You're Wearing the Wrong Denim Jacket
ShoppingIf Kendrick's knockout Grammys fit is any indication, the Type II trucker is about to enjoy a long-deserved moment.By Gerald OrtizFebruary 14, 2025Martin Sheen wearing a Levi's Type II denim jacket in Badlands. Photo: Everett CollectionSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.Close your eyes for a second and picture a denim jacket. No, really, go ahead—I’ll do it, too, to make you feel less awkward. This isn’t some sort of trick: It’s got two pockets, it’s probably from Levi’s, it’s definitely a little cropped, and the very mention of it conjures a mood board’s worth of style gods. Open your eyes. Would you believe it if I said we were picturing wildly different jackets—and the one you were picturing is, in fact, wrong?Not bad, per se, but wrong nevertheless. If I were a betting man, I’d put good money on the fact that you were imagining a Levi’s Type III jacket, an instant-classic trucker silhouette introduced in the early ‘60s. In the decades since, the Type III has become so ubiquitous it defines the category. (It is, after all, the jacket you were just picturing a moment ago.) But while the Type III is the denim jacket you’re most likely to spot on the streets, it’s not the only version Levi’s made—and it’s far from the coolest one today.Flint and TinderType 2 Denim Jacket$198 HuckberryMaison MargielaFaded Denim Jacket$1,380 SSENSEThat would be the middle child of the denim jacket family: the comparatively unloved Type II. Unveiled in 1953, just nine years before its younger sibling, the Type II features a vertical pleated front, waist adjuster tabs, and, crucially, two square flap pockets that sit a little lower on the chest. It’s boxier than the slim-and-trim Type III, but just as cropped.The most famous Type II in menswear history belongs to Martin Sheen’s character in Badlands, but the most recent one to grab our attention was worn on the red carpet, when Kendrick Lamar took the Grammys stage in Maison Margiela, solidifying himself as one of this generation’s cheekiest denim icons. K-Dot wore his Type II with matching jeans and a denim cap, in a riff on the Canadian Tuxedo that made for a sharp awards-show fit, and an indigo-soaked dagger through Drake’s heart.VisvimSocial Sculpture 101 Paint-Splattered Denim Jacket$1,150 Mr PorterLevi's1953 Type II Trucker Jacket$445 Levi'sOutside of its rap beef associations, though, there’s nothing remotely pugnacious about the silhouette. Its symmetrical design, classic proportions, and rugged fabric make it one of the rare garments that genuinely looks great everywhere—on the coat rack at GQ HQ; hanging from the rafters at the most dialed vintage store in your city—and on everybody.To say that the Type III is poised to stoke Samba levels of anxiety is a bit of an exaggeration; most folks simply aren’t paying enough attention to clock the difference. But if the nascent selvedge denim revival is any indication, Kendrick’s KO of a cosign won’t be the last. Forget the big III: it's just big II.Story Mfg.Tuesday Cotton-Canvas Jacket$480 Mr PorterSmall TalkStriped Denim-Jacquard Trucker Jacket$500 Mr Porter
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Close your eyes for a second and picture a denim jacket. No, really, go ahead—I’ll do it, too, to make you feel less awkward. This isn’t some sort of trick: It’s got two pockets, it’s probably from Levi’s, it’s definitely a little cropped, and the very mention of it conjures a mood board’s worth of style gods. Open your eyes. Would you believe it if I said we were picturing wildly different jackets—and the one you were picturing is, in fact, wrong?
Not bad, per se, but wrong nevertheless. If I were a betting man, I’d put good money on the fact that you were imagining a Levi’s Type III jacket, an instant-classic trucker silhouette introduced in the early ‘60s. In the decades since, the Type III has become so ubiquitous it defines the category. (It is, after all, the jacket you were just picturing a moment ago.) But while the Type III is the denim jacket you’re most likely to spot on the streets, it’s not the only version Levi’s made—and it’s far from the coolest one today.
That would be the middle child of the denim jacket family: the comparatively unloved Type II. Unveiled in 1953, just nine years before its younger sibling, the Type II features a vertical pleated front, waist adjuster tabs, and, crucially, two square flap pockets that sit a little lower on the chest. It’s boxier than the slim-and-trim Type III, but just as cropped.
The most famous Type II in menswear history belongs to Martin Sheen’s character in Badlands, but the most recent one to grab our attention was worn on the red carpet, when Kendrick Lamar took the Grammys stage in Maison Margiela, solidifying himself as one of this generation’s cheekiest denim icons. K-Dot wore his Type II with matching jeans and a denim cap, in a riff on the Canadian Tuxedo that made for a sharp awards-show fit, and an indigo-soaked dagger through Drake’s heart.
Outside of its rap beef associations, though, there’s nothing remotely pugnacious about the silhouette. Its symmetrical design, classic proportions, and rugged fabric make it one of the rare garments that genuinely looks great everywhere—on the coat rack at GQ HQ; hanging from the rafters at the most dialed vintage store in your city—and on everybody.
To say that the Type III is poised to stoke Samba levels of anxiety is a bit of an exaggeration; most folks simply aren’t paying enough attention to clock the difference. But if the nascent selvedge denim revival is any indication, Kendrick’s KO of a cosign won’t be the last. Forget the big III: it's just big II.
