The perfect jacket for cool weather, the G9 was originally designed in 1937 by Baracuta in Manchester, England. For the past 80 years, it has stood the test of time as a trendproof essential for movie stars, punk rockers and regular Joes in between.

With lines like a bomber jacket, the G9 has a versatility that goes with anything from jeans and a t-shirt to chinos and a pressed dress shirt, even with a tie.

The Baracuta G9 is made with a water-resistant polyester/cotton shell and a breathable cotton/polyester Coolmax® lining in Fraser Tartan. It’s signature design also features button-down flap front pockets, an ‘umbrella’ back vent and ribbed cuffs, waist and inner collar.

In the movies, audiences saw the G9 on icons like Elvis Presley in King Creole in 1957 and Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). On the wildly popular 1960s television series “Peyton Place,” Ryan O’Neal famously wore one as the character Rodney Harrington, making the name “Harrington” synonymous with the Baracuta G9. From the 1960s into the 1970s, mods and punks embraced the G9 as part of their uniform.

The King wearing a Baracuta G9 in King Creole (1957)

The King of Cool wearing his Baracuta G9s in navy and mist (or “McQueen Stone” if you get it at Mason & Sons).
These British-made beauties are available from Baracuta HQ (www.barracuda.com) in a spectrum of colors for $390. Another great resource is the exquisitely edited collection of casual and tailored menswear at Mason & Sons (www.masonandsons.com), which offers the G9 in classic navy, dark red or “McQueen Stone” for $301.

There are several “evergreen” tentpoles in classic menswear – like Levi’s 501s, Ray-Ban Aviators and plain white t-shirts – that never go out of style. The Baracuta G9 is part of this group. This bulletproof original is an often imitated spring/fall outer layer that will never do you wrong.

7 Comments

  1. I grew up with these jackets – of course back ‘then’ they cost about 75 bucks. I have been on a watch for the, so thanks for the post. That said, it is 86 degrees today in central MASS, so will have to wait for cooler conditions..

    • Just out of curiosity, I checked a CPI (Consumer Price Index) Inflation calculator to see what $75 ‘back then’ is equivalent to in purchasing power today. Not knowing what your back then is, I plugged in January 1974, and the calculator spit out “$392.38”, so it seems that the prices of these jackets have at least more or less maintained their level, which I think is a good sign? Especially if the quality is maintained as well.

      For myself, as cool as I think these jackets are, my limited discretionary budget for clothes is going elsewhere at the moment. That said, I would probably pick one of these up for 75 of my 2017 dollars (in the navy, I think). However, as George has mentioned many times elsewhere, this would probably also mean that someone was getting hurt somewhere and/or the quality could not be that good–unless, perhaps, I was able to get lucky and thrift or eBay a pre-owned one–so probably not. These kinds of thoughts are why I appreciate George’s thoughts in this area so much, as inspiration for also walking that line between looking good on a budget and buying quality with a conscience.

      • EBay is a great resource. For any item you’re looking for, you can set up a search and get alerts when something becomes available.

  2. I’m a little confused. Are both the Barracuta jackets AND the ones from Mason and sons genuine? Which is the most original?