The Harrington jacket gets its name from Rodney Harrington, Ryan O’Neal’s character in the American soap opera Peyton Place, who wore one on screen in the 1960s. What it doesn’t get from that association is any credit for Baracuta having made it in Manchester since 1937, a full quarter-century before the name stuck. Steve McQueen wore one. Elvis Presley wore one. The Fred Perry crowd adopted it so thoroughly it became shorthand for a particular kind of studied nonchalance.
The functional brief has never changed because it was solved correctly the first time. The two front pockets were sized to fit two golf balls; the umbrella back yoke channels rain away from the neck; the Fraser tartan lining is now cut in Coolmax, which breathes better than the original. The water-resistant outer is still the same harrington silhouette: short, clean, mid-weight enough to layer under or over depending on the season.
Made in England. Available in a range of colours. Navy remains the correct starting point.
£399 — baracuta.com