Consider this a ringing endorsement or a whole-hearted, full-throttle recommendation, whichever you please: If you’re not familiar with all-American brand Buck Mason, you best get up to speed, and in a hurry. The brand is making some of the best men’s jackets — and plenty of other great menswear essentials — for any season, spring very much included. Buck Mason jackets blend all the qualities you need in a great coat, starting with functionality and form.
That’s just the tip of the menswear iceberg, as it were, because Buck Mason goes deep when it comes to crafting durable gear that perfectly blends modern style with throwback looks and plenty of utility. The brand’s roots extend back to Cleveland, inspired by old-school factories and American manufacturing (the brand’s USA-made T-shirts are a standout in particular). The brand now has well-appointed shops in New York, Austin and Los Angeles, each stocked with the kind of gear you can buy now and wear forever.
It’s fitting that the brand started with a focus on T-shirts with a neat curved hem, the kind made from soft fabrics in a range of neutral, pleasingly faded colors. It’s like a T-shirt you’ve had for years, right out oof the box, and that’s a great thing. Better still is the fact that Buck Mason jackets go so darn great with ’em — keep reading for proof of that.
Why We Love Buck Mason
To put it simply, Buck Mason is an easy brand to love. It’s a brand that can upgrade even the stuffiest of wardrobes, for starters, yet it’s all done in a way we can appreciate. You won’t find any outrageous patterns or over-the-top silhouettes, just classic and well-fitting style staples that Steve McQueen (then) and Daniel Craig (now) would seriously dig. To wit: Think of a perfect T-shirt, and a perfectly cut pair of jeans. In our minds, the brand you’re thinking of is Buck Mason, but again, that’s just the tip of the menswear iceberg.
We’re talking rugged-yet-buttery-soft leather jackets, a standout peacoat, field jackets aplenty and a proper supporting cast to build perfect outfits from head to toe. Buck Mason even makes a cool-as-heck field watch that’s practically made to be worn with the rest of its gear. But back to Buck Mason jackets, which, as we said before, represent some of the best outerwear on the market.
These are pieces that look great with just about anything you can dream up, and we mean that sincerely. Want to wear a thermal henley and black jeans to the bar Throw on a Buck Mason leather jacket. Need to look sharp for the office? A Buck Mason Oxford shirt is a solid bet, but you’re going to want to accent it with a Buck Mason chore coat (more on that one below).
And if you fancy really going all-in and getting a rugged work jacket for cold early mornings in the yard or the garage, Buck Mason certainly has what you’re looking for, and we can guarantee that. TO say the brand is dependable and always reliable is an understatement, as it were.
There’s plenty to keep in mind when shopping for leather jackets and more from Buck Mason, so let’s dive into what you’re going to need to know.
What To Look For In a Versatile Jacket for Men
- Durability: As with any staple item in your wardrobe, be it an Oxford shirt (hey, Buck Mason makes those, as well!) or a pair of well-cut denim, you want one with the kind of production value to stand the test of time. Zippers and buttons should be sturdy, the fabric should be a good weight (that goes for a leather jacket or a wool peacoat), and the whole thing should just feel sturdy as can be.
- Value: When we say value, we’re talking about going for more than just the cheapest jacket on a given Web site. With a brand like Buck Mason, you’re spending a bit more than normal, but that’s perfectly OK (the brand’s jackets and overshirts range from $125 to $495). It’s a step up in price, but it’ll pay off with years of wearability — that’s what value means to us.
- Utility: When searching for your next rugged jacket, you want one that you can actually, y’know, make good use of. So, the best jackets in your wardrobe need, well, working pockets, durable construction, functional and sturdy buttons, the whole nine yards. You’re going to want a jacket that’s as useful to hold your keys and your pocketbook at a brewery as it is when you need to hit the open road or even, dare we say, knock out any early morning project. Buck Mason jackets can do that for you.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are our favorite Buck Mason jackets to buy right now.
The 8 Best Jackets to Buy Now from Buck Mason
Buck Mason Bruiser Moto Jacket
If there’s one thing Buck Mason is perhaps most well-known for, it’s got to be leather jackets of the hard-wearing classic and cool, ever-so-slightly edgy variety. The Bruiser Moto Jacket is a prime example of this, with a badass moto silhouette, a slim fit and tough-yet-supple lambskin leather. It’ll break in handsomely over the years, to say the least.
Buck Mason Dry Waxed Canvas Highland Jacket
When we talked about needing a jacket that brings some serious utility to the table, this is the kind of jacket we had in mind. Packed with plentiful pockets and sturdy, chore coat design — plus a warm blanket flannel lining for chilly days and nights — this tough-as-nails Buck Mason jacket is the one you’re going to find yourself reaching for day in and day out. Luckily for you, it’s made of a hard-wearing waxed canvas for maximum performance in windy, rainy weather.
Buck Mason Denim Blanket Trucker Jacket
The trucker jacket gets a badass upgrade here (that’s a phrase we don’t throw around lightly) with a warm blanket flannel lining and the same hard-nosed design you know and love from Buck Mason. Or rather, if you don’t know it yet, you soon will. We love the trucker jacket design — note the handy button chest pockets — and the fact that you can wear this jacket with, say, a Buck Mason henley and slim black jeans without missing a beat. To us, this is going to be your go-to bar outfit this fall and winter.
Buck Mason Felted Chore Coat
Buck Mason places a high premium on functionality and style throughout its entire line, and that’s important when it comes to pieces like this chore coat in particular. Made from boiled Merino wool (which itself is anti-microbial and surprisingly lightweight), this jacket is more than just a blazer, and it’s more than just a chore coat. Crucially, it’s got a hybrid look that allows it to sit nicely in the middle of the work-and-play Venn diagram. What we mean to say is, you can wear this jacket on a Zoom call as readily as you can wear it to grab an Old Fashioned on a blustery night.
Buck Mason Herringbone CPO Jacket
As is said in the James Bond classic Skyfall, “sometimes, the old ways are the best.” How the heck does that relate to this durable CPO jacket? Well, it’s modeled after the style worn by Chief Petty Officers in the U.S. Navy, and that means it can more than handle the demands of your modern-day dressing. The wool exterior is soft and warm, while the nylon ripstop lining harkens back to an age when warmth on the high seas was needed at all times. Nowadays, it’ll work quite nicely for early morning strolls and brewery garden beers alike.
Buck Mason Bunker Twill Field Jacket
Is this thing an overshirt? A field jacket? A nice hybrid of both? See, Buck Mason specializes, as we’ve said before, in that ideal mix of utility and style, and this field jacket has it in spades. The functionality is here — check out the useful, oversized chest pockets — and the style is cool, throwback-inspired and made with military heritage in mind. Wear this one with light wash jeans and canvas high-top sneakers all spring and summer.
Buck Mason Felted Rally Bomber Jacket
Shopping around the excellent selection of Buck Mason jackets, it’s hard not to feel like your in a time machine back to another era, when retro menswear staples we’re still the name of the game. Take this bomber jacket, made to mimic flight jackets of the time nad yet done up in a wool fabric that reminds us of an old-school varsity jacket. It’s a jacket made to be noticed, so let it do the talking by teaming it with a clean, classic henley and slim black jeans.
Buck Mason Denim Two Pocket Field Shirt
See, here we are again with another option that toes the line between jacket and overshirt, in the best way possible. In this instance, Buck Mason has turned the same light wash denim from your favorite jeans into a cool overshirt that looks especially great when worn with a simple white tee, slim grey jeans and tan wingtip boots. Talk about a terrific blend of high-low style, right? Yessir.