How to style a Belstaff panther jacket

[Theguyoverhere]

I’m a new forum member and I apologise if this has been covered before.

I’ve recently acquired two new Belstaff panther jackets for my collection. One is olive colour and the other is black.

Curious what’s your thoughts on how to style the jacket?

Right now I’ve been pairing it with my Edwin dark denim and Oliver Sweeney boots and haven’t gone too far beyond this.

What would you guys suggest for a successful look?

 

[Will Zach]

We are big on pics around here, so if you are comfortable posting pics , do so. It is helpful. You can obscure your face if you want. Googling Belstaff Panther, I think a cool look would be an English country look. I have no idea how to accomplish it, but others might have some (maybe different) ideas. @Edward ?

 

[Yango]

Someone from Brummell Magazine posted 5 ways to wear the Belstaff Panther.

 

[Edward]

Photos above are certainly how you'll see these worn in contemporary fashion. If you want a vintage look, I think there are a couple of key options.


The English Rocker - denim jeans tucked into a slim, black leather motorcycled boot, with cream boot socks pulled up and tucked over the top. The whole Ace Cafe / 59 Club look.

Not the coolest of all the rockers necessarily, but you'll find other photos if you look. Contrary to the image the revivalist scene paints, not everyone on that scene wore Lewis- or even leather. The Belstaff style jacket wasn't as common as shorter leather jackets on that scene, though it was more often wax cotton when it did show up (I'm guessing those were more affordable - even Lewis back then did a PVC jacket called the Bomber for less well off riders).

The leather ones did show up here and there, though. You'll see a range of options under the jacket; the rocker archetype was a cream or white rollneck, RN style, sometimes a white silk scarf. And the boots as mentioned - see the guy on the right of this photo as pictured.

This rocker look dates in origin to the late 50s; as a subculture its heyday would have been 1960 to 64. This would favour the black jacket.

The other option - a good one for the earthtoned-olive - is to lean into the Gentleman motorcyclist look of the pre-1940 era. It's a look I've considered for Goodwood Revival on wet days. For me it would be a collar and tie - soft collar cotton shirt, under a V-neck, possibly fairisle style... cropped, not long, fairly slim fitting. On the bottom half for a motorcyclist look, I'd be looking at something like these:

Soldier of Fortune repro MC Despatch rider battledress trousers. Wear 'em will tall boots, or lower boots with separate gaiters in canvas or leather. Brown better with this for an accurate period look, rather than black (though the military would have worn black boots as memory serves, brown would make more sense for a civlian look). Silvermans do a nice pair of leather jodhpur's in brown or black, but they can be a bit much if you're wary of leather strides and not riding.

For a more dismounted look, switch out the riding trews for something countrified - corduroys and a pair of stout brogues would be a good go to. Essentially a regular country style outfit, but with the Belstaff in place of a tweed blazer.

I've not seen any evidence that suggests back when this was a commonly worn style away from a motorcycle, but of course (if you care about period accuracy) I'm sure folks who owned them then were as likely to wear them off the bike if the weather and occasion called for it...

I'm not particularly aware of contemporary fashion, but if that's what you want the Belstaff promo images look more or less like how I'd expect to see these worn by the average buyer today.

 

[Theguyoverhere]

We are big on pics around here, so if you are comfortable posting pics , do so. It is helpful. You can obscure your face if you want. Googling Belstaff Panther, I think a cool look would be an English country look. I have no idea how to accomplish it, but others might have some (maybe different) ideas. @Edward ?

Thanks for the advise. I’ll post some pictures tomorrow

Someone from Brummell Magazine posted 5 ways to wear the Belstaff Panther. View attachment 678842 View attachment 678843 View attachment 678844 View attachment 678847 View attachment 678848

Thanks for posting! This for sure gives me some ideas.

 

[Theguyoverhere]

Photos above are certainly how you'll see these worn in contemporary fashion. If you want a vintage look, I think there are a couple of key options.


The English Rocker - denim jeans tucked into a slim, black leather motorcycled boot, with cream boot socks pulled up and tucked over the top. The whole Ace Cafe / 59 Club look.

View attachment 678861

Not the coolest of all the rockers necessarily, but you'll find other photos if you look. Contrary to the image the revivalist scene paints, not everyone on that scene wore Lewis- or even leather. The Belstaff style jacket wasn't as common as shorter leather jackets on that scene, though it was more often wax cotton when it did show up (I'm guessing those were more affordable - even Lewis back then did a PVC jacket called the Bomber for less well off riders).

View attachment 678862

The leather ones did show up here and there, though. You'll see a range of options under the jacket; the rocker archetype was a cream or white rollneck, RN style, sometimes a white silk scarf. And the boots as mentioned - see the guy on the right of this photo as pictured.

This rocker look dates in origin to the late 50s; as a subculture its heyday would have been 1960 to 64. This would favour the black jacket.

The other option - a good one for the earthtoned-olive - is to lean into the Gentleman motorcyclist look of the pre-1940 era. It's a look I've considered for Goodwood Revival on wet days. For me it would be a collar and tie - soft collar cotton shirt, under a V-neck, possibly fairisle style... cropped, not long, fairly slim fitting. On the bottom half for a motorcyclist look, I'd be looking at something like these:

View attachment 678864

Soldier of Fortune repro MC Despatch rider battledress trousers. Wear 'em will tall boots, or lower boots with separate gaiters in canvas or leather. Brown better with this for an accurate period look, rather than black (though the military would have worn black boots as memory serves, brown would make more sense for a civlian look). Silvermans do a nice pair of leather jodhpur's in brown or black, but they can be a bit much if you're wary of leather strides and not riding.

For a more dismounted look, switch out the riding trews for something countrified - corduroys and a pair of stout brogues would be a good go to. Essentially a regular country style outfit, but with the Belstaff in place of a tweed blazer.

I've not seen any evidence that suggests back when this was a commonly worn style away from a motorcycle, but of course (if you care about period accuracy) I'm sure folks who owned them then were as likely to wear them off the bike if the weather and occasion called for it...

I'm not particularly aware of contemporary fashion, but if that's what you want the Belstaff promo images look more or less like how I'd expect to see these worn by the average buyer today.

I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Leaning into the heritage aspect sounds like a great direction, my budget naturally goes toward those standout signature pieces like leather jackets. I suspect so many of us gravitate toward the big-ticket items and then realise we need to round out the wardrobe to bring everything together. I’ll be focusing on investment pieces that complement what I already have and hopefully make my wardrobe more cohesive in the long run!

 

[Edward]

I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Leaning into the heritage aspect sounds like a great direction, my budget naturally goes toward those standout signature pieces like leather jackets. I suspect so many of us gravitate toward the big-ticket items and then realise we need to round out the wardrobe to bring everything together. I’ll be focusing on investment pieces that complement what I already have and hopefully make my wardrobe more cohesive in the long run!

As with any hobby, you always need a place to start and an in. For a lot of folks that's the jackets, then they become interested in the other pieces around them. There's a lot of guys around these parts started with hats and worked downwards - or boots and worked up! It's a project that cam take time, but the important thing is to lean into it, enjoy it, and do what works for you.

 

[Theguyoverhere]

Without further ado here is the Belstaff Panthers in question. I wore the Olive colour to the office today. They’re slightly different as the Olive has the motorcycle protection and is snugger whilst the black is more their fashion version.

We are big on pics around here, so if you are comfortable posting pics , do so. It is helpful. You can obscure your face if you want. Googling Belstaff Panther, I think a cool look would be an English country look. I have no idea how to accomplish it, but others might have some (maybe different) ideas. @Edward ?

 

[barnabus]

Without further ado here is the Belstaff Panthers in question. I wore the Olive colour to the office today. They’re slightly different as the Olive has the motorcycle protection and is snugger whilst the black is more their fashion version. View attachment 679086 View attachment 679087

The olive one looks terrific!

Edit: do you ride? I bet it would look awesome with a few miles on it.

 

[Theguyoverhere]

The olive one looks terrific!

Edit: do you ride? I bet it would look awesome with a few miles on it.

Yeah, I think that’s becoming a favourite of mine too! I’ve got a similar colour on my Belstaff Carrier leather aviator - just missing the motorbike to go with it! Guess I’m a bit of a great pretender. I’ve always loved the idea of riding, though, and I make an effort to stay in the loop - I even get my haircut at London Bike Shed just to soak up the vibe. But for now, lll stick with my trusty Brompton fold!

 

[barnabus]

Yeah, I think that’s becoming a favourite of mine too! I’ve got a similar colour on my Belstaff Carrier leather aviator - just missing the motorbike to go with it! Guess I’m a bit of a great pretender. I’ve always loved the idea of riding, though, and I make an effort to stay in the loop - I even get my haircut at London Bike Shed just to soak up the vibe. But for now, lll stick with my trusty Brompton fold!

View attachment 679121

Haha, well you're doing better than me!

I've never been to The Bike Shed once, even though I ride this:

 

[Leather_nube]

Yeah, I think that’s becoming a favourite of mine too! I’ve got a similar colour on my Belstaff Carrier leather aviator - just missing the motorbike to go with it! Guess I’m a bit of a great pretender. I’ve always loved the idea of riding, though, and I make an effort to stay in the loop - I even get my haircut at London Bike Shed just to soak up the vibe. But for now, lll stick with my trusty Brompton fold!

View attachment 679121

Sweet bike!

 

[Leather_nube]

This is my machine

 

[Leather_nube]

Haha, well you're doing better than me!

I've never been to The Bike Shed once, even though I ride this:

View attachment 679123

I’m not allowed. My wife told me so. She’s right. I love going fast way too much.

 

[Tom71]

Without further ado here is the Belstaff Panthers in question. I wore the Olive colour to the office today. They’re slightly different as the Olive has the motorcycle protection and is snugger whilst the black is more their fashion version. View attachment 679086 View attachment 679087

You wear them well!

I need to dig out my Panther from the storage. Bought it at Belstaff’s Googe Street flagship store in London in 2004 after eyeballing it for months. A big investment for me at that time. Wore it for two pints at a pub the same night and immediately had somebody compliment me on the piece.
Many jackets have followed, but the Panther is one of the truly special to me.

 

[Theguyoverhere]

This is my machine View attachment 679124

This is my machine View attachment 679124

Awesome racer. Do you commute or just for fun? I cycle to work and live in a flat so the Brompton was the natural choice. Plus I can keep it under my desk. It’s a popular choice in London.

 

[Theguyoverhere]

You wear them well!

I need to dig out my Panther from the storage. Bought it at Belstaff’s Googe Street flagship store in London in 2004 after eyeballing it for months. A big investment for me at that time. Wore it for two pints at a pub the same night and immediately had somebody compliment me on the piece.
Many jackets have followed, but the Panther is one of the truly special to me.

I had no idea Belstaff used to be on Goodge St. I’ve only ever known them on Regent St! Yeah, they’re not exactly cheap, but I’ve had my eye on one for a while. I originally planned to keep just one, but I just couldn’t bring myself to part with either! I’ve actually had a few people ask me what I’m wearing and give me compliments. You do see quite a few city lads in them, and the waxed version is absolutely everywhere around here!

 

[Leather_nube]

Awesome racer. Do you commute or just for fun? I cycle to work and live in a flat so the Brompton was the natural choice. Plus I can keep it under my desk. It’s a popular choice in London.

Commute on that when the weather is nice, has a pannier rack now. Use the ebike when the weather isn’t so great, or home office.