FROM OUR NOVEMBER ISSUE: THE SHACKET GETS DRESSED UP

The entire MR team is proud to present our November 2023 issue. Haven’t gotten your copy, yet? Feel free to page through a digital copy at Issuu, and we’ll continue to post individual stories on  MR-mag.com. If you haven’t been getting MR in print, be sure that you are on our mailing list for future issues by completing  this form.

I first saw the velvet shacket in November of 2022 when I was at the Peerless showroom pulling looks for the January 2023 issue. It was presented to me as “something we are working on for next year that we think will be big.” In hindsight, I was witnessing the creation of an entirely new classification, which in the menswear world is a rare occurrence considering the sometimes narrow codes under which the industry operates.
Formal Casual is in itself an oxymoron, but it accurately describes this new hybrid, which takes the casual shacket and dresses it up in a luxe velvet. Instead of the usual quilted or fleece lining, it receives a silky watercolor print. Iridescent buttons replace a stud set and suddenly you have a new evening option for men.
In the new post-pandemic work world, this is the perfect piece to have on hand for the office holiday party. Just pop it over a turtleneck or premium tee with dark pants or jeans and polished black shoes/boots and you’re good to go to any but the most formal of venues. Don’t forget to bring it home with you to wear over joggers for all the holiday open houses that eat up our December weekends.
Finally, we must acknowledge that “shacket” (a portmanteau of shirt and jacket) is perhaps one of the most unfortunate and disliked monikers in the menswear vocabulary. It beats out (barely) the other option of “jirt” but can’t we come up with a better name? We challenge you readers to send us your ideas, the best of which we will use and promote with gratitude.