In Manchester, where jacket season is all year round

What better place to journey to when testing out two jackets than Manchester. Home to two big football teams, migrating ex-Londoners and a consistently cold weather system.

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Outfit pictured above: CRIEFF TECHNICAL WINDBREAKER by KESTIN, NIELS GREY TOWELLING LS (similar) by NORSE PROJECTS, KEMET ELECTRIC BLUE WOOL BEANIE by MACKINTOSH and PADSTOW WOOL TROUSER (similar) by JOSEPH FASHION

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Outfit pictured above: BATCH NO.7 BILL’S BLUE by PAYNTER JACKET CO., LINEN POLO (similar) by ARKET, GREY STRAIGHT LEG TROUSERS (similar) by MR P. and BOSTON SUEDE TAUPE by BIRKENSTOCK

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Photography by MATTHEW SPADE

Rightly or wrongly, The North is often subjected to southerner retort. If it’s not about the football, it could be because of other nuances like chips and gravy (I’m in the pro camp), but more often than not it often comes down to the bad rep of its weather. And while I’d like to disagree, Manchester does enjoy a downpour and a single digit temperature. Locals were probably adding their extra layers a couple days sooner than those living further south. It’s the reliably colder weather that made it the right place to road test two jacket styles while visiting.

While I enjoy a warm day as much as the next person, let’s face it, an outfit looks so much better with a jacket or a second layer. I’ve said many times before that a t-shirt and shorts combination doesn’t exactly cut it for me when it comes to dressing. So now that it’s cool enough to not keep our outfits monolayer, I’m all for it.

It’s hard not to come across a jacket with some technical outdoor connection at the moment, some more authentic than others. It seems everyone has aspirations to be in the mountains and the lakes, or at least be dressed for them.

Kestin headed to the hills for inspiration for their AW21 windbreaker. Based on a vintage mid layer for hill walkers, it’s made from a Japanese 2-way ripstop meaning even though its roots come from boggy Highland fields its more akin to downtown Ginza and probably now seen more frequently in city centres than its intended setting. *Ramblers and walkers fists shake furiously*

Option two is a real mood lifter. I’m not one for wearing ‘fall colours’ in fall and vice versa. I’m not even sure why the colour of your outfit needs to change depending on the season. What I do understand is how your mood can dip when the weather turns dark before you’ve even looked away from your screen. The solution? A big blue jacket. I’m sure they’ll be some science behind this so please do feel free to back me up, as Paynter Jacket Co’s Bill’s blue jacket really breaks up the swirling echo chamber of ‘it’s getting dark so early’.

Since taking these photos and even since hitting publish on this blog post, it’s probably got even colder. Pfft, typical north. Big coats loading.jbicon

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