In Review: JC Penney’s Cheap Claiborne Linen-Cotton Blazer

Claiborne Linen-Cotton Blazer – $59.49 w/ SPGSALE

Man. Just another reminder to pour one out for our departed-from-JCP style homies Nick Wooster and Ron Johnson. There used to be more than a handful of pieces like this on the racks at JC Penney during the (short) Johnson/Wooster tenure. But now? When something this decent & this cheap shows up… you gotta wonder if it’s just a whisper or an echo from their reign.

The shell is 52% linen / 48% cotton, and it’s only half lined. Just the upper back and sleeves. The front doesn’t even have much of a lining to speak of. Upper back and over the shoulders is lined in a soft & breezy 65% poly / 35% cotton blend:

Lining? We don’t need no stinking lining.

Sleeves are lined in all poly, but they don’t stick and grab like some of the other papery/scratchy linings found inside other JCP jackets (lookin’ at you, Stafford).

The fit is an honest trim, with a smaller sleeve diameter and contouring through the sides. It’s trim enough that the 38R seen here is just a bit too small on a 5’10” 180 lb  frame.

Size shown: 38R. A 40R would be best for a 5’10” / 180 lb frame.

Jacket tail is shorter, but not chopped. Side vents, not too aggressive 3″ peak lapels. and barely there shoulder padding finish off the details. It screams “I was designed during the Johnson/Wooster days”, even though it’s not on the clearance rack… yet.

It is incredibly comfortable, wrinkles easily, and therefor is gonna be used more casually. It’s a light khaki, so pairing it with summer pants won’t be as easy as you’d think. Jeans are a perfect match for cooler summer evenings, and medium to lighter blue oxford or linen pants should work here too.

But… yeah, there’s a but.

The sleeve buttons are non-functioning (which is good), but the sleeves themselves seem to run a little long. Plus, there’s pretty thick accent stitching around them. That’s not good.

Non functioning, but would removing a button leave behind stitching scars?

Shortening the sleeves will be a breeze. But if you go more than half an inch or so, you’d have to remove that 4th button. Removing the 4th button is no problem. But that accent stitching that’s left over, after it gets pulled out? IF it can get pulled out? It might leave a mess underneath.

Overall, it’s fantastic for sixty bucks. But like many blazers that fall into the “affordable” realm, it’s the tailoring of the sleeves that might cause hiccups.

Question: At this point, on a blazer that’s in this price range, would anyone notice and/or care if the manufacturer just didn’t put any buttons on the sleeves at all? Or is that crazy talk? Or is the J. Crew/UNIQLO style, buttons but no stitching, the way to go? Leave it all in the comments.