Spring Style Forecast

The Coach's Jacket

The lightweight layer you're going to want to own immediately.

Dickies, $40

For more than half a century, the coach's jacket—a slightly elongated nylon jacket—has been seen on everyone from major league coaches and little league players to early hip hop legends and everyday dudes. Like most pieces of streetwear, the roots are firmly planted in sportswear. But this versatile jacket eventually evolved, making its way from the sidelines to the sidewalk.

Lightweight and easygoing, the coach's jacket is an ideal outerwear option between seasons. Cut with a deceptively simple silhouette and finished with a shirt collar and snap buttons, you could say it's the American equivalent to the iconic French work jacket. The coach is, after all, the boss. The man with the plan. Why wouldn't you want to dress like one?

How You'll Wear It

Layer the lightweight jacket over a hoodie for added insulation on cooler days. When it's drizzling, allow the nylon outerwear to serve as a breathable alternative to your standard raincoat. It can add a shot of streetwear cool to your workaday button-downs and chinos or simply pull one on over your favorite weekend T-shirt and some worn-in jeans.

 

A Sampling

From left to right:
Publish, $159; RVCA, $65; Hasta, $475 and ASOS, $60

 

Back in the Day

Vince Lombardi sports his signature Green Bay Packers jacket in the 1960s.

 

Gym teachers across America eventually adopted the look.

 

Ice Cube wore a customized coach's jackets during his time in N.W.A.

Coming
Soon

On April 4, we'll launch Valet.'s 2016 Spring Buying Planner, stocked with hundreds of the season's best buys, in a range of prices.