In Person: The $30 Target Wool Blend Blazer

Target Merona Wool Blend Jacket – $30.00 ($39.99)

Many thanks to Tim H. for sending in the style tip / in-person request for this one.

Be prepared to size down.  These can’t be cut from the same pattern as the Merona Kensington cotton sport coat.  An off the rack medium on those seemed to fit a 165-170 pound frame surprisingly well.  That’s not the case here.

The boxy shape on this wool blend Merona blazer is tough to miss.  The sleeves are long and they need to be tapered/slimmed badly.  BUT… those jcp blazers run about a size too big as well.  Maybe worth a shot to size down and/or have your tailor double (or more) the “value” of the blazer by having the sides and sleeves slimmed.  Maybe?

Forget the camera, the jacket adds 10 pounds.  At least.  Size shown = Medium.

The good news is that while it’s lined, it’s barely structured.  No shoulder padding to speak of.  Sleeve buttons are non functional so tailoring the sleeves should be relatively easy.  There is some accent stitching around the sleeve buttons, but with the pattern of the fabric and the color of the thread, no one is going to notice if the buttons get shifted up a bit to shorten the sleeve.  The light grey on dark grey herringbone fabric is a surprisingly soft 45% wool, 36% poly, 19% acrylic, and that acrylic gives it a nice soft texture as opposed to a scratchy tweed.

A steal if it weren’t for the fit.  Again, maybe sizing down would solve most of these problems… but should a “small” really = a 38R, 5’10″/170 pound frame?  Look, that’s far from Shawn Kemp territory, but it ain’t Spud Webb either.

Appears to only be available online for now.  Target.com’s “find it in store” option shows larges are available in store but that’s it.  Strange.  Thoughts on what size of body should equal what size in store?  Leave it all below.