Essentials: What Everyone Ought To Know About Blazers

Last time I looked at cardigans in the essentials series, this time round I’m looking at blazers. If there was ever an essential piece that every man should have in his wardrobe then the blazer would be it. Often the staple relied on by your fashion designer or hollywood actor it’s the versatile piece that if in doubt you can wear and know you’ll look chic. Kind of like the LBD…but for men. I love them and if I had a bigger wardrobe my collection would be far more extensive than it is at the moment. So how do you wear a blazer?

What’s the difference between a blazer and suit jacket? Once upon a time there was a difference but today the line is so blurred that you can wear your suit’s jacket with out the trousers or buy a dedicated blazer. You may want to consider if you wear the jacket from your suit a lot and dry clean it regularly it may loose some of it’s colour and not match as well with your trousers. Blazers come in a couple of flavours, ones with structured shoulders are more formal and then ones with out tend to be more casual. Which one you choose is down to your own personal preference. I tend to go for more formal structured blazers with finer fabrics, mainly as my style tends to be more dressy.

Solid coloured blazers tend to be most common although if you’re feeling the ‘heritage’ trend that is big at the moment you can also opt for one in a tweed. They also come in a variety of fabrics, from cotton, to wool and even more luxe fabrics like velvet. Again the choice is down to you but make sure the fabric matches the occasion you’ll be wearing it. For example a tweed blazer would look a little odd in high summer.

As with any garment cut is absolutely key so make sure your blazer nips in at the waist. You can decide how many buttons it has, my personal preference is for one or two. If you’ve got two buttons always fasten the top and leave the bottom one undone, likewise with a three button blazer fasten the top two or middle, but never the bottom.

There are hundreds of ways you can work a blazer in your wardrobe, ones of the most simple yet stylish is throwing one over a v neck tee and jeans. But you can equally work a lightweight blazer in summer with shorts and boat shoes or chinos and loafers. I’d suggest you make yourself a look book and invest in a blazer, you’ll soon see it’ll become one of your favourite pieces.

Are you a fan of blazers? Let me know by commenting below.