A Warning About Fall Jackets

Fall is approaching quickly. That means every menswear or style website will trot out an article or two making sure to let you know that fall is the best time for casual outerwear! As if that’s some sort of revelation you have never considered before.

I don’t disagree, though. We’re all chomping at the bit to wear our Harringtons, truckers, bombers, blousons, denim jackets, and leather bikers.

But let me pass along some words of caution as you giddily don your long-dormant casual outerwear…

Fall jackets are not as easy as they seem.

Take a look at the short list of jackets I mentioned above. What do they all have in common?

They’re all waist-length.

You’re probably asking yourself, “What’s the problem?!”

Nothing. There is nothing inherently wrong with a waist-length jacket. Actually, waist-length jackets look universally excellent on men, regardless of body-type because they emphasize the upper body and make a man look more muscular. Since they stop at your waist, they make your legs look longer and make you look taller.

 So… taller and more muscular. Sign me up!

Unfortunately, many men commit a style blunder that keeps them from accessing the magical manly powers of the waist-length jacket.

That style blunder is wearing a shirt that is longer than the jacket.

All the visual benefits of a waist-length jacket go out the window when, underneath it, you wear a shirt that has a longer hem than the jacket. That’s because that strip of shirt, which is often in a contrasting shade (like white) to the rest of the outfit, draws attention right to the area we men DON’T want people looking: our hips.

We want people looking at our chests, arms, and faces! We want the appearance of that masculine v-shape with our waists appearing smaller and our shoulders larger. That can’t happen when there is a stripe of contrasting color hugging our hip area.

To illustrate what I’m talking about, please take a look at actor, Lucas Bravo, who plays the character of Gabriel on Emily In Paris.

I Googled Mr. Bravo’s height and he’s 6’1”. Looking at him, you’d think the costume department would have no trouble dressing him, however they seem to botch the job whenever he isn’t in his chef’s coat.

This is just a quick sampling of images I could find to demonstrate my point, but in watching the show, my wife and I realized that he is frequently in rather unflattering ensembles.

The long shirts under his casual jackets de-emphasize his height and physique. He’s clearly in great shape, but that dreaded strip of shirt, providing the contrasting color against the rest of his outfit, makes him look hippy.

The picture of him in the blue jacket is the most egregious example, as the white shirt puffed out over his butt makes it look like he is wearing a diaper.

This issue is far too common when men wear waist-length jackets.

But what’s the solution?

Well, you could just tuck in your shirt. However, I get that a lot of men don’t really want to have to do that consistently when they’re wearing their favorite casual jacket. They just want to grab-n-go.

You could also make sure the shirt you’re wearing isn’t super long. This means that your shirts need to fit properly. There really isn’t any reason why you should have a shirt dangling around your butt anyway. I know baggy shirts are comfy, but a t-shirt shouldn’t really go too much past your belt.

If your shirt does happen to fall a bit below the hem of your jacket, it helps if your jacket has a knit hem like a bomber or Harrington. The stretchy bottom of the jacket will keep the hem of your shirt contained.

If you absolutely must wear an untucked shirt that is longer than your jacket, make sure the color of the shirt doesn’t contrast too much with the rest of your outfit. I find that if I am wearing my black biker jacket and jeans, I can wear my dark flannel shirts that stick out a bit (remember, a bit) and it’s not a problem because the color of the shirt doesn’t draw the eye to my hips.

However, in looking at these photos, I absolutely think I’d look better with my shirt tucked so my torso doesn’t look so long, due to the untucked hem of my shirt.

So, hopefully I have either given you ammunition to look your best in fall jackets, or ammunition to feel self-conscious in your fall jackets. If it’s the latter, just have some Oktoberfest and some cider doughnuts and forget all about it!