The safari jacket is a cool piece of outerwear favored by style icons like Ernest Hemingway and Clint Eastwood, and historically was more of a dinner outfit than a go-to for dinner, but it remains a polarizing piece.
Because, when you do it right, you look straight out of the fridge. When you do it wrong, you look like you’re in a role for the Great White Hunter. When you do it right, you look like a Burt Reynolds macho guy. When you do it wrong, you just look awkward. But ask any menswear expert and they’ll tell you right away that it’s worth the risk.
Not to mention the practical benefits: it has space to carry your gear and is light enough to wear all summer long. Whether you’re wearing a real safari jacket or one of the many fashion interpretations, the safari jacket is a design staple and might just be the only cool jacket you need for the warmer months.
What is a safari jacket?
Anthony Sinclair
Embrace the practicality of a military-style field jacket, crafted from durable cotton or cotton-blend fabrics for a relaxed mid-length garment with four bellows pockets at the chest and waist. Now available in a more versatile beige shade, in lightweight, breathable fabrics like linen and cotton drill, with added details like an open neck, epaulets and a belt to keep the whole look pulled together and tidy.
This is the safari jacket: a field-meets-shooting jacket that’s sturdy enough to layer underneath, light enough to wear next to the skin, and lightweight enough that you can easily roll up your sleeves and go on a hunt, even if it’s just to get to the next bar.
Why you need a safari jacket now
mango
Of course, Saint Laurent, the brand credited with bringing the style to the mainstream, is still famous for selling the safari jacket today, but there’s a good reason why designers like Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren, and brands like Abercrombie and Barbour, also sell them: because the safari jacket is functional. When it’s too hot for a proper jacket but you need something smarter than a shirt for an event, the safari jacket is functional for the outback and smart for the urban jungle.
“The safari jacket is bittersweet – it may look like you’re wearing a costume, but it’s actually perfect for summer,” says John Harrison, creative director at Gieves & Hawkes. “It’s quite a statement, but it’s also really useful.”
Plus, it’s not a fashion piece. But that doesn’t mean a good one can’t be worn for years to come. Think khaki, cotton and classic. Its versatility is well known, making it perfect for pairing with selvedge denim and maybe even a sharp tailored look. In other words, it’s the ultimate trophy piece.
Safari Jacket Style Tips
Don’t overdo it
The safari jacket is designed to be a focal point, so make sure it’s the focal point and avoid other pieces of clothing that compete with it. When in doubt, a calm and basic look is on trend today: throw it over a simple t-shirt and team it with dark denim and minimalist sneakers.
mango
Aim high or low
Like any member of the menswear hall of fame, the safari jacket can be worn sophisticatedly or casually: try it smartly over a shirt, knit tie and dark flannel trousers, pair it with white jeans and boat shoes for a Riviera vibe, or keep it open and belted in the middle for a more subtle look.
Lardini
Reuse
Unless you’re going to a costume party, don’t attempt an all-out utilitarian look. If you wear a safari jacket, don’t also wear khakis, combat pants, or a bush hat. It’s important to repurpose your safari jacket as an upscale item from its original setting so you don’t look like someone who’s lost their shotgun.
Ralph Lauren
Let’s play with fabric
While the pattern defines the safari jacket, different materials have different effects. Linen ages well, giving the jacket a worn look. Suede has an evening wear feel, making it a great choice for men who prefer a smart wardrobe. Leather jackets offer extra warmth in colder months.
Massimo Dutti
Leave your bag at home
In the early days, safari jacket pockets were used to hold things like ammunition, GPS batteries, flasks, and maybe a pipe. While most modern men have little need for these in their daily lives, it’s possible to use the jacket for its intended purpose and leave the backpack at home.
Obadiah and Sons
5 Key Safari Jackets
Private White VC
Known for their durable outerwear, British brand Private White VC specializes in stylish yet functional designs, a prime example of which is their minimalist take on the safari jacket: Gone are the shoulder epaulets and belt, in exchange for simple pockets with discreet poppers, a shorter length, and a hidden placket for an overall sleek look.
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Anderson & Sheppard
Anderson & Sheppard, a Savile Row shop, is best known for its fine tailoring. But the traditional firm also produces a fantastic take on the safari jacket. Made from military-inspired cotton drill and featuring 15 pockets as standard (including two iPad-sized internal pockets), it’s quite possibly the most convenient garment you’ll ever own. Forget your luggage and grab one.
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Saint Laurent
Sure, with its buttery-soft lambskin and silk lining, Saint Laurent’s all-leather “Saharienne” jacket wouldn’t be usable on an actual safari, but look: An ultra-luxurious take on a design championed by Yves himself in the 1960s, this jacket is classic, unpretentious, and incredibly glamorous, representing the French brand at its best.
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Marks & Spencer
At Marks & Spencer, you’ll find a safari jacket that’s both stylish and easy on the wallet. The British retail giant has put its own spin on this classic piece, doing away with the belt and instead adding some buttoned-up back vents so your jacket won’t get all rumpled when you sit down, whether you’re riding a horse in the desert or a motorbike around town.
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Barber
Slipping somewhere between Barbour’s signature waxed outerwear and the British brand’s motorcycle style, this four-pocket cotton design is the ideal modern take on a safari jacket: a drawstring waist lets you customize the fit, while a zip-and-button closure and buttoned throat latch mean you can rely on it when the weather turns bad.
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The History of the Safari Jacket
Imagine British soldiers in the Boer War in the late 19th century roaming the plains of South Africa unable to find the enemy. They were engaged in this new ungentlemanly form of fighting that they called “guerilla.” Of course, this was made worse by the fact that the British soldiers wore red tunics and that the Afrikaners, who recognized the advantage of blending into the landscape, wore khaki.
British commanders thought they were onto something, and soon after appeared the first British military uniform, a step closer to the beige, dark brown, and olive drab color scheme still in use today. The resulting khaki, four-pocket field jacket was adopted by hunters who needed to remain invisible to their prey.
A soldier in a safari jacket during the Second Boer War
In fact, the so-called safari jacket was born, and it remained an exclusive item worn by hunters, trackers, and kill-anything-that-moves die-hards like Ernest Hemingway and Teddy Roosevelt. Versions of the safari jacket were readopted by both the British and German armies fighting in Africa during World War II, but they were usually only worn on safari and looked wildly out of place anywhere else until the mid-1950s.
It was an idea Hollywood emphasized. Starting in the 1930s, the cinema decided that the continent’s exoticism was ripe for the next big boom in romantic, action-packed films, with actors like Clark Gable donning safari jackets on screen. Films like The Passage to Zanzibar (1941), Mogambo (1953), Safari (1956), and Hatari! (1962) followed, with actors like Clint Eastwood in White Hunter, Black Heart (1990), by which time it’s fair to say the safari jacket had slipped into “central casting” territory.
The safari jacket has appeared in many films, including Mogambo (1953) starring Clark Gable.
But before that, the safari jacket had also made its way into the world of fashion: in films, especially during the heady days of the 1960s, the safari jacket was commonly worn covered in dust and sweat, with a fashionable neckerchief, loose shorts and a pith helmet, but once you stopped sweating, the safari jacket came to be recognised as practical for city life.
In India, the climate has made the safari jacket the Indian answer to the business suit. Roger Moore wore a safari jacket in Octopussy (1983) because part of the film was set in India. But Moore also wore one as James Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and for the private island scenes in Moonraker (1979).
But Moore, or rather his costume team, were ahead of their time: He wore a safari jacket in The Saint, before not only Bond but also The Other Saint, and it was designers Ted Lapidus and Yves Saint Laurent who revolutionized the fashion of the safari jacket.
Yves Saint Laurent is credited with making the safari jacket a fashion item.
The former reinterpreted the jacket in the mid-1960s, while the latter first published its interpretation in 1967, and either they’ve had all the glory to themselves, or their timing was just right (though it was a one-off, made for a Vogue article about him the following year, that made the jacket a cult item at the time, and it hasn’t lost its appeal since).
