Stand out from the crowd with Patrick Jane's vests from The Mentalist

Simon Baker's CBI consultant loves his wardrobe of waistcoats.

As a leading character on a top TV show, it really helps to have a signature style, an item that really makes you stand out as an individual. House (Hugh Laurie) has his leather biker jacket in House, Booth (David Boreanaz) has his Cocky belt buckle in Bones and Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) has his Oliver Peoples Victory shades in Burn Notice (incidentally, Brad Pitt also rocks the look in Mr and Mrs Smith). For the audience it creates a familiarity with the character and even adds a dose of reality, after all who can afford a brand new wardrobe every week?

And so when The Mentalist broke onto the scene in 2008, they needed that something special for lead character, Patrick Jane (played by Aussie actor, Simon Baker). As a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) he’s gotta look professional and groomed (no Jack Bauer-style military gear or The Big Bang Theory-esque geek chic); as a young guy he can’t look too crusty and past it (he’s not Walter Bishop from Fringe) and yet he’s not meant to care too much about his appearance, so nothing too high fashion (like Entourage). It’s a tough ask, so what to do?

How’s about a vest? Chandler (Matthew Perry) got cosy in knitted ones back in the days of Friends and, more recently, Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) has also worked the look in Criminal Minds, but the waistcoat hasn’t really been championed on TV screens. And so it came to become the staple of Patrick Jane, an almost constant fashion item that is now so synonymous with the ‘psychic’ turned credible crime-fighter that even the show’s creator, Bruno Heller has been grilled on it.

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, the English writer/ producer who also gave us Rome, revealed: “There was a lot of discussion about wardrobe that was above my pay grade. But both Simon and I knew that Jane should have a specific look,” he says. “The thinking is these were the suits he used to wear as a mentalist and he would have them dry cleaned and pressed. Now he gets them out of the bottom of the cupboard. It’s also a magician thing. They wear vests because they need to be able to hide things.”

Okay, so there’s some thinking behind the waistcoat, but much more importantly – it looks good and is incredibly versatile. Vests can be dressed up for formal occasions or played down for more low-key casual dressing, worked in a number of cool fabrics and patterns and are timeless. Both Al Pacino in The Godfather movies and Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair looked the shiz back in the 60s and 70s and more modern trendsetters as diverse as Justin Timberlake, David Beckham and Russell Brand have shown that it can suit all styles and attitudes.

And with the tailored look riding high for this summer, we’ve picked out five top waistcoats that tap into Patrick’s polished style. So whatever your budget, whatever your wardrobe, there’s something here guaranteed to add cool character to your 2010 closet.