you can’t say that about many things in fashion. It won’t date either. Not really.
STARTING with the best of the regulars — Mango does a great boxy khaki jacket (£49.99, mango.com) with four flap pockets and tortoiseshell buttons ( the buttons are critical on a khaki jacket and should ideally be tortoiseshell, brown, or maybe poppers).
Hush does a cool collarless one with epaulettes (£ 75,
hush-uk.com). And/Or’s khaki utility jacket (£59, johnlewis.
com) is as light and floppy as a shirt with an elasticated back, and The Kooples has a belted safari- style jacket with poppers (£168, thekooples.com).
If you’re looking for a shacket — a light jacket that’s almost a shirt were it not for the heavy buttons and pockets — Tommy Hilfiger is your best bet (£135, uk.tommy.com).
Then again, you might want to mix it up and get a khaki jacket with spark, which is what we seem to be looking for in our wardrobes: useful, easy- to- wear clothes, but brighter and more lifeenhancing than previously.
We’re not interested in frills and fuss for the sake of it, but we do want clothes with uplifting potential. This time last year, when Zara was doing those pom pom-embellished khaki jackets, they looked to me a bit OTT and definitely something to leave to the festival kids. But now . . . well, as we know, things look a bit different. There’s a ‘life’s too short to settle for plain’ feeling in the air.
If you do want to go down the khaki jacket-with- extras route, Free People do one with some low-key metallic military detailing (£158, freepeople.com) or, stepping up the embellishment, Essentiel Antwerp do a camouflageprint belted jacket with black sequin spots (£161, essentielantwerp.com)
Zadig & Voltaire has an embellished khaki jacket which gets our vote from the front, with its light gold trimmed collar, but the rear is not for everyone — a full back multi- coloured embroidery featuring a skull and snakes (£284, selfridges.com). Come to think of it, you could always add a gold ribbon trim yourself — it can’t be that hard.
If a longer parka style appeals, there are plenty around. Mint Velvet’s khaki star back parka is, as the name suggests, a khaki parka with a star and chevron embroidered back (£159, mintvelvet.co.uk). Or you could go for a long-line bomber such as Ainsley’s (£112, anthropologie.com). It’s a pretty pale khaki, embroidered with flowers and looks good worn slightly oversize with straight-leg white jeans.
Finally, if you want to ring the changes with your khaki jacket but feel embellishment is not your bag, there are the mash-up styles.
Denimist’s surplus camoprint canvas jacket (£330, netaporter. com) mixes up camouflage print and leopard to good-looking effect; or there is All Saints’ Finch camo jacket (£74, allsaints.com), which features light and dark camouflage prints all mixed up together. Sounds odd, but it’s quite attractive in the flesh.
We wouldn’t have said that this time last year. Now? Bring it on!