I make no secret of being a fan of the understated elegance and innovation of tiny London menswear innovator SEH Kelly. In fact, one of my most read posts concerns the pilgrimage I made to their tiny workshop during the Spring of 2013. At the time I was the proud owner of a Mk2 Tour jacket, resplendent in mohair and green corduroy.
The Mk2 Tour jacket, in green corduroy with mohair collar
This time round the name remains the same, but the jacket is quite dramatically different. No subtly evolutionary touches here, but a total remake.
In fact, the only key design point that remains from the Mk2 version is the built in strap that gives the jacket it’s name. I.e. if you’re going walkabout and find the jacket is surplus to your rain-shielding or cold-resisting requirements, you can hang it by the straps on your back. I’ve seen this described as hanging it like a backpack on your back, but anyone familar with wearing a backpack will see that draping your jacket in such a manner bears more likeness to wearing a cape than strapping on a backpack. In any case, the Mk3 version has removable straps, which means a certain vocal owner of the Mk2 has been heard, as the straps on the previous version could be difficult to get to lie well inside the jacket. Well done!
No mohair on the collar of this one either, this time it’s corduroy on the collar and on the inside of the pocket flaps. The pockets are also decently large and also allow you to pop your hands in from the sides to warm cold fingers. The outer jacket itself is Ventile, which bodes well for weather resistance. Inside there is a nice wool lining, so you should be dry, windproof and smugly snug.
And the best part? It’s only 325 pounds, which to me seems like quite the bargain. More eloquent prose and interesting stuff over on their website at sehkelly.com
I prefer the collar and pockets of the Mk2. The Mk3 soesn’t tempt me in the same way.