Men's Wardrobe Essential: The Navy Blazer
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By Style Girlfriend | Sep 13 2016
When a suit is too much and a sweater is too little, a good navy blazer always has your back. It’s the perfect piece for firsts: first interview, first date, or first Fridays. The funny thing is: a good navy blazer can be deceptively hard to find, unless you know what to look for. In this guide we’ll break down how to find one of the pieces that’s going to work the hardest for you in your wardrobe.
How To Wear It
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The classic, prep stylings of navy blazers are well known but where the real fun comes is new casual looks. Try rocking a navy blazer over a grey sweatshirt with jeans for a collegiate cool look. Or toss your blazer on with a white t-shirt and rolled chinos for a look thats a little bit business and a little bit party. A good navy blazer can almost be treated like outerwear. With the right navy blazer, it will be hard not to wear it with everything.
Your blazer should fit just as well as your suit jacket, with similar characteristics. Make sure the shoulder fit in a close but comfortable way. Your blazer should be tailored to the body so that it broadens your shoulders without being too tight. The best test of a well tailored jacket is a smooth back. If there’s fabric puddling in the back of your jacket, it needs to be taken in. The sleeve length should fall where the thumb meets the wrist, and the jacket should cover your butt without falling more than an inch below it.
Why it’s essential
Different than suiting separates
Let’s talk blazers v. suit jackets. The differences between the two are subtle but important. First up? Texture. Blazers are made of fabrics with noticeably more texture and a bit more heft than their suit counterparts. Whereas in a good year round suit you want a wool fresco, in a good navy blazer you’re looking for a wool hopsack. The characteristics of hopsack are similar to a fresco, but more exaggerated. While still an open weave, a hopsack is going to have a coarser feel and a bit more of an uneven texture to it than a fresco. This gives the blazer a touch more of a casual feel from a suit jacket. You want that breathability with a bit more durability as blazers tend accumulate wear miles faster than suit jackets.
Versatility
The most versatile blazer is also the most classic, boasting a notch lapel, with a 2-button front. Look for a soft shoulder, which gives you the ability to easily dress it down. The body should fit close, but comfortable. Be sure the back of the jacket lays smooth – and that it covers your butt.
Now, with navy blazers a constant point of contention are the buttons, so let’s talk about it. Traditionally a navy blazer with gold, nautical inspired buttons was the expectation. For many guys, the gold buttons are a deal breaker, but the good news is they are an easy fix. If you don’t mind metal buttons but prefer something more muted, try brass or pewter buttons. If the sight of metal altogether bothers you, dark brown horn buttons always look great on navy blazers.
Are you caught up on the latest wardrobe essentials? See how to style your grey wool dress pants, khaki chinos, navy grenadine tie and OCBD shirt.
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I recently got a blue knit blazer from Frank and Oak and I find myself tossing whatever else I was going to wear and grabbing it. I like it so much I am thinking of picking up a similar one they have in grey.
Everyone looks good in blue so have a couple of them but I find a casual one with a nice nubby fabric to be the winner every day. I wear it with chinos and casual pants with a polo or sport shirt and it is awesome for business casual.
Good point about everyone looking good in blue. Blue/navy and grey are my defaults in terms of wardrobe hues (I know, I know, I’m working on it) but I definitely *look* better in blue than I do in grey. It’s a useful reminder to point that out!
As good as a navy blue blazer is I really like grey blazer especially a charcoal grey for a bit of a change. But it still goes with everything.
Good point about everyone looking good in blue. Blue/navy and grey are my defaults in terms of wardrobe hues (I know, I know, I’m working on it) but I definitely *look* better in blue than I do in grey. It’s a useful reminder to point that out!
As it is, I have a unstructured navy cotton blazer from Target’s in-house brand Merona. Gotta say: it’s been with me through thick and thin for four years from first days of work to casual weddings and all other stuff in between.
Love dressing it up with a checked shirt, knit tie and grey chinos. As for dressing down, it’ll most likely be with a henley, v-neck or polo and jeans.
Thanks to Tod, I’ll probably be on the lookout for a knit blazer some time soon, but for now, I have a navy shawl-collar cardigan to test drive. 😉
I loooove Merona. Great basics, last a surprisingly long time for the cost
I loooove Merona. Great basics, last a surprisingly long time for the cost
Got a Ben Sherman one which is nice and light. Wear it with light chinos brown shoes looks good. But my size is changing to varying gym activity.
lotta arms lately?
lotta arms lately?
Arms Chest Shoulders
I think my clothes are shrinking a little in the wash too.
Arms Chest Shoulders
I think my clothes are shrinking a little in the wash too.
i have 3 different navy blazers (I’ve got a blazer problem, I know)…my favorite being my wool, unlined, patch pocket blazer from Bonobos…awesome awesome jacket. Also have a cotton blazer from JCF and a knit blazer from Uniqlo…all 3 get a ton of wear in my wardrobe.
i have 3 different navy blazers (I’ve got a blazer problem, I know)…my favorite being my wool, unlined, patch pocket blazer from Bonobos…awesome awesome jacket. Also have a cotton blazer from JCF and a knit blazer from Uniqlo…all 3 get a ton of wear in my wardrobe.
i have 3 different navy blazers (I’ve got a blazer problem, I know)…my favorite being my wool, unlined, patch pocket blazer from Bonobos…awesome awesome jacket. Also have a cotton blazer from JCF and a knit blazer from Uniqlo…all 3 get a ton of wear in my wardrobe.
Ha, I wouldn’t call it a “problem” exactly.. 😉
Ha, I wouldn’t call it a “problem” exactly.. 😉
I bought the navy cotton Seneca blazer from Hugh & Crye and it’s great looking, but the texture matches chinos so closely it makes me feel like I’m wearing a bad broken suit, so I only wear it with denim. Do you guys think a navy blazer needs to be wool to look good with chinos or am I being crazy?
Not crazy. Worsteds never work with cotton unless it is really slubby.
Not crazy. Worsteds never work with cotton unless it is really slubby.
What @todc:disqus said below! co-sign 🙂
I bought the navy cotton Seneca blazer from Hugh & Crye and it’s great looking, but the texture matches chinos so closely it makes me feel like I’m wearing a bad broken suit, so I only wear it with denim. Do you guys think a navy blazer needs to be wool to look good with chinos or am I being crazy?
I figured the navy blazer would show up. If it didn’t, I’m not sure I could trust your advice anymore, Megan! JK, anyway, I’ve finally got a good wool navy blazer that I can’t wait to start wearing more once it cools down a bit. I can’t believe I went so long without one. I kind of wish it had patch pockets because I love those but I’ll settle for the flap pockets. I have the feeling that I’ll be adding to my collection of navy blazers with a patch pocket one and probably something in a linen/cotton blend for the summer.
Yes, yes, yes! A navy blazer is the ultimate go-to piece. I love navy blazers so much I’ve got 4 (2 year-round, 1 summer, 1 winter) and I always have to remind myself that I have 4 when I try on a new one. It’s kind of impossible to pick a favorite styling, though, since my favorite thing about it is its versatility. That being said, both options above are ????????????
I’m eyeing one at H&M currently. Now that I’m branching out starting my own company, I need a navy blazer. Also, with their clothes donation thing, 10% off an already exceptionally cheap blazer works for me.
Definitely! A navy blazer will be the perfect addition for either casual or formal meetings ????????
I’m eyeing one at H&M currently. Now that I’m branching out starting my own company, I need a navy blazer. Also, with their clothes donation thing, 10% off an already exceptionally cheap blazer works for me.
I can’t live without a good baby blazer in my wardrobe. A notch lapel navy blazer is my go to if I’m looking for a semi formal outfit. I really like dressing it up with a white Oxford and some double monk strap shoes.
Sharp, sharp, sharp. I really like the pairings and you hit on a favorite of mine, navy with merlot, it works well for fall. I usually wear a navy blazer with jeans or colored chinos. I just picked up an oddity, a navy Nicole Miller blazer with a pale cobalt windowpane pattern; something different to try this fall.