It’s the badass outerwear of choice for style icons like Ernest Hemingway and Clint Eastwood, one that historically was less about dressing for dinner, rather about catching it. And yet, the safari jacket still divides.

That’s because get it right, and you look straight-from-the-fridge cool. But get it wrong, and you look the part of the Great White Hunter. Get it right, and you look Burt Reynolds-level macho. Get it wrong, and you just look plain awkward. But, ask any menswear expert, and they’ll soon tell you it’s worth the risk.

Never mind the practical benefits – room to carry your stuff; light enough to wear all summer. The safari jacket is a design classic, whether you’re in the real thing or one of fashion’s many interpretations, and it may just be the only cool jacket you need for the balmier months.

What Is A Safari Jacket?

Anthony Sinclair

Take the practicality of the military style field jacket – a tough cotton or cotton-blend fabric formed into a loose-fitting, mid-length garment with four bellows pockets at the chest and hip. Now do it in a more general purpose shade of beige, in a lighter-weight, breathable fabric like linen or cotton drill and add details such as an open neck, epaulettes and a belt to keep everything pulled together and in order.

There you have it: the safari jacket – a kind of field-meets-shooting jacket, substantial enough to wear a layer underneath, insubstantial enough to wear next to the skin or for the sleeves to be easily rolled ready to go hunting in, even if that’s just for the next bar.

Why You Need A Safari Jacket Today

Mango

Saint Laurent, which is credited with thrusting the style into the mainstream, famously still offers one, of course. But there’s a good reason why designers including Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren, and brands like Abercrombie and Barbour have versions too. It just works. When it’s too hot for a proper jacket, but the event calls for something smarter than just a shirt, the safari jacket – functional in the outback, smart in a more urban jungle setting – works.