A Basic Guide on Casual Blazers
This basic guide will mainly deal with what makes a good casual blazer.
With a outline of common features, fabrics and patterns. It'll have mini inspiration albums throughout and then have on one big inspiration mainly comprising of outfits.
If you're here for the big inspiration album it's in the middle of the guide.
At the end there will be recommendations on both blazers to buy now and brands to keep on eye on.
This guide will not be focusing on how to put together an outfit. For that please look at the Build an Outfit that Works guide. If you’re looking for colour combinations I would strongly suggest the Blazers: Basic Colour Combinations guide and Understanding Color from the sidebar.
What is a ‘blazer’ and what the hell is a ‘casual blazer’?
Traditionally a blazer was a navy blue single-breasted tailored jacket of worsted wool with metal (typically brass) buttons. They were, and still are, meant to be worn with non-matching pants. Brooks Brothers sells a classic example.
Nowadays retailers, fashion brands and many people often use the term blazer to describe a range of different garments with an array of fabrics. What people used to term a sports coats (a catch all for anything like a blazer but non in worsted navy wool) can now be called a blazer. To the horror of menswear diehards.
The traditional blazer is inherently a formal piece. You can wear it with a t-shirt, polo, jeans or chinos, but end of the day it just looks off. It always evokes and retains it's formal nature.
If you want to a blazer to wear casually and incorporate into casual outfits then you're going to have to look for a different beast of a blazer. One a little softer in appearance, more relaxed and flexible. Unlined, unpadded, deconstructed, even. And instead of stuffy worsted wool found in suiting you want something playful; cottons which bunch at the arms, wrinkley linens, textured wool and small little patterns which add depth.
There is no true one size fits all definition, but to give a wide enough one to be pretty meaningless:
A casual blazer is a blazer typically in a non-traditional cut, made out of non-traditional fabric and sometimes with non-traditional details.
General guidelines and common features
When looking for a casual blazer you don't need tick all the things below, but having a few of these features help.
Go for single breasted rather than double breasted.
Go for unstructured jackets. That is jackets with no shoulder padding. This means the blazer will drape off your natural shoulders and appear less formal that the sharp structure seen in traditional blazers and suit jackets. Visually compare unstructured versus structured to see the difference.
Unlined, half lined or full lined? Generally unlined jackets will be the most casual, making the blazer falls on your body in a different way to full lined jackets. But it’s not a hard rule. Half lined or full lined wool jackets for example will be fine because the fabric tends to be more casual.
Avoid worsted wool and orphaned suit jackets. They’ll have the typical look which most formal suiting has and the body length will probably be too traditional for the look you’re going for.
Cropped or a shorter length in the body is the way to go. This will instantly show you (do not) mean business.
Patch pockets. Patch pockets are the way to go, but don't be disheartened if you find something else.
Buttons are the way, but consider zippers, clasps, toggles and other random closures.
Consider stance. Stance refers to how high the buttons are on a jacket, and this effects the height of the lapels. A higher stance means you’re often stepping into a look of workwear jackets such as French worker jackets, some chore coats and traditional British utility jackets. A lower stance will remind people of a modern blazer or suit jacket, a higher stance may remind them of vintage suit jackets.
Consider lapels type. Lapels styles come in notched, peaked and shawl as seen in the recent Uniqlo x Lemaire A/W collection. Notched will be the default on most blazers, peaked gives a slightly different options but won't be too out of place. A shawl collar is going to be very striking, and if you're even able to find one, choose only if you're confident enough to draw a few glances.
Lapel popping: most blazers will be made in a way that it is assumed that the lapels will be laying flat all the time, but some will not. This gives you the option to pop your lapel up if you want, giving a bit more option in the casual blazer look. Pop on a cold or windy day if you want. Don't do it on a warm day; you'll be getting a sweaty neck otherwise.
Fabrics
Basically anything with an interesting texture or colour goes.
Consider:
Cotton will be the go to choice for summer. The fabric drapes over the shoulders, through the torso and drapes nicely all round. Go unlined or full lined for this one.
The jersey / blazer-cardigan. This is one of those cross over categories. Often coming in cotton jeresy or wool found in cardigans. Totally unlined, unstructured, totally-not-a-cardigan (maybe?) but with a lapel.
Wool or wool-blend will be the choice for autumn/winter and a bit into spring. Wool is a good choice for a bit more warmth, depth and nice drape. You can find unlined, half lined and fully lined in these. Though commonly blazers marketed as unlined are tend to be lined in the sleeves, which makes them easier to take on or off.
Tweed is a heavyweight textured wool great for the colder months.
Moleskin and corduroy are both cotton fabrics which are rugged and suited for the colder months. They have both a lot of texture and visual depth to them. Even though they are made out of cotton they are usually softer. Corduroy is made up of vertical cords or wale which give it's distinctive weight and look. Opt for finer wales over wider ones for a more modern look.
Linen or linen-cotton blends. Linen is a great summer fabric. Lightweight and breathable it’s known for its wrinkles and creasing. Embracing the wrinkles is the best way to go.
Technical / technical-look. Can be hard to style or look good without a wardrobe to support the look. May be easier for people into streetwear. Especially the puffer jackets which are cut like a blazer. You have padded versions, ones with removable lining and then just plain unlined water and/or rain resistance fabrics. Often comes in darker colours like blacks, greys and navy.
Climate and fabric choice
If you live somewhere which is cold most of the year consider:
Wools
Moleskin
Cottons
Corduory
If you live somewhere which is warm most of the year consider:
Linen
Linen-cotton blends
Cottons
Jersey
If you live somewhere which is temperate most of the year and don't experience much extremes then consider:
Cottons
Lighter wools
Jersey
Moleksin
Patterns
These lot are classic patterns seen on suiting which you'll come across a lot. Starting from the top these are easiest patterns to consider:
You'll notice most of the patterns comprise of two different colours. Therefore if you want a patterned cloth which doesn't stand out too much you can try to find one which comprises of similar or less contrasting colours. So instead of the classic white and black Houndstooth you could opt for a grey and black houndstooth.
Marled and heathered. Think what a traditional grey sweatshirt looks like; different shades of white and grey. These texured looks are often found on woollen blazers, but you can find them on cotton blazers now too. This textured adds to the casual look.
Flecked. A flecked blazer is one in which contrasting bits of 'flecks' are in the cloth. Donegal wool is known for its flecks and quality
INSPIRATION ALBUM
----> Here <----
For this one I've tried to mainly have outfit pictures to give an indication of how you can wear casual blazers, or how casual blazers can be worn in a variety of different styles.
So, How should you use this album? Hopefully you've read about the general guidelines, features, fabric and patterns and you can see how all these things come together to make a more casual blazer.
Our resident /u/lostealerofpie made a Comment of the Whatever (COTW) when discussing fashion shows, but in essence it works just as well on a inspiration album for specific garments:
> These albums are supposed to have some kind of theme that runs through them. Sometimes the interpretation gets a little loose, but that isn't the most fascinating part unless you're a design process nerd. When you view these albums as a casual observer, you should be looking at the way designers use a variety of colors, textures, formality, structure, etc to put together outfits. The idea is to look at an outfit in a new way and take that into your own life.
> ......
> So I guess, to sum up my lengthy ramble, what you should do when you view these albums is to look at the entire collection first and identify any themes. Then look at each outfit and ask yourself "What works in this outfit?" and then ask "What doesn't work on this outfit?" And, if you want to go a step further, figure out how to fix what doesn't work.
Buying recommendations
Now here's some basic recommendations.
Don't be afraid to browse the webstores for other blazers you like, these are just my personal recommendations or likes.
It's the start of February so stockists and brands are still selling through their Autumn/Winter collections and gearing up for Spring/Summer collections.
Keeping the above in mind this is both a list of brands to buy now and check out in the coming weeks.
Cotton or mixes
Target Goodfellows line: olvie or navy unconstructed | big and tall alternative
GAP: Indigo blazer | Houndstooth grey
Uniqlo: Uniqlo U 100% cotton | Comfort jacket 70:30 poly:cotton
HE by Mango: Blue
Massimo Dutti: Blue and white houndstooth | Blue and white textured | grey textured weave
Realm & Empire: Beige jacket
J.Crew: 'Chore coat' in blue | garment dyed 'chore' coat in navy or olive
Nordstrom: Good Man blazer
Club Monaco: washed blue cotton
Universal Works: | London jacket in camel | London jacket in olive | peaked lapel texured cotton | black twill | blue cotton
Albam: Blue denim | beige cotton | navy cotton
Taylor and Stitch: khaki cotton | olive
Barena: own-brand webstore | Mr Porter | END Clothing | second hand (Grailed, eBay, etc)
Engineered Garments: various stores and second hand (Grailed, eBay, etc)
Jersey / blazer-cardigan
Uniqlo x Undercover: second hand (Grailed, eBay, etc)
Club Monaco
Engineered Garments: various stores and second hand (Grailed, eBay, etc)
Wool or mixes
Target Goodfellows line: Brown herringbone | Big and tall alternative
Uniqlo: Wool stretch
HE by Mango: Wool-cotton navy flecked
COS: Grey wool | grey wool alternative
Massimo Dutti: Herringbone | Grey check | dark navy flecked
J.Crew: Ludlow in grey or navy
Universal Works: Brown flannel |charocal flannel | navy patterned wool
Albam: Navy wool
Bonobos: Olvie | heathered light grey
Barena: own-brand webstore | Mr Porter | END Clothing | second hand (Grailed, eBay, etc)
Engineered Garments: Bedford | Barker - various stores and second hand (Grailed, eBay, etc)
Robert Geller: Richard jacket | zip blazer - various stores and second hand (Grailed, eBay, etc)
Moleskin or corduory
J.Crew: Ludlow | LL. Bean
Engineered Garments: various stores and second hand (Grailed, eBay, etc)
Linen or mixes
Uniqlo: Beige linen | Kando linen-cotton in biege, blue and navy
Mango: Light blue linen | beige/sand
COS: Dark grey
Massimo Dutti: Light grey cotton-linen
Albam: Seershucker navy
J.Crew: Ludlow linen-cotton blend
Club Monaco: Blue
Spier and Mackay: Own webstore
Patterns and major texture
Mango: striped usntructured blazer
Bonobos: Navy check
Club Monaco: Navy donegal | windowpane
Spier and Mackay: Own webstore
Technical or technical look
Miyuki Zoku (MKI): Polyester technical jackets in navy, charcoal, and black
Zara: Black technical blazer
Massimo Dutti: currently none this season as of yet.
Something different - if you like the Saint Lauren Paris (SLP) rcocker look you can consider these
All Saints: Liath suede blazer | Milliner & Larson jackets (second hand eBay, Grailed, etc)
Thanks for reading!
Any questions or feedback is appreciated. If you can think of any more brands or recommendations (there's always more) please feel free to comment below!