Tallia Velvet Blazer – $137.50 ($275) | Express – $228.00 | Banana Republic – $250.00
Since these are available at Macy’s, Express, and B.R., wait for a large sale if you’re interested.
Despite being almost always dark and solid, there’s nothing real subtle about velvet. With a silk-like shine, velvet is the most peacocky (peacockish?) of cotton fabrics.
Its thick too, so perfect for around the holidays, and it’ll produce a nice contrast up against flannel trousers. The issue is it carries almost the same “look at me” punch as go-to-hell pants, with none of the tongue in cheek factor.
Velvet sportcoats seemed to come back into favor a few years back, then they disappeared for a winter or two, and now they’re starting to appear again.
There are quieter alternatives. A rich corduroy will deliver some of the shine, while moleskin ($76.60 w/ GAPTREAT) is sort of a matte and less squishy version of velvet. But velvet is velvet (profound right?) and that uniqueness is why it’s used on the collars of formal Chesterfield coats. But even then, that’s just a bit of velvet.
So would you wear it? Do you own one already? Or is it just too showy? Your take goes in the comments…
