I don’t know about you, but the best menswear essentials in my rotation tend to strike the right balance between refined and rugged, with historical and functional roots as well as modern-day good looks. It sounds like a high bar to clear, but that’s where designers like Billy Reid enter the equation.

The Alabama-based designer has a healthy respect for utilitarian classics, like the seafaring peacoat — the same peacoat worn by James Bond, mind you — as well as the denim shirt and the henley.

Reid makes all manner of refined menswear, mind you, but there are times where Billy Reid style staples veer ever so slightly from the norm — like the Billy Reid Baffle Shirt Jacket, a tough piece as fit for the field as it is for a round of beers at your local watering hole.

In every single stitch and every single detail, the Billy Reid Baffle Shirt Jacket is a step up from your typical puffer jacket and even some of the best shirt jackets on the market. For one thing, baffle fabric (a nylon -spandex blend for comfort and stretch) gives this hard-wearing shacket a water-resistant finish, while channel weaving gives it more durability and a more streamlined look than traditional puffer jackets.

Plus, the Billy Reid Baffle Shirt Jacket comes in a signature Billy’s Brown color — a perfectly versatile shade meant to be styled with shades of olive, indigo, black, charcoal and even darker shades of brown.

Like signature Billy Reid denim shirts and outerwear, antique brass snaps finish off the Billy Reid Baffle Shirt Jacket in rugged fashion, whether layered over a simple off-white tee or paired with a thermal henley on chilly winter days.

Make note of carefully crafted details like a matchbox pocket, along with its flattering slim-straight fit — layer with care, wear the Billy Reid Baffle Shirt Jacket as often as possible, and use it when you want a more casually rugged outer layer than your traditional peacoat, for instance. Billy Reid is on a mission to take over your wardrobe, and it looks like the brand is certainly succeeding.