How to choose a safari jacket
In Baku in July a classic jacket often feels like too much. The air is humid, and fifteen minutes on the street at midday are enough to turn every virtue of wool into a burden. Yet a business meeting, a lunch or an evening invitation still rule out going without a jacket altogether.
The safari jacket was conceived for exactly this gap: heavier than a shirt, lighter than a classic jacket. It can be worn daily through the warm half of the year without conceding anything in shape or in taste.
Its real strength lies in the construction. A safari jacket is not merely pockets and a belt — what makes it right is the softness of the shoulder, the absence of lining and the weight of the cloth.
What a safari jacket is
The origins of the safari jacket are utilitarian: a cotton jacket for long walks in a hot climate, with patch pockets and a belt that gathers the waist. Over the years the garment moved from travelling kit into the city wardrobe, keeping most of the details that were useful on the road.
Today's safari jacket stands between a classic jacket and a travelling jacket. Its lapel is a jacket lapel and the fit is built to measure, yet the pockets are applied on top and there is almost no fixing structure inside.
These features make the safari jacket a casual garment, but it looks good not because it is light, rather because it is properly cut. A badly made safari jacket reads as workwear at once.
So when choosing the model, look not at the number of pockets but at three things: the cloth, the construction and the shoulder line.
Cloth: weight, weave and colour
The most logical cloths for a safari jacket are cotton, linen and their blends with wool. Pure linen is the coolest, yet it creases quickly; creasing is its nature and it is wrong to treat it as a fault. Cotton behaves more calmly, holds its shape and takes colour well.
Wool is possible too, but the yarn should be high-twist: such cloth lets air through and stands away from the body. For a Baku summer this is often a more practical choice than linen.
Weight is measured in grams per metre of cloth (g/m). For a safari jacket the range of roughly 250–330 g/m works: lighter and the garment will not hold its shape, heavier and the whole point of the model is lost.
In colour the tradition is sand beige, olive and navy. These three tones work with wool trousers as well as with plain cotton ones. In the Loro Piana and Drago collections, light cotton and linen versions of these shades appear every season.
Construction: unlined and soft
The internal structure of a safari jacket differs from that of a classic jacket. A full canvas is not needed here; a thin layer is usually kept across the chest and the rest is left open. This lightens the garment and makes it follow the movement of the body.
The lining is either removed altogether or kept only in the shoulder and the upper sleeve. In the unlined version one can see how the seams are finished inside, so this model hides no handwork — the edges must be closed neatly, the seam allowances folded and pressed flat.
The shoulder is built soft, with a thin pad or none at all. In a safari jacket the shoulder does not correct the body, it follows it. That difference defines the character of the model.
Such a construction is more sensitive to measurements. Lining and canvas soften small discrepancies; without them every error shows directly, which is why a light jacket in fact asks for more attentive fittings.
Pockets, belt and buttons
A classic safari jacket has four patch pockets: two on the chest and two below. If the pockets have a bellows pleat the jacket looks fuller; flat-applied pockets read more quietly and more urban. The flaps usually fasten with a button.
The belt is made of the same cloth, sometimes with the buckle covered in it as well. Its task is to mark the waistline, not to pull it tight; a cinched belt turns the jacket into a sack.
For buttons, horn is the natural choice: the tone is easy to match to the cloth and the surface does not go dull with time, it stays alive. Epaulettes on the shoulders are not obligatory — they strengthen the military side of the model, and not everyone wants that.
What to wear it with
The simplest combination: a safari jacket, light wool or cotton trousers and a plain shirt. A tie is superfluous here — this garment follows a different dress code, not formal but neatly everyday.
In footwear, loafers and derbies in soft leather work well. A heavy brogue argues with the lightness of the safari jacket.
In accessories a sense of proportion matters: the garment is detailed enough on its own, so beyond a pocket square and a watch it asks for little.
Measurements and the order
A safari jacket gains when it is made to measure, because the whole effect rests on the fit: the width of the shoulder, the length of the sleeve, the place where the waist is gathered. A made-to-measure version is possible, as is one made entirely by hand; the difference lies in the amount of internal work.
At Atelier Baku 1984 a safari jacket is made after the measurements are taken, with fittings, and the making usually takes up to four weeks. The cloth is chosen at the first meeting — most of the remaining decisions depend on it.