The collegiate classic is a staple of the season.

It’s true that some classics never die. But in the past few years, designers have seemed particularly keen on revisiting the sportswear of yesteryear. The current popularity of the varsity jacket – a poppered, collarless blouson, typically with a striped, ribbed waistband and cuffs, and often with contrast leather sleeves – is testimony to this fact. Today, if you’re in the market for a varsity jacket, there’s an enviable selection to choose from, whether it’s one of Gucci’s lovingly patched and embroidered variations or a more traditional example from Californian brand Golden Bear. Having picked one up, though, how do you wear it? Thanks to the ever-finer line between the worlds of fashion and sportswear, there are several approaches you can take. Scroll down for three.

Saint Laurent’s varsity jacket is a brilliant example of a simple design executed with the utmost attention to detail. Thanks to its clean silhouette and graphic stripes at the shoulder line, it has a crisp, almost smart appearance. But it’s also understated and relatively classic – in fact, this is a piece that continues to resurface in the Parisian brand’s collections, season after season. You can dress it up by keeping the rest of your outfit monochrome, opting for a pair of black wool trousers and some well-polished Derby shoes.

Jeans, Converse high-tops, a chambray shirt, a varsity jacket – they’re all items that have been available and widely worn since the middle of the 20th century, and show no signs of making an exit from the day-to-day male wardrobe. In short, this combination just works, and will continue to do so – wear it for a casual weekend encounter and enjoy everyone saying, “Oh, doesn’t he look just like James Dean!”

These days you can guarantee that, if several designers are producing a particular thing, one of them will have indulged in a bit of one-upmanship and produced its own, world-beating, ultra-refined version. Such is the case with this varsity jacket from Italian brand Tod’s, which takes collegiate style and turns it into something altogether more grown-up. Rendered in navy suede, this is more worldly than its rivals and will look good with a pair of white jeans – a favourite among our Mediterranean friends. Add a pair of light-brown sneakers from Spalwart to bring out the cappuccino colour of its shoulder and waistband stripes.

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