J. Crew Factory Unconstructed Sportcoat in Twill – $81.00 w/ BRR
It is bizarre that most affordable retail companies don’t make a blazer like this, and it’s even stranger that it’s taken J. Crew Factory this long* to make one themselves.
A lot of us guys like wearing blazers. But we don’t want to wear a stuffy, fresh from the yacht club, totally structured, brass-button thing. Something less traditional, but still subtle (so, not some mixed-media eyesore from the Macy’s clearance racks). Easy to wear with jeans, or pair up with chinos. Something that’ll look good for a date, but doesn’t scream “this guy is trying too hard”. A lightly constructed or unconstructed dark cotton blazer with subtle buttons does all those tricks, and this is one of the better examples available now.
Yes indeed. It’s barely lined. Completely unlined on the back.
It’s the JCF Thompson fit for sure. Lowered button stance, 2.5″ lapels, and a tail that’s a bit shorter but not chopped. That might be the one drawback… that a shorter tail + lower button stance can = a slightly unbalanced look. But most won’t notice. Arm circumference is on the slim side (so you won’t have bolts of fabric hanging off your triceps), shoulders are soft instead of containing thick, rigid shoulder pads, and the mid section has some taper to it, but most will want it brought in just a bit more (size shown above is a medium on a 180 lb frame, and might need a bit of waist suppression, but not much). Buttons at the sleeve cuffs are non functioning, so tailoring should be super easy.
Prepare to steam! It’ll probably show up wrinkled as hell, out of the box.
Color is listed as “navy”, but it’s more of a blue/grey slate. Plenty of contrast between it’s shade and dark denim. The microstripe is a plus, and that tiny pattern gives the fabric a little bit of depth. It’s basically this thing, in a lighter shade, and less expensive. Unlike many of the mainline J. Crew S/M/L sized sportcoats, this JCF S/M/L sized blazer seems to fit a little trimmer? Maybe?
JCF has since corrected the description to read “partially lined” (it just said “lined” when it debuted). A more accurate description should read “barely” lined. There is no lining to the back. None. Not even a couple wings of fabric near the shoulder blades. The front side of the body is lined in a lightweight cotton, and the sleeves are lined in acetate, so your shirt won’t get hung up on the interior as you put it on and move about.
Close up of the micro stripe fabric. Also, sleeve buttons are non-functioning w/ no accent stitching.
Is it going to knock the socks off the #menswear street-style crowd? Hell no. There’s no flash to this thing. But that’s a positive. It’s a basic. It’s pretty close to perfect, and for some reason, the style & construction as a whole is tough to find elsewhere. It’s a better silhouette than UNIQLO’s shrunken blazers. Banana Republic lines the hell out of their jackets and the armholes can be low. GAP chops tails and sticks functioning buttons on most of theirs.
This one gets everything just about as right as it can, where most others get much of it wrong. Be patient and wait for a code, and if/when it dips under a $100, it’s a bargain.
UPDATE: And as of this morning (8/11/14) JCF has decided to run a 25% off everything code BRR that also gets you free shipping, no min, through today. Suiting is excluded, but blazers are fair game.
*Or, maybe this is a resurrection of a design they’ve made in the past. A totally unconstructed blazer in this color/fabric hasn’t been on their racks for at least a good long while, if memory serves?
For some reason, whenever I try on JCF blazers I experience a “neck roll.” Anyone else experience this problem? Is this easily fixed by a tailor?
I have the same issue. It’s probably because your shoulders are more square than the cut of the jacket. Apparently it can be fixed by a tailor, but I haven’t had it done w/ my JCF jackets yet.
Where are the tall sizes?!
can be fixed by a tailor. it has to do with your shoulder anatomy. I always have a roll. It is expensive to get fixed because of the amount of work involved. Luckily, my mother does that stuff for a living.
How does one steam a jacket like this? Is special equipment required or can it be done with an iron?
Thanks for the info, Nathan and Antonio. Your mother’s a tailor, Antonio? That’s great. I have so many garments I’d like to tweak–even after tailoring. It would be nice to have that kind of resource.
I work with a few tailors, but I reserve my blazer work for a guy named Dominic. I’ll ask him today.
Thanks for the review. Hard to tell from the pictures just how blue/not blue this is. Could one get away with wearing this with true navy chinos?
That’s the comment I came to make.
Sadly, I’ve never seen any of these S/M/L sized sportcoats in tall sizes. I assume there’s simply not enough demand from us and our non-diminutive brethren 🙂
What watch are you wearing, Joe?
How heavy is the fabric? Is this a warm weather jacket or more for Fall?
Yes, I think so. Color above is true to real-life. More of a greyish blue than “navy” that’s for sure. I think it would look better with the heavier texture of denim though.
It’s on the thinner side but not wispy. I think it’s wearable now (as long as it’s not sweltering) and should do just fine in the fall. The kinda thing you could wear with white (or almost white) jeans, and then a few months later wear with dark denim and a sweater.
Got it. Thanks, Joe.
Clearly, you just need to do more shrugs at the gym to build up those traps!
I’m glad my shoulders are naturally sloped for once!
If you’re a tall (I’m 6’5″ – XLT) you have to ignore any J Crew Factory posts. It’s just less painful that way.
Hamilton Khaki Officer something something. (I presume.)
They have 40L now and their tall shirts are fine. Most of the time they work for me.
How does this compare to a Merona Kensington?
I would like t know this as well. The medium seems like it would be too large.
Better quality. Sharper fabric but still relaxed. Fit’s a little closer.
Medium, but you’ll need to have the sides taken in. A small would be a little short in the tail for 5’10”
That happens with almost every jacket I try on regardless of the make. Its a pretty straightforward fix for a tailor, although will obviously be a decent proportion of the total cost of this jacket.
You could just *roll* with it?
Wow. I stand corrected. I wonder when Talls were introduced. Last time I checked (ages ago) they were not there.
Now maybe I’ll be able to vote for them in the Store Wars!
That’s right. In my experience, their tall shirts and long jackets tend to run *very* long.
I just wish these unstructured jackets were available in extended sizes. An option for unhemmed pants would be nice, too.
Cool. I hope they add another color, then.
Hi Jo – I’m in a similar boat, being 6′, 165 pounds, and slim – I usually wear a 36R in J Crew.
I don’t have a J Crew Factory in my city, do you think I could try on the Japanese Cotton Ludlow jacket to get a reasonable facsimile of my size?
I’d use a steamer.
Yeah, mom is a tailor. Boy has it saved me A LOT of money and like you said, I’m able to tweak things here and there. Good luck with the roll, it should definitely be able to be done!
That was gonna be my question. Another spot-on write up, Joe.
> “Lowered button stance, 2.5″ lapels, and a tail that’s a bit shorter but
not chopped. That might be the one drawback… that a shorter tail + lower
button stance can = a slightly unbalanced look.”
Most men’s suits are not shaped correctly, IMO. The “balanced look” gives the physique a sort of hourglass shape. That shape is female-feminine, not male-masculine. The male-masculine shape is V-shaped, with the vertex at the waist. Hence a lower button stance is correct. I always have my suits tailored with the narrowest circumference at or just above my belt line.
I hate the high button stance suits that have predominated for at least the last ten years. They look horrible on a man, kind of like an apron. The top front button should be LOW, no higher than the navel. And the bottom edge of the drape should be SHORT. Otherwise you look like George Raft. The worst is the atrocity called “three-button.” This is so 1962 and most unflattering. I’m glad it’s nearly gone.
This jacket is designed correctly, for a change
Received mine late last night. Care is dry clean only, no iron. Steamer would be right. I think it will need a steam before I wear it. Wrinkled and a bit stale out of the bag.
I got the medium for all those wondering. Chest is probably an inch too small, but it works fine. Sides look huge and need to be brought in. Arms are about an inch or too long as well. Arms are slightly big as well but not terrible.
I just got mine in today. Really disappointed. My chest is on the upper end of the J Crew “XL” inch range, but I cant get the thing even close to closing. I’d swear they embroidered “XL” on an “M”.
what shirt are you wearing and what are you doing to keep your collars looking so nice?
5’10” 190 but slimming down, ordered the large today. Hopefully a good fit…
I did the same. 5’10” 185 42 chest. It sounds like it will have to be taken in some, but we will see.
5’10” 160 lbs (38R) so I ordered a Medium. Took the coat into a local tailor to shorten the sleeves and bring in the waist, $45!! That puts the total price at just over $100 with the current clearance price and usual discount codes.
Just picked one of these up using a promo. I’m 5 6 short 180 with V shape body so I’m hoping the M fits. Update once I get it and try it on.
Got the jacket in a few days ago. The jacket length surprisingly fits perfect, shoulders fit perfect, sleeves need to be shortened but not by much and the cut of the jacket was perfect as well. Only issue I ran into was the upper arm area is bunching up. Think I should get this altered?
I just got this for $67. It was in the clearance section and j crew factory just sent me a 20% off clearance section code. It’s my first blazer/sport coat purchase ever so I thought what the heck this seems like good value + I’ve been wanting to incorporate one into my wardrobe.