The Best Harrington Jackets Are as Classic as They Come

Few jackets have managed to cross as many style tribes—and decades—as the Harrington. In fact, if you were to enroll in Classic Menswear 101, the Harrington jacket would be a prerequisite. The transitional season staple—a favorite of Elvis, James Dean, Steve McQueen, and every member of The Clash—is constantly found across lookbooks and style Instagram accounts, because it does so many things so well. Water-resistant and pocket-forward, it’s incredibly practical, but the almost-cropped length—and popped collar, if you so dare—is also a style swerve that makes every wearer feel one dose cooler than they did before. No wonder it’s been embraced over the decades by everyone from golfers to preppies to A-Listers and punks.

The funniest thing about the Harrington? It wasn’t originally called a Harrington at all. The jacket earned its now-iconic name thanks to Rodney Harrington, a character from the 1960s TV show Peyton Place, who wore one so often that the name just stuck. The original was called the “G9,” cooked up by Baracuta in 1937 in rainy old Manchester, England, as a golf jacket—the “G” stands for “golf.” The idea was to make a garment that could take a beating from British weather without cramping your backswing. The result—a lightweight, functional, and surprisingly versatile item—is the kind of spring jacket that makes you wonder why you'd bother with anything else.

That Baracuta is still available almost a century later, and still excellent. But if you’re looking to broaden your horizons, today’s Harrington jackets aren’t resting on their laurels. Below, the standout versions worth adding to your spring rotation before the season’s over.

• Best Harrington Overall: Baracuta G9 Harrington Jacket, $449
• Best Modern Harrington: COS Water-Repellent Harrington, $250
• Best Budget Harrington: Levi’s Harrington, $120
• Best Suede Harrington: J.Crew Suede Harrington Jacket, $789
• Best Harrington for Fashion Guys: Carter Young Western Harrington, $595

The classic Baracuta G9 golf jacket is as British as beans on toast. This is the original Harrington, the jacket you picture when you think of Steve McQueen or Paul Newman, and the brand that insider-y menswear favorites like Engineered Garments and Noah have collaborated with when they wanted to make Harringtons of their own. Baracuta got its start making raincoats for other brands—Burberry included—before branching out with its own designs, and the G9 is still made in England today. Crafted from a water-resistant cotton-poly blend, and featuring the signature Fraser tartan lining and iconic umbrella back yoke (which keeps rain off your back while letting air circulate) it really doesn't get any better than this.

A worthy refresh of the heritage classics, this Harrington from COS strikes a smart balance of polished and sporty, at a reasonable price point for the fabric’s considerable quality. It’s water-repellent and keeps all the classic details that define the style: a standing collar, ribbed cuffs and just the right amount of attitude. Offered in beige or a deep navy, both of which should pair with basically everything in your closet, this is the minimalist’s Harrington–no fluff, just clean, modern style. It does what a good staple should do: Make you look good without causing a scene.

For $120, Levi’s delivers the full Harrington look without breaking the bank—and even while adding some stealthy details, like a Western yoke at the back, and flattering black colorway. It’s got most of the key Harrington signifiers, from a double-button tab collar to an elasticated waistband, and while it’s not water-resistant like some other options, it makes up for it with a durable cotton fabric that’ll dry off in no time, and keep you protected from any unforeseen raindrops. If you’re after the classic Harrington aesthetic without spending a lot, this one gets the job done and then some.

A luxe spin on the traditional that will upgrade everything else you’re wearing, J.Crew’s suede Harrington trades out the weatherproof nylon for something softer, weightier, more refined. Still cut with all the classic details, this is a jacket that’s more Milan cafe than rainy-day utility—though honestly, rain-aged suede is an elite-tier style swerve. With jeans and loafers or chinos and sneakers, this is an endlessly wearable style that’s more rebel with a cause.

Carter Young—the London-based designer by way of the Midwest—has been really hitting its stride with pieces that are both directional and deeply wearable. This Harrington is a great example, a reimagined classic with a Western twist. It comes in a rich khaki tone with Western-style raglan sleeves, a yoked back vent, and a cropped fit that hits right at the belt. Just as sharp with Wranglers as it is with chinos, you’ll be ready to hit the dusty trail—or just go out for a pint.

Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.

Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.

We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.

To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.

We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.

Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.

Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there's bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ's testing process here.)