Last week's thread on Cardigans | All past threads (_/$ and Building the Basic Bastard) | Leather Jackets | Harringtons

Bomber Jackets. Oh boy. These things are cool. They start their history as cool -- as letterman/varsity jackets at Harvard -- and then get their name from the cool pilots who dropped bombs. Then, they landed their way onto Tom Cruise and Kanye and reimagined by Dries Van Notten and Stromae.

While the traditional bomber has some bulk to it, slimmer ones are perfectly nice too. A bomber can come in nylon, leather, wool, cotton, or... well, anything else, with or without a fur collar, elastic waistband, or elastic neckband. A traditional letterman would have a wool body and leather arms. They come in a variety of models, many of which have letter codes I'm too lazy to list. Shit, bombers can even be sweaters -- cardigans, specifically -- but let's focus this thread on jackets, if we can. (Although I will say that my Kokun Cashmere bomber-sweater is wonderful).

For those who can't tell, Bombers are pretty damn casual. You might be able to smarten one up to business casual, depending on the jacket and the office, but not much farther.

Price Bins:

• Below $50.

• $50 to $100.

• $100 to $200.

• $200 to $300.

• Above $300.

What should we do next week?

Guidelines for posting here:

• I'll post price bins as top level comments. Post recommendations in response to a price bin, as a second level comment. You can also use top level comments for general info, inspo albums, and general questions.

• Recommendations can be a brand ("I like Kiton suits!") or a strategy ("I go thrifting for suits!").

• Try to stick to one brand/strategy per second-level comment. If you want to recommend both Alden and Carmina, post them separately so people can vote and discuss separately.

• Include a link in your second-level comment if you can -- if not to a purchase page, at least to images.

• Try to use prices you might realistically pay. That might be MSRP, or it might not -- it depends. If you're in a cheap bin, maybe the best buying strategy is to thrift, or wait for a big sale. If you're buying from a store like Banana Republic, paying full price is simply incorrect -- the only question is whether you'll get 40% off or 50% off. So factor that in.

• The bins are in USD, so either use a US price, or convert a non-US price to USD to pick the bin.

• There is no time limit on this thread, until Reddit stops you from posting and voting. This thread will sit in the sidebar for a long time, and serve as a guide for lots of people, so help them out!