Brooklyn Beckham Knows the Value of Having a Favorite Jacket

If you’ve seen The Thomas Crown Affair, Rebel Without a Cause, or King Creole, you are familiar with the Harrington jacket—and its understated swagger. But there’s also a good chance your slightly less rich-and-dangerous grandfather or family accountant also wears one, and this can change its vibe a touch. So if it’s been a minute since you’ve glimpsed the Harrington with something other than double-pleated slacks, orthopedic shoes, and a flat cap, allow Brooklyn Beckham to course correct a little bit.

Young British citizen and college student Beckham first wore the coat to his mom’s runway show during London Fashion Week over the weekend. A classic tan style from Burberry, he dressed it up with nice black pants, and yes, they were pleated, but they were also cropped and tapered in true mod-kid fashion. After that he layered on all manner of cool-kid accessories: lace-up boots, a cluster of keys on a bright yellow carabiner, a too-long belt, and all the rest. A little bit '90s Johnny Depp, a little bit Steve McQueen, it was an excellent front-row flex.

The next night, mom out of sight, Beckham wore the jacket again, this time with considerably less polish. Instead of dress pants, he wore work pants; instead of boots he wore some destroyed Vans; and instead of a button-down shirt he wore a plain white crew-neck. The jacket was open this time, and a gold chain was dangling around his neck. The Harrington is a pretty conservative outerwear flex, generally—but in this context, it looked as scrappy as a 20-year-old trucker jacket. This is a bit how James Dean wore it back in the day, but with some skateboard-king scrappiness mixed in.

So, see, the Harrington is really what you make of it. Go ahead and show gramps how it’s done.