Among the pieces that all kinds of outfits can be built around, the denim jacket should never be underestimated. They are as basic as basics come, like white T-shirts and sneakers. And of course, no conversation about jean jackets is complete without mentioning Levi’s, whose historic contributions to the category are as emblematic as its dungarees are to jeans.
Serviceable and tough-wearing, Levi’s denim jackets are a time-tested garment that’s hard to improve upon, whether you prefer the Type I, Type II, or the genre-defining Type III trucker jacket that hatched a thousand imitators—and yet, Levi’s tradition of making outerwear for the de facto cool guy doesn’t stop there.
While Levi’s and jean jackets are essentially synonymous, it should come as no surprise that the first name in denim has a whole cavalcade of slubby outerwear worthy of your consideration. While they don’t come with the same sartorial associations of the brand’s iconic truckers, they’re made with the same expert design chops, pack the same type of indigo-induced heat and, more importantly, they’re as affordable as all get out.
To be clear, as a rule of thumb, a classic Levi’s trucker always hits. Mind you, they hit even harder when they’re thrifted. So if your aim is to mix it up with some newness, you won’t want for choice. Below, we’ve rounded up five of the season’s best alternatives.
