What, when it comes to clothes, is truly worth the money? The question is much rehearsed and, for men, has a consensus answer: shoes. You can tell a lot about a man by his shoes, the saying goes. There is sense in this. Good shoes — leather ones, anyway — have a shape, colour and texture that cannot be faked. Properly cared for, whether they are Oxfords or motorcycle boots, they last many times longer, too.
There is another answer to the question, though, and a better one: dollar for dollar, wear for wear, what makes a man look and feel best is a killer jacket.
I mean the word in its widest possible sense here. A jacket, in its platonic essence, has only two characteristics. It is a second layer worn on the upper body, and it opens at the front. Under this definition fit sports coats and blazers, jean jackets, blousons and bombers, leather jackets in all their flavours, Harringtons, chore coats, overshirts in cashmere or polyester, Eisenhowers and varsitys, and much else.