The Thursday Buy: This Billy Reid Hunting Jacket is a Rugged Outerwear Upgrade This Winter

Billy Reid Hunting Jacket.

One of the things I love the most as I scour the market for the best winter style essentials? That’d be stumbling upon a piece that calls to mind vintage style inspiration while leaning heavily on rugged, modern fabrication — talk about quite the combination, right?

And one of the best field jackets certainly qualifies as a surefire seasonal style upgrade, and the Billy Reid number shown at the top of the page checks those boxes.

It’s inspired by classic hunting and field jackets as well as a piece sourced from Billy Reid’s 2022 menswear collection — not exactly a massive throwback, to be sure, but one worth your time and hard-earned cash from an acclaimed menswear designer, yes? The Billy Reid Hunting Jacket toasts 20 years of the famed designer’s namesake brand, one I’ve long admired –I have a feeling I’d love the brand just as much even if they didn’t make James Bond’s favorite peacoat, but that pedigree certainly doesn’t hurt.

The Billy Reid Hunting Jacket boasts a stand-up, moleskin-lined collar for protection from the elements, plus an ultra-sturdy, hard-working Halley Stevensons waxed cotton exterior. Add in the onion fabric liner (in signature Billy Reid colors), and you’ve got a weather-ready jacket built for just about anything — and when it comes to Halley Stevensons, the Scottish company has been delivering some of the toughest fabrication on the market for generations.

Two exterior hip hand-warmer pockets are joined by exterior hip flap patch pockets for your everyday carry essentials, while hits of golden-brown detailing (another Billy Reid signature) cement the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket as both a rugged, modern classic and a highly functional-yet-stylish casual jacket.

Billy Reid seems to suggest pairing the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket with a richly crafted shawl collar sweater and wool trousers, and this sturdy waxed jacket would also wear more than fashionably with dark blue indigo jeans, trusty broken-in leather boots and a thermal henley — casually rugged style at its finest, at least in my experience.

While the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket isn’t nearly as refined as other Billy Reid men’s outerwear — including the brand’s selection of tasteful wool overcoats and the utterly iconic Billy Reid Bond Peacoat — this handsome jacket delivers the sort of go-between, everyday style well-suited for blustery, brisk days aplenty.

And although the Billy Reid Hunting Jacket isn’t cheap (it’ll run you $698), there’s an investment-level quality to this piece — and other Billy Reid menswear selections, of course. If that sounds like something you can get on board with, then you’ve found your new go-to casual winter coat.

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