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Used to be, there were only three kinds of people who would ever be caught dead in a men’s fleece jacket: crunchy climber types with a dozen REI stickers plastered on their Nalgenes; Bay Area startup wonks who love the feel of their Allbirds against the pedals of their Teslas; and finance bros whose personal style never outgrew their frat house days. All of that changed a few years ago, when swiftly and suddenly—perhaps prompted by an intrinsic fear that the world was ending—the entire fashion world started dressing like they were halfway through a weeklong canoe trip in Maine. Hiking sneakers trekked their way onto red carpets, technical puffers posted up front row at Paris Fashion Week, and best of all, cozy fleece zip-ups became acceptable non-dad attire.
That’s great news for you, because bundling up in a fuzzy, furry fleece is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself in the depths of a long winter. They are impenetrably warm, impossibly comfy, and bring more texture to a single fit than all the cords in your closet combined. And with seemingly every outdoors outfitter, designer label, and underground streetwear brand on the planet getting into the men’s fleece jacket game, you’ve got more shaggy options at your fingertips than ever before. Here are 19 of the fleeces that matter most.
The Best Men’s Fleece Jacket, Period
Patagonia invented fleece as we know it. The mountaineering OGs were the first to bring synthetic pile into outdoors wear in the ‘70s, the first to fix its problematic pilling by developing its signature Synchilla fabric in the ‘80s, and they dropped the first fleece jacket ever to reach icon status later that decade. The Retro-X is the Air Jordan 3 of fluffy zip-ups: instantly recognizable, eternally in style, still up to snuff performance-wise decades after its release. The shaggy sherpa exterior repels moisture and dries in a snap, the mesh lining blocks wind and controls odors, and both are built from 50% recycled materials. If you’re a first time fleecer, this is the only place to start.
The Best Extremely-Right-Now Fleece Jacket
Rising NYC designer Sandy Liang is a big reason why we’re even talking about fleece in a fashion context. Back in 2018, her signature fuzzy jackets—ostensibly designed for women—became a crossover hit among menswear aficionados thanks to its oversized fit, offbeat details like a neon lining and leopard print trim, and, as one GQ editor put it, its “extremely pettable” outer. Liang’s dropped a handful of tasty new fleece silhouettes every season since, but if you ask us, there’s still no topping the original.
The Best Fleece Jacket for Crushing a Zoom Meeting
Cardigans were already ascendent in the culture during the Before Times, but they’ve become even more essential in the WFH era. And it’s tough to imagine a more perfect cardigan for our Zoom-addled age than this one from Japanese prep masters Beams: the vertical stripes are smart enough to impress your coworkers; the fuzzy fleece outer is cozy enough for a day spent answering emails from the couch.
The Best High-Key Luxe Fleece Jacket
For a high fashion flip on an outdoorsy staple, Loewe’s fleece jacket is surprisingly true to the source material—from the high collar to the thumb loops you’d find on plenty of real-deal performance gear at REI. But the sharply tailored cut, leather zip pulls, and painterly chest patch are all dead giveaways of its provenance (and the according price tag).
The Best Throwback Fleece Jacket
If you were a child in the mid-1990s, and it was a brisk November evening at the playground, you were probably wearing a fleece. And your fleece, like your Spacemaker pencil box, had to be doused in the blindingest tones possible. This 18 East banger would’ve crowned you king of the jungle gym back then—and you’ll still look plenty fly in it right now. The recycled deep pile fleece comes in a striking Charlotte Hornets-y palette, and the whole thing is elevated by a meticulously hand-printed corduroy chest pocket. To really bring the recess vibes home, don’t forget to cop the matching pants.
The Best Fleece Jacket for Layering Up
One thing fleece isn’t always great for? Layering under anything but the roomiest of technical shells. This collarless Veilance joint, though, will slide right into all manner of multifaceted fits, thanks to a slimmer layer of wool fleece that’ll still pack in the heat with the best of ’em.
The Best (Updated!) Old-School Fleece Jacket
Lady White Co. specializes in good, hardy basics made the old-fashioned way—like tubular-knit tees and open-bottom sweatpants—and their freshly-dropped fleece jackets might be their best reinterpretation yet. Crafted in LA from Italian high-pile fleece, it boasts the kind of boxy relaxed cut you’d expect to find on a vintage grail from the ’80s, only enhanced with a few modern conveniences like thermal-lined pockets and flat-seam construction.
12 More Men’s Fleece Jackets We Love
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