Men's Contrast Trim Kimono Jacket 'Fuchidori'

Black with a cream line drawn round it, the jacket that changes an outfit quietly

Throw this over a plain tee and the whole outfit shifts, and nothing else in the wardrobe has to change to make it work. That is the quiet power of the short black kimono jacket, and this one adds a single idea: a cream line. It runs down both front edges and shows inside each elbow-length cuff when the sleeve turns back. On black, the line reads like chalk on slate. One black knot button sits at the chest, fastened when you want the front held, ignored the rest of the time.

The body is a matte black with a dry, slubbed weave, and the contrast does the drawing: it outlines the shape so that a black jacket over a black tee still reads as a jacket. It is the graphic member of the edged family and the most versatile, because it has no colour to match.

The name, Fuchidori, simply means edged, or bordered, which is what it is. We prefer names that describe the thing.

The cloth is a polyester weave with a matte, textured hand, chosen because black is the colour that fades first on cheaper cloth and this one holds, and because a three-season layer should weigh nothing in May and take a knit underneath in October. It does not shine, and it does not crease across the back.

The cut is a short open kimono jacket with a hem at the hip. Knotted over a white tee, the cream edging and the white tee become one pale stripe through the black, and the front looks drawn with a ruler. Open over a black tee, the edging is the only light in the outfit, and the shape is all you see. It goes with black trousers, dark denim, grey, white in summer, and plain shoes.

If you own one edged jacket, this is the one to own. If you own one black kimono jacket, it is a close second to the plain one, and it will get more comments.

The knot button is black, matched to the body, so the cream line is the only thing that interrupts the black when the front is closed. At thirty centimetres the weave shows a soft slub. At three metres the jacket is an outline, two vertical lines and two pale cuffs, drawn on a person.

Sizes run from M to 5XL. It is cut to Asian sizing and runs small, so take one size up from your usual. Between two sizes, take the larger.