Best Affordable Style of 2011 – The Blazer

Macy’s INC Ultra Light Cotton Blazers – $23.99 – $59.99 (out of stock)

The end of the year means it’s time to hand out some awards.  But calling these “the dappys” would just sound terrible.  Instead, we’ll stick with a highly generalized “best of…” strategy, with the very best from the past year being highlighted all this week.
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Probably the best of the lot.  The ultra relaxed micro gingham.  See the pattern here.

Completely unstructured with no lining, these are barely more than a shirt.  And that’s part of why they earned the top spot.  Of course you want your go-to sportcoat or blazer to have some structure to it.  But when it comes to stepping it up just a little when you don’t have to, these have become a dirt cheap secret weapon.

The price would also dip wildly low when they were still available.  At one point it bottomed out at $25.  At least three patterns were available (seen below) with the well contoured micro gingham pulling a lot of duty for many of us in the spring and summer.  A pair of not quite white chinos, lighter blue shirt, decent loafers and maybe a knit tie could get you on and off a real nice restaurant’s patio while looking just as good as the guy in the chino suit.

One of those items that when you first picked it up off the rack you just weren’t sure.  For most of us, it became an unexpected odd-ball favorite once we got it on.  Long gone for now, but maybe they’ll return in the spring.

The hot-weather micro gingham, and the any time glen plaid or pin stripe.