The navy blazer is a staple. But it comes in many different forms. Many thanks to John B. in the comments over here who asked for a quick hierarchy of navy blazers. These start cheap and accessible, and progress to blazers that are worth saving up for. Some are casual, some are dressed up, some can do it all. Leave your favorites in the comments. And yes, for the purpose of this piece, the term “blazer” is being used liberally.
#4. The Rumpled/Washed Chino: Merona Kensington – $39.99
One of the first blazers any guy starting to experiment with his own style will buy, and one of those items that’ll get plenty of use even as he graduates on to more expensive and better made jackets. There’s a place for a “beater blazer” in just about everyone’s wardrobe. A jacket does a lot for your look, even if you’re extremely dressed down. These blazers are cut from cotton with little lining or structure, and they’re meant to be worn casually. So much so that pairing a tie with one would probably look a little off. The fabric is going to wrinkle and rumple, and that’s just fine. You’ll spill salsa, beer, nacho cheese, or all of the above on it. Also okay. Shown above is Target’s Merona Kensington, first mentioned over here.
#3. The Crisp Cotton: JCF Thompson in Pique – $$117.60 or Chino – $103.60 w/ SALE30
It can be chino, pique, a birdseye… whatever. As long as the fabric is polished enough that it leans more towards smooth and less towards just got out of bed. It’s possible to argue that these are more versatile than a dressier navy wool blazer, since pairing these with a pair of beat up jeans looks just as right as wearing one with a pair of pressed work pants. Look for these though:
- J. Crew Factory – their Thompson suit separates
- Banana Republic – their tailored fit blazers
- Uniqlo – the Stretch Cotton blazer
GAP used to make a solid options for these, but it seems like their tails have gotten way too chopped, and the fabric a little too thin in recent years. These are cotton blazers or suit jackets that while not wool, can still be taken seriously once tailored. And don’t worry about picking up an orphaned suit jacket in this style. As long as the shoulder pads are under control, it’ll look like a cotton blazer, not like a suit jacket that wandered away from its matching pants.
#2. The Wool Linen and/or Cotton Blend: B.R. Tailored Linen-Wool Blazer – $250.00
One step below an all wool blazer are the blazers with a bit more texture. Sort of like how a smooth silk tie gets knocked down a few rungs on the dressed-up-o-meter if it’s got some wool blended in. The end result is a slightly rougher, almost slub-like texture. All Linen blazers can belong in here too as long as they’ve got good structure to them (think the Italian Linen Ludlows from J. Crew, or this option from Brooks Brothers).
Two problems with the BR tailored linen-wool blazer above: 1. It’s going to be tough to get on sale (blazers have been increasingly exempt from codes). And 2. It’s lined in poly. Really, really wish they’d stop doing that. $250 (or even $175 at 30% off) is a lot of money to spend on a blazer only to have your tailor hack up the insides. But it’s a terrific blazer otherwise. Great lines, slim sleeves off the rack, and nice deep blue (but not dark navy) Italian fabric.
#1. The All Wool + Dangerously Sleek: J. Crew Ludlow – $388.00
The J. Crew Ludlow is nothing short of fantastic. Super 130s wool that’s buttery soft, a substantial chest piece that hugs your body, and non functioning buttons make for easy sleeve tailoring. Half lined too, so it breathes well even in warm weather. Patience can pay off if you hang out until a 25% off site-wide (except suits) code rolls around. Those can be applied to blazers. This one happened to dip into the sale section at $20 off, then a 30% off code hit. And it’s well worth a quarter of a thousand. Looks perfect with everything from jeans to wool trousers. Also worth a look, the Havana from SuitSupply for $399. It does have patch pockets, but they look like they blend in nicely. Same goes for the often on sale “Heritage” blazer from L.E.C. It’s lighter weight but rumor has it the tail is on the shorter side.
Meanwhile, to brass/gold button? Or to not brass/gold button? The traditionalists say if it’s a blazer, it has to have brass, gold, or mother of pearl buttons. Okay. Call it a sportcoat then. Plenty of us just don’t like the looks of a blazer, sorry, sport coat with metallic buttons on the front. It’s a personal preference. You wear what you want to wear.
BONUS: The Monster Splurge: Billy Reid Rustin – $520 w/ PRIVATEOFFER ($650)
75% wool, 25% Mohair (silky fabric spun from Angora Goat hair), Made in Italy, Natural horn buttons, and a pique-like looking weave with patch pockets. It’s a blazer that’s so damn nice, it can be dressed down with some texture and patch pockets and still blow away the room. And your bank account. Code is good for 20% off orders of $250 through today.
Your turn guys. What’s your favorite blazer overall, and which type do you normally find yourself wearing? Cotton? All wool? What about the button debate? Leave it all in the comments…
That Billy Reid looks a bit cropped. I’d likely spring for the Ludlow over that.
I was looking for something to hang in my office for the rare times that I should jacket up. It’s pretty a pretty casual office on the spectrum and I am most typically in chinos. What are people’s thoughts on the Thompson piqué. It seems like good middle ground and cheap enough (when on sale) to keep in the office forever.
Anyone else keep a blazer around? What was you choice? Do you rotate others?
oh how I wish that JCrew would make 42S in their suits and blazers
Great Article, i’m guessing the wool Thompson would slide in between #2 and #3? I also have broad shoulders relative to my size and for some reason the Ludlow is the only jacket that fits me off the rack with no tailoring except sleeve length.
I just snagged a New with tags Ludlow on eBay for 150. And…#OMGLudlow. I already knew my size, but it fits perfectly and seems like a true four season item. My advice: hang out on eBay. Use Gixen. Search “Ludlow and 40r” (or 42L, or 38r, or whatever your size is). You can find very steep discounts on new ones, though perhaps from last season. Still… #OMGLudlow
Was just looking around for one….the uniqlo stretch cotton jacket is on sale right now for $49.90 i have picked up anything there yet. Seems like a good price anyone have suggestions about fit…I fall into that broader sholder catagory as well. Im not a big guy but not that typical sleek either.
My experience is that you have to try them in-store due to the small/medium/large/XL sizing. I cannot buy any blazers from Uniqlo because I am between a M and a L — even their slim fits do not help me.
I picked up a navy Jack Spade (made by Southwick) at Marshall’s for less than $200 recently. Half-canvas, basted sleeves. Great looking.
Which brands have you had success with? I have very broad chest and shoulders compared to my waist size so nothing at J. Crew fits me in a flattering way.
I picked up the Claiborne blazer (and pants) from JCP a few weeks ago. The fit is great. So far, it’s my favorite navy option.
I wanted a new sport coat/blazer I could wear for business casual and couldn’t find a 42L in Navy Ludlow, so I grabbed the charcoal italian wool one (http://s7.jcrew.com/is/image/jcrew/42324_WD4731?$pdp_fs418$). Not really sure how I’m going to wear it since charcoal seems a little less versatile. Didn’t think to look on ebay for navy 42Ls.
Picked up one of the newer Stafford Hopsack Blazers from JCP last week from the Mother’s Day Sale. For reference I wear a 44R in the Ludlow and BR Tailored Fit with little to no alterations. On the Stafford I originally tried the Slim Fit option in 44R which fit decent, but the arms were just a bit too tight and the chest was not as hugging as I would have hoped on a slim fit, would have still needed a bit of tailoring. Tried the Regular fit in 44R, swimming in it. Sized down to 42R in the Regular fit, perfect. Arms were still trim, and not as constricting as the slim fit, and the chest was perfect. The only alterations I’ll be doing is having the brass buttons replaced. The material is so so, but for the price and the fit, I’m happy.
I have never worn a blaz… err.. *sportcoat* as much as I’ve been wearing the BR birdseye cotton one. Best fit of any standalone jacket OTR, for me; at least I think – and several fellas in the threads here have told me so too, based upon WIWT pics. I really love the pattern, as it gives it something extra besides just “navy.” It’s super soft too, without losing any structure.
I have the grey herringbone cotton and the taupe/tan cotton BR *blazers* too, but the birdseye is my favorite, for sure. Maybe it’s due to the 3/2 roll. Or is that 2/3 roll? Whatever. You know what I mean. It just seems to fit a *little* bit better than those other two. I probably wear it too often, actually. Our family and friends are gonna start to think I need better rotation.
Ah well. Great article, BTW… per usual, Joe.
A Uniqlo L fits me great, too. And I also have to get the sleeves tailored (as I do on pretty much everything)
I picked up the cotton/linen blend blazer for spring/summer and I’m very happy with it.
Agree, I just picked up the Birdseye a couple of weeks ago, perfect OTR fit. My Kensington just got pushed a little farther back in the rotation. And the material…makes me want to sleep in it.
I own the Heritage blazer, and the tail is definitely a bit chopped. I find myself wishing it was maybe a half an inch to an inch longer. Still, if you don’t mind it, it’s a great blazer. For its 100 percent wool fabric, it’s weave has a good amount of texture that’s perfect for wearing with jeans, trousers and chinos alike
Man, i have one right now, but will prob return it. Sleeves on it are just huge compared to the rest of their tailored line…got it on sale for 120 and love the look of it otherwise.
Have just gotten the LEC Wool Travelers Blazer in the tailored fit (with the 40% off) and it is nice, really lightweight and the perfect amount of texture. Appears to really withstand wrinkling, and the fit is spot on with zero tailoring required for me in a 40R. Haven’t seen the Heritage, but I think its a bit lighter weight than but similar.
So you’re the one I keep battling with on eBay…
“Oooh. Nice. I dig it. Lemme kick that one around.”
Thank you Joe!
Ludlows are great if you have the right body type. I’m rougly 5’8″ and 155-160 lbs. and wear a 38. Ludlows look great on me, but if you’re body type isn’t lean or if you have a really wide chest for your height, they probably won’t look right. I think it’s the narrower lapels – they’re proportional if you’re lean but too narrow if you’re stockier.
Everyone gets hung up on lapel width in inches and what’s in style, but it’s important to match your lapel to your frame within the context of following the trend. Adam Scott (Ben Wyatt on Parks and Rec) can get away with razor-thin lapels because he’s really lean, but they’d look ridiculous on Dwayne Johnson. When wider lapels come back in (and they will eventually), Scott’s still going to look best in something that’s 3-3.5 inches max, which is probably the slimmest lapel Dwayne Johnson should be in.
Does anyone have thoughts on the Gap Tailored blazer? I picked it up on sale recently as my first blazer and really like its fit, lack of lining, and how light it is. Here’s a link:
http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=351301&locale=en_US&kwid=1&sem=false&sdReferer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gap.com%2Fproducts%2Fnavy-blazer.jsp
I took a chance and tried out Ralph Lauren’s wool blazer because it was on sale. Of course the armholes could be much higher and I had to take in the sides, but I’m pretty happy for $165 or whatever I paid for it.
But I’m still debating (6mo later) whether to replace these classic (and flashy) gold buttons with silver or not!
Nothing from Suit Supply? I am not in the market at all but that Lands End looks really nice for $250.
My #1 is a Hickey Freeman navy birdseye. I don’t have a #2, #3, or $4. I tried the Merona, but it was a disaster on me. There was no way that thing was ever going to fit me.
Seems strange now that summer has arrived, and you’d think that people would want to hang onto them, but here in Southern California a lot of thrift stores seem to suddenly have a consistent stock of navy blue blazers. Just picked up a Nordstrom hopsack blazer for $6. Might be worth a look if you have some decent thrifting options in your area.
I 100% agree. I also have trouble with the Thompson from JCF. I wear a 44 jacket with a 34 pant, the 44 I find gaps terribly at the top. Maybe gap is the wrong word, but I feel like too much of my shirt in the upper chest area is uncovered. Actually needed a suit recently and ended up going with the Brooks Brothers Factory 346 in Madison fit. A 42 jacket there fit pretty much perfectly.
It’s tough to find jackets that fit, honestly. Suitsupply has worked pretty well. I have a Canali jacket that fits me perfectly, but it was expensive. I’ve also had a few jackets made that fit me well — but again, not cheap. As convenient as it would be to wear accessible off-the-rack jackets like the Ludlow, they just look comical on me. And I know from experience that tailors cannot reliably fix shoulder / lapel issues, no matter what they say. I may try the Brooks Bros. jacket that Mike N. recommend. (Thanks for the tip.)
It’s worth noting that, although they don’t advertise this, SuitSupply sells a couple of their simplest color/trim suits as separates or jacket only. This includes a navy Sienna cut that, for me, is just a killer blazer. For me, it fits much better than the J Crew Ludlow, and I think it looks a bit nicer, too. Much more of a polished look than most of the what Suit Supply advertises as jacket-only, like the Havana or Washington.
Agreed. Sleeves are a touch too long usually but their fit is great for guys with broad shoulders.
Agreed. Sleeves are a touch too long usually but their fit is great for guys with broad shoulders.
I know exactly what you mean. MTM suits from my tailor and shirts from Ratio clothing have been difficult and with a lot of compromises.
Thanks for the tip. I had a strong suspicion that Suitsupply could be better OTR but there are no locations nearby. I’ll also have to give Brooks Brothers a shot (thanks Mike N).
No problem – I honestly went out expecting to come away with one of the JCrew options, but just didn’t look great. BB I went to the Regent/Fitzgerald fit and was better, but not thrilled. Saleswoman suggested the more traditional Madison – gave it a shot. Walked out with 2. (helped that they were running a friends and family sale). JCF fabric also felt much thinner than I expected.
If you are looking for a traditional US-style blazer, you should take a good look at Anderson-Little.
They have excellent customer service (great return policy) and it is made in the USA. It’s a wool/poly blend, but the feel is still good and it is quite wrinkle resistant. For just under $200, I think it’s a great starter piece.
I ordered the BR wool/linen blazer because I *finally* saw a BR blazer online in 36S that I wanted. Splurge, I know, but it’s hard to find that size at BR. I already have a BR suit, so I know the tailored fit blazers fit me well without tailoring (makes up for some of the $$). The blue is slightly brighter than navy and the texture is excellent, although stiffer than I expected (that’s linen). I wore it to brunch on mother’s day and loved the look. It’s definitely a spring/summer blazer by look, but that’s what I wanted – something a bit LESS formal than a navy blazer with gold buttons, or a simple suit coat. The ticket pocket on one side, with the angled pockets and brighter color… just the right amount of pop.
ed: angled pockets*
Hey guys, I’m also getting started with building my wardrobe after college. What is the difference between dressy, sporty and formal? How casual is casual? Seems like there’s quite a spectrum between dressed up and dressed down. Thanks!
Joe, I’m disappointed. How could you publish an entire article on the hierarchy of blue blazers without including this classic from Brioni? http://www.mrporter.com/product/337453 Wonderful design, and for only just over 1000 dollars, a serious steal.
I snagged one
Hey I just ordered the same thing, curious what height weight are you? I’m 5’10 at 165 lbs
5’11” 180 (athletic/cyclist) fits perfect…though if i were to put on any weight it would prob start to be on the snug side. Id imagine it’ll be great for you
Yo – if anyone is still checking back this far.
I just picked up the Rustin for 285…when I put it on, angels sang, pigs flew, and hell froze…thawed…and froze again.
This is the #$)%_9! nicest blazer I’ve ever put on, and all I had to do was wait for the sale.
Go my children, to Billy Reid I send you –
and if you’re in the Nashville area, they honor the sale price in store – they’ll even ship the thing to you for free (although I recommend shipping it to the store, they threw in a free canvas hanging bag….($40 value) )
of course if you can score the Ludlow for low 200’s….
Thanks for the recommendation Huck. Much appreciated. And yes I try to offer the kind of customer service I’d like to receive myself. I do actually try to speak to as many customers who call in myself. So much of our business is done completely online, it gives me a great chance to both help customers and get to know them as well.