Gilet

A gilet, also known as a bodywarmer, is a sleeveless jacket. Any sleeveless item of clothing worn over a shirt or jumper could be referred to as a gilet, but it usually concerns a sleeveless summer jacket. Gilets aren’t quite as bulky as summer jackets, which makes them ideal for a little extra warmth during summer months. Gilets are back in fashion every year. The timeless designs and high-quality fabrics of Airforce gilets allow you to wear them for many years to come.

Why Wear a Gilet?

Gilets are usually worn as an alternative to a transitional jacket. Usually during spring and autumn, but our summers also have plenty of days on which it is too cold to leave the house without a jacket. If that is the case, you won’t put on a warm winter jacket . A sleeveless padded jacket is a much better option. Calling this type of jacket a bodywarmer reveals exactly what it is supposed to do: keep your upper body warm. If the weather demands that, but it is also too warm to wear a proper jacket, a bodywarmer is the perfect solution.

The warmth a gilet offers is hardly the only advantage of this type of sleeveless jacket . When the first bodywarmers were made in the fifteenth century, French farmers were impressed by its range of motion. The lack of sleeves allows your arms to move freely. At the time, this was a great advantage when working on the land. But if you do other work or practice sports outside, a gilet is equally convenient. Through the years, bodywarmers have become beloved fashion items as well. Initially in hip hop culture, more recently as casual clothing for wealthy entrepreneurs. As you can see, gilets truly go with everything.

Various Types of Gilets

Airforce is specialised in quality jackets for every season. Because of that, the gilet excites us. An Airforce gilet combines comfort, style, warmth and quality. Our online store offers various types of bodywarmers, but you can roughly divide them into two categories: padded bodywarmers and thinner, lightweight bodywarmers without padding. The latter are the ideal way to prepare yourself for a cool summer morning or evening. They are highly comfortable, because the fabrics weigh very little. Despite their limited weight, the fabrics are sturdy, which means they will last long.

As an alternative for a between-seasons jacket, a Padded Bodywarmer is the perfect choice. These gilets look a lot like our Padded Jackets, apart from the fact that they have no sleeves. These gilets are quilted. This design will keep the lining in place, but it also creates the cool, sporty look that a lot of our customers like so much. Since all of our gilets are technically short summer jackets , your legs will be able to move freely when you wear one. This makes a gilet the perfect outdoor jacket to wear while working out, making a long hike or your trip to work.

What Fabrics Are Used to Make Bodywarmers?

Bodywarmers were originally made out of parachute silk and lined with down. This combination of fabrics was lightweight, yet it retained a lot of warmth. These days, gilets are such versatile fashion items, they can be made out of nearly every fabric imaginable. For example: down is no longer necessary to make a gilet. Synthetic materials like polyester or DuPont™ Sorona® have enabled us to make a lightweight padding with similar thermal properties. These are the exact materials you will find in our Padded Bodywarmers. As such, an Airforce bodywarmer is an improvement over the original design both in comfort and environmental impact.

The fabrics used to make the outer shell of your gilet vary depending on the specific type of gilet. Many of our gilets have been made out of polyester, which is renowned for how comfortable it feels and how flexible it is. Some of our jackets and bodywarmers have been made out of a fabric that combines polyester with elastane or spandex. Those fabrics are stretchy, which further increases the comfort of those jackets. Our thinner gilets often have an outer shell made out of nylon, while the inner shell is made out of a softer fabric, like polyester.

Buying Gilets Online

As soon as the temperatures rise again, you will be looking for your new summer outfit. Airforce gilets are a perfect fit for any outfit. They are available in various colours that match our other summer clothing. You can easily wear them over your T-shirt, sweatshirt or hoodie. At our online store, you can easily find the gilet that suits your taste and the rest of your outfit perfectly. A darker gilet over a shirt in a brighter colour – or vice versa – always looks good. And a long gilet for women is warmer than a short, sleeveless jacket. Whichever gilet you may choose: we will send you a comfortable sleeveless jacket made out of long-lasting fabrics.

Do you like the designs of our bodywarmers, but do you prefer a jacket with sleeves? Most of our gilets are also available as regular summer jackets. Our Padded Jackets, Softshell Jackets and Wax Crinkle Jackets, for instance, are summer jackets with similar designs as the bodywarmers with the same names.