The Ultra-cheap going out Blazer

Old Navy Moleskin Blazer – $35.00 – $49.50

The dark blazer / collared shirt / dark wash jeans / nice shoes “look” is a can’t-miss way to get dressed for a night out in the city.  Two advantages to wearing the Blazer:  It gives you extra pockets to put stuff in, and it sets you apart from all the college guys wearing un-tucked dress shirts.  (side-note: those shirts will inevitably too long in the tail and too wide in the body.)

With the blazer you’ll look more put together and more like a grown-up.  As opposed to a grown-up who’s trying to look like a college kid.

But those dark blazers can be expensive. Here’s how to get one for under $50.

Step 1: Don’t pay full price.  Watch for a sale.  I got mine at Old Navy for $35.

Step 2: Once you do buy it, take a long hard look at the buttons.  Buttons are the downfall of any inexpensive blazer.  The buttons on this Old Navy Moleskin Blazer are a dull, cheap plastic.  They just look flimsy and they drag down the overall look of the jacket.  This is an easy fix:

Put on your new, yet to be tailored blazer, and head to a thrift store.  Find a black or dark suit/blazer on the rack.  Doesn’t matter what size.  See those buttons on there?  The black ones with maybe a bit of gray running through them?  (see examples to the right)  Hold them up to your jacket and see if they’d look like an improvement.  They probably do.  Good.  Buy that jacket for a couple of bucks.

Step 3: Take your new jacket, and the thrift store jacket to your tailor.  Have your tailor bring in the sides of the new blazer so it’s not so boxy.  And then ask if they can please replace the buttons on the new jacket with the buttons from the old.  Should cost a little bit, but… not that big of a deal.

Step 4: Pick up your new, tailored blazer, with much better buttons.  Deposit thrift store blazer in the trunk of your car for wiping off dipstick when checking oil.  Spend the money you just saved on your lady friend during your night out in the city.

Remember, an un-tailored $50 blazer will look 10x better than an ill fitting $500 blazer.