It’s worn by everyone from French mechanics to Harry Styles. What is it about the chore jacket that makes it so enduring – and can a modern version ever be truly authentic?
Look around you and before too long you are likely to spot a chore jacket. I saw a particularly fine example on a dad last weekend at a heritage railway. As warm days stretch into still-cold evenings, beer gardens are full of them. They are worn down allotments and in towns, and I have a few in my own wardrobe. Because what began as everyday workwear for French factory employees more than a century ago has today become a wardrobe stalwart. You can even find chore jackets in the supermarket, with Sainsbury’s Tu and Asda’s George offering the cheapest – the simple design lends itself to mass production.
They march across my Instagram feed, from workwear-inspired brands LF Markey, Folk or Uskees, down through high street stores such as Zara and John Lewis, as well as at hyper-expensive label The Row – your French machinist might have muttered a piquant “dis donc!” at its chore, with pockets too close together and a £1,500 price tag. The jacket has been worn by the likes of Brooklyn Beckham and Hailey Bieber, while Harry Styles is often seen in a version by SS Daley, the label inspired by British class tensions (and in which he has a financial stake).
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