The 10 Best Jean Jackets, According to Fashion Experts

In 2024, the classic denim piece is getting a high-fashion makeover.

graphic of denim jackets and women wearing denim jean jackets
(Image credit: Future)

Welcome to The Best in Basics, our series highlighting all the must-have classics that are key to building a timeless, pulled-together closet.


If 2023 was the year of quiet luxury, can 2024 be deemed that of slightly louder luxury? A raised whisper? Those slightly audible silhouettes are still simplistic with real-world wearability but invite moments of personality. Yep, we're talking personal style. The best jean jackets leading the spring 2024 trends perhaps tell this story best. The Americana staple was seen throughout the Spring/Summer 2024 collections, but designers took creative license, designing twists that aren't just pegged to stealth wealth style.

In Dries van Noten's spring collection, the Belgian designer included an oversized denim blazer with exaggerated lapels and supersized pockets, mixing a buttoned-up preppiness with his signature eclectic spirit. At Versace, a light-wash jean jacket was studded with clusters of pearls, and on Ulla Johnson's runway, denim was worn as rounded, puff-sleeved peplum tops. Even Cecilie Bahnsen, a Danish designer known for her frothy ruffled fabrications and flowy angelic silhouettes, unveiled a fitted dark-wash denim jacket that, upon a closer look, is slightly divergent from run-of-the-mill denim, adorned with cherry red piping.

Spring 2024's best jean jackets at Courtesy of Dries Van Noten, Ulla Johnson, Versace, Cecilie Bahnsen

Fresh denim jackets at Dries Van Noten, Ulla Johnson, Versace, and Cecilie Bahnsen.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Dries Van Noten, Ulla Johnson, Versace, Cecilie Bahnsen)

"The luxury market is setting the tone for revitalizing denim jackets," says Trendalytics' director of fashion, Kendall Becker. It's easy to look to the runways for proof of that, but a remixed interpretation of the classic is also being piloted beyond the catwalks as showgoers used their best jean jackets as vehicles to showcase their personal style. Flair-filled denim jacket outfits emerged as a defining spring street style trend on the New York, Milan, and Paris sidewalks, while jean trench coats embellished with silver hardware and sized-up truckers were paired alongside colorful slip dresses.

Quiet is not really in the vocabulary for the most enticing jean jackets this season. They're expressive with something to say but can be one of the most malleable pieces of outwear you own. Courtney Busch, a styling team lead at Stitch Fix, relates the versatile wardrobe staple to a blank canvas that lets your individuality roam wild. "When choosing a denim jacket that's right for you, the rules don't apply," she says.

Ahead, Becker offers insight into the market's key silhouettes (spoiler alert: the bigger and baggier, the better), while Busch explains all of the ways to style them, with street style inspiration to help guide you as you shop Marie Claire's curated edit for the best jean jackets for women.

The Classic Trucker

When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes recommended by a MC writer or editor, or by an expert we've spoken to. Learn more about how we review products.

Woman at Fashion Week wearing a denim jean jacket

Here, a trucker jacket in action at fashion week.

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

Big and Baggy

Woman at Fashion Week wearing a denim jean jacket

One guest styled her roomy jean jacket with a yellow dress and high-top sneakers.

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

Not a Shirt, Not Quite a Jacket

Woman at Fashion Week wearing a denim jean jacket

A showgoer styled a denim shacket with a graphic tee and sparkly sheer skirt in an intriguing combination of laidback style mixed with glitz.

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

Cut It Short

Woman at Fashion Week wearing a cropepd denim jean jacket

Forget a hip-level crop—this guest wore a teeny-tiny denim jacket that hit just below the bust.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Tell Me About It, Stud

Woman at Fashion Week wearing a denim jean jacket

Khaite's studded Grizzo jacket, a coveted style that's nearly impossible to find in stock, in the wild.

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

Dark Denim

Woman at Fashion Week wearing a denim jean jacket

Black denim teamed with a coordinating denim maxi skirt makes for a sharp and understated combination.

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

Blazing Denim

A guest wears a navy blue denim buttoned blazer jacket, a navy blue denim pleated / accordion short skirt, a white latte striped pattern Jodie handbag from Bottega Veneta, black with silver large belt heels sandals from Loewe.

A fashion week guest wears a dark-wash denim blazer with a matching mini skirt.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Put a Print On

Woman at Fashion Week wearing a denim jean jacket

You'd know that double-C logo anywhere.

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

Sherpa or Shearling

A woman wears a shearling collar blue jean jacket.

A woman makes her way to a runway show in Paris in a shearling-collar denim jacket.

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

Watch Out for Spills

A guest wears a white denim jacket and white denim large pants.

White on white, regardless of what any archaic industry rules say, is always a good idea.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

A Trend-Proof Trench

Woman at Fashion Week wearing a denim jean jacket

This woman's denim trench (in addition to further proving the silver stud takeover) was the final polish touch to her relaxed ensemble.

(Image credit: Tyler Joe)

Meet the Fashion Experts

Kendall Becker wears black sunglasses, gold earrings, gold large chain necklaces, a white pearls necklace, a white cropped t-shirt, a white latte oversized blazer jacket, gold rings, high waist brown large wide legs suit pants, gold rings, outside PatBo , during New York Fashion Week, on February 12, 2022 in New York City.
Kendall Becker

Experienced in luxury editorial, trend forecasting, and strategic consulting, Kendall is currently the Fashion Director at Trendalytics as well as a freelance writer for Refinery29, The Zoe Report, LuisaViaRoma, WhoWhatWear, and Coveteur. Prior, she was the Assistant Fashion Director for Women’s RTW at Bloomingdale’s and contributed to global trend forecasting agencies. Plus, she’s a fashion media personality and expert who’s been featured in ABC, Cheddar News, Harper’s BAZAAR, GQ, Bustle, Brides, and Vice.

Courtney Busch
Courtney Busch

As Stitch Fix Styling Team Lead, Courtney brings her fashion expertise, personalized touch, and over 6 years of industry experience to the role. Since joining the organization in July 2016 as a Senior Stylist, and then a Styling Team Coach, she has lent her styling expertise to many Stitch Fix clients, applying her attention to detail, fit and size knowledge, and trend-spotting skills to help them discover items they love. As a Styling Team Lead, Courtney has also managed and developed 50+ stylists across the Eastern Region and created informational and engaging content to create community, collaboration, and culture on Stitch Fix styling teams.

Emma Childs
Fashion Features Editor

Emma is the fashion features editor at Marie Claire, where she writes deep-dive trend reports, zeitgeisty fashion featurettes on what style tastemakers are wearing, long-form profiles on emerging designers and the names to know, and human interest vignette-style round-ups. Previously, she was Marie Claire's style editor, where she wrote shopping e-commerce guides and seasonal trend reports, assisted with the market for fashion photo shoots, and assigned and edited fashion celebrity news.

Emma also wrote for The Zoe Report, Editorialist, Elite Daily, Bustle, and Mission Magazine. She studied Fashion Studies and New Media at Fordham University Lincoln Center and launched her own magazine, Childs Play Magazine, in 2015 as a creative pastime. When she's not waxing poetic about niche fashion topics, you'll find her stalking eBay for designer vintage, reading literary fiction on her Kindle, and baking banana bread in her tiny NYC kitchen.