Men's Heather Grey Kimono Jacket 'Ginnezu'

Soft grey with a white pinstripe, cut to fit properly all the way up

This is the kimono jacket that borrowed its cloth from a suit. A soft mid-grey, heathered rather than flat, with a fine white pinstripe running down it at even spacing, front, back and sleeves. Two round buttons close it at the chest, side by side. Two patch pockets sit at the hip, with a small tab at the top of each. The sleeves are wide and stop at the elbow, and the hem sits at the hip. Nothing on it is decorative, and everything on it is considered.

Grey is the most useful colour there is, and this is the useful grey: light enough to wear with white, dark enough to wear with black, and neutral enough that the pinstripe does the talking. The stripe is woven, not printed, so it has a faint texture under the hand and stays sharp along the folds.

The cloth is a polyester weave with a dry, slightly brushed surface, chosen because it holds a stripe straight and because it does not crease across the back the way a cotton would after an afternoon of sitting. It is a three-season layer, comfortable from spring to the first cold week.

The cut is a short open kimono jacket with a flat edge down both fronts, and it has been graded through the full size range rather than stretched from a medium, which matters on a striped cloth: the stripes stay vertical at 5XL. Buttoned over a white tee, it reads like a soft, collarless blazer. Open over a black tee, it reads like a cardigan with better manners.

Wear it with black trousers, charcoal, or dark denim, and with plain shoes. It is the piece for someone who wants a kimono shape they can wear to lunch with people who have opinions about jackets, and it will pass. If you own one printed piece from this collection, this is the one to own alongside it.

The name, Ginnezu, is silver grey, the grey with a little warmth in it that Japanese dyers used to distinguish from the cold grey of ash, and it is the right name for this cloth: neither blue nor brown, never cold, always sober. It is the jacket to choose if you dislike being asked about your clothes, and want to be asked about this one anyway.

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.