The Best Shirt Jackets Warm You Up Without Making You Overheat

For crisp mornings and cool nights, for falling snow, and for changing seasons — a shirt jacket. It’s a staple that can stand alone as a light top layer, or function as a stylish mid-layer beneath a heavier coat when winter arrives. Typically cut from either corduroy, flannel, fleece, twill or wool, this style — also known as an overshirt — blends the shape of a basic shirt and the sensibility of something far more substantial.

What Is a Shirt Jacket?

A shirt jacket resembles your usual shirt but feels more substantial, offering more warmth when the weather calls for it. Truly! It’s that simple. But how each shirt jacket delivers the extra warmth differs: Some opt for quilting and down, while others are simply heavier and made from wool. There are oversized options and tailored-fitting ones, plus ones that lean a little bit harder into outerwear aesthetics.

Shirt Jacket vs. Overshirt

Also, to clear up the common shirt jacket, shacket, overshirt debate: They’re all the same. A shirt jacket is literally what the name implies, while a shacket is just those two words put together. An overshirt achieves the same end goal, but with perhaps a slightly slimmer frame.

How to Pick the Right One

You shouldn’t expect your shirt jacket to sub seamlessly in place for a heavier parka. Never. But you rightfully should expect to be able to wear it and it only in the tail end of winter or the beginnings of fall. If you opt for a lighter one — meaning one that’s basically a shirt but called a shirt jacket — you could get away with layering it in the warmer months (when the evenings, at a crisp 60, feel cool).

Steer clear of super insulated ones because at that point you’re better off upgrading to something more substantial. The shirt silhouette doesn’t prove as flattering when puffed to its limits. Just get a puffer jacket. I recommend picking something flashier than your normal shirt, by way of texture, color or pattern. Save the stale blues and crisp whites for your Oxford shirts and other button-downs.

How to Style a Shirt Jacket

There are few pieces easy to pair than a shirt jacket, any good stylist would argue — and that’s why almost every brand sells one. The simple style takes the foundation set by a standard shirt and expands upon it, enhancing it until it is fit to be worn on its own, far beyond when warmer months end.

Most shirt jackets are made from materials other than brushed cotton, meaning they’re often more textural, typically warmer and significantly bulkier, too, because they’re designed to be worn like a jacket — hence the name. To really shine in a shirt jacket, keep it simple. Pair it with a plain T-shirt, either short-sleeve or long-sleeve, and some faded vintage Levi’s. Just look at Brad Pitt, who went viral for this look in 2021. Even though his shirt costs $2,000, it’s a good formula to follow.

Outerknown

Best Overall Shirt Jacket

Outerknown Blanket Shirt

• $148.00 at Outerknown

Made from organic cotton heavyweight will, this shirt is sturdy, soft and breathable. It has two button-flap chest pockets and natural nut buttons. Plus, if heather grey doesn’t hit the spot, this style comes in over a dozen colors. It’s a classic silhouette Outerknown will never quit making.

Nordstrom

Best Upgrade Shirt Jacket

Wax London Whiting Overshirt

• $210.00 at Nordstrom

Wax London makes its popular Whiting Shirt in many, many different colors. This is the classic Marine Beatnik option, a mix of cream and navy recycled, French-made fibers. It takes cues from classic flannel shirts but proves far heftier.

Read more about Wax London’s Whiting Overshirt.

Everlane

Best Affordable Shirt Jacket

Everlane Heavyweight Overshirt

• $78.00 at Everlane

Available in five colors, Everlane’s 8 oz cotton twill overshirt proves two times heavier than their standard cotton Oxford. Two flap pockets add texture to the front and both standard length and cuffs skew classic.

Huckberry

Best Down Shirt Jacket

Crescent Down Works Down Shirt

• $598.00 at Huckberry

Crescent Down Works’ Down Shirt borrows the components of a shirt and applies them to a more traditional checkered down jacket. That means this has a very clear collar, one chest pocket, albeit with a button, long sleeves and a curved hem. It’s a shirt, but with down.

Huckberry

Best Lightweight Shirt Jacket

Proof Moonweight Puffer Shirt Jacket

• $198.00 at Huckberry

Proof’s popular Moonweight Puffer Shirt Jacket is one of the lightest jackets I’ve ever held. It’s almost unnoticeable on, making it the ideal top layer when temperatures suddenly dip. Made from nylon infused with graphene, this jacket can compact down into almost nothing, making it easy to pack in a bag or even a big pocket.

Billy Reid

Most Versatile Overshirt

Billy Reid Summer Fleece Knit Jacket

• $10.00 at Billy Reid
  $298.00 (97% off)

Dubbed a summer fleece, Billy Reid’s overshirt of the same name marries the softness of your favorite sweatshirt with the versatility of a summer overshirt. It’s soft, slightly stretchy and fairly warm, making it ideal for breezy beach nights, post-surf shelter or even fall or winter layering.

Courtesy

Marine Layer Brushed Stretch Twill Overshirt

• $110.00 at marinelayer.com

A fan favorite amongst my friends, Marine Layer’s Brushed Twill Overshirt comes embedded with a bit of stretch for improved mobility, but the stretch isn’t noticeable enough to make this option feel particularly sporty or performance-oriented. It’s a standard fare overshirt with few frills, but that’s OK.

It has two chest pockets, luxe-looking buttons, a slightly curved hem and a mid-sized collar, which won’t stand up like a leather jacket’s would, but can be popped when it’s cold nonetheless.

Huckberry

Best Waxed Shirt Jacket

Flint and Tinder Quilted Waxed Shirt Jacket

• $288.00 at Huckberry

Like I said, it shouldn’t be an expectation that your shirt jacket comes waterproof. However, Flint and Tinder’s made your ask a reality with its Quilted Waxed Shirt Jacket. Warmth is afforded by the quilting while rain is deterred by the waxed canvas. Plus, this style comes in six different colors.

Buck Mason

Best Wool Shirt Jacket

Buck Mason Wool Plaid CPO Jacket

• $248.00 at Buck Mason

Though there are flannel jackets, Buck Mason’s Plaid CPO Jacket is a true flannel shirt jacket, a lighter option that won’t make you sweat too much. It’s still plenty warm, but it wears more like your favorite one, albeit with a slick liner inside for easily layering.

L.L. Bean

Todd Snyder Shirt Jacket

• $114.00 at L.L.Bean
  $149.00 (23% off)

From Todd Snyder’s second collab with L.L. Bean, this wool shirt jacket balances the weight of a coat with the softness of a fall flannel. It’s fuller-cut for a more relaxed fit, but it’s far from an overcoat. It can be worn as a middle layer, despite its heft.

Read more about Todd Snyder’s L.L. Bean collab.

Clothing

Best Oversized Flannel Jacket

Percival Blanket Overshirt

• $130.00 at percivalclo.com
  $330.00 (61% off)

Percival might be the best looking in this bunch (in my opinion). It’s just pretty expensive for an overshirt. Sure, there’s inherent versatility embedded in the style — you can wear it in place of a blazer, with a T-shirt underneath, as a layer in winter, as a standalone jacket with a sweater stuffed inside — but it’s still a standard shirt, upgraded. But upgraded it is: It’s made in London from textured Italian wool.

Duluth Trading

Best Made Co Wool Flannel Overshirt

• $120.00 at Duluth Trading

Remember Best Made? Maybe? Well they were acquired by Duluth Trading Co. in 2020, and the brand’s back with most of its major highlights intact. They still make their signature beanies, and this wool flannel overshirt is a take on one of the label’s earliest designs. It’s made from wool-blend flannel with a zip front and two chest pockets. Pick from this dark blue or a bright red.

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