It’s easy to get carried away and start thinking that summer will be nowt but sunshine, park BBQs and pint-based reverie, but this simply isn’t the case: there are going to be days when the sun can barely break the clouds and snide winds will be scuppering the fun. This is where the humble smock comes in.
Breezy enough for sunshine escapades, but substantial enough to keep the chill off you, they’re pretty much the ideal English summertime jacket and, unless you’re in and out of humid pubs every five or so minutes, the over-the-head configuration of these things always goes down a treat.
Enough preamble – here’s some decent smocks…
Kicking things off we’ve got the Teca Windbreaker from Cotopaxi. This one’s especially useful for those days when the weather can’t make its mind up, as it conveniently packs into that front pocket for easy wax-on/wax-off wear. People who get off on doing the recycling should be overjoyed to hear this is made from remnant materials too.
Small-town army-surplus moshers might disagree, but we’re glad smocks have embraced the full power of the colour wheel. Not that there’s anything wrong with the mighty shades of green and khaki, but it’s undoubtedly a good thing that that’s not the only thing on offer any more – otherwise, we wouldn’t have this zesty specimen from Snow Peak.
This one comes in a shade of orange that calls to mind the super sweet European version of Fanta. Highly-quenchable.
Is it a smock? Is it a fleece? Do you really like it? Is it, is it wicked? Whatever category know-it-all outerwear bureaucrats sort this into, one thing is for certain: this Berghaus Oversized Smock Fleece is very good.
Pulling off ‘fusion’ is no easy task (anyone who’s tried one of those god-awful sushi pizzas can attest to that), so when it’s done well a passionate round of applause is in order. Berghaus, consider our caps well and truly doffed.
Contrary to that lacklustre moniker, there’s nowt ‘standard’ about this Standard Navy Smock from new kids on the block Workware Heritage Clothing Company.
It goes without saying that the salty seadog flavour is off the deep-sea scanner, but thanks to that contrasting white stitching (you can see it if you squint), there’s a definite old-skool 90s workwear flavour that adds dollops of dopeness to proceedings.
Sitting comfortably on the more opulent end of the smock spectrum is this Skiff Pullover Jacket from s.k. manor hill.
With its curious webbed collar, massive slanted pockets and general aura of Ferrero Rochers, this luxurious wonder-work definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but those with a taste for the finer things in life will find plenty to sup on here.
And then there’s this mind-altering howitzer from Stone Island.
The folks at Stone Island’s design laboratories have taken the tried-and-tested nautical smock and freaked it like only they know how. There’s cunning zips on the hem so you can take it off with minor hassle and the washed-out hue makes us want to dash out to shops and inhale as much raspberry yogurt as we can find.
The stand collar/hood arrangement is a real nice addition too.
Scroll down for even more smock-based action…