All Hail the Harrington

Baracuta jackets are one of our nation's greatest contributions to menswear. Baracuta's G9 is the original Harrington jacket, much copied but made only by Baracuta, a Manchester-based company which was owned by the Miller brothers who, back in 1937, designed a rainproof, windproof jacket that has become the world's most credible blouson for blokes.

The Millers approached the legendary leader of the Scottish Fraser Clan, the 24th Lord Lovat, in 1937 and sought permission to use its Fraser tartan to line the jacket. The result was a classic piece of clothing which last year, Baracuta revived and relaunched so that now you can buy slim-fit G9s in many more quality independent boutiques like Tonic (276 Portobello Road London W10) as well as online from Baracuta.

Elvis wore a Baracuta in Kid Creole in 1954, Steve McQueen was photographed in his in 1963, Ryan O'Neal wore one in the massively popular television show, Peyton Place and the jacket became known as the Harrington in honour of his character, Rodney Harrington. In 1966 both Alf Ramsey and Frank Sinatra donned G9s and Joe Strummer customised his when The Clash performed in New York in 1981. Thierry Henry also wears one in his va-va vooom car ad.

So, the G9 has a prestigious clientele, no argument. It's also just a bang-on casual jacket - with side pockets, raglan sleeves and ribbed cuffs. To mark its 70th anniversary, the s/s 07 collection includes a limited edition series of specially-packaged celebrity G9s honouring Elvis, Sinatra and McQueen as well as a 'vintage' range culled from the brands extensive archives. Classic raincoats - like The Mexican which is based on the coat Baracuta made for the 1970 World Cup team, will become available once again along with reworked classics in the mainline collection: fine gauge knitwear, polo shirts, checked trousers and fabric variations of the G9.

G9s usually sell for £135.