I own four blue sport coats. Two of them are gold-button blazers by Brooks Brothers, one single-breast and one double-breast; and the other being suit separates from T.M. Lewin, a three-button navy herringbone and a light navy mohair blend. I bought all of them on eBay over the last few years – spending no more than $40 per piece.
Recently, two of these jackets, coincidentally my daily rotation, have started showing irreversible wear – both have started “shining,” indicating fabric wear (i.e., cannot fix), and one’s lining is falling apart (i.e., not worth fixing). Now that I’m earning an income and no longer solely reliant on eBay deals, I have started considering replacing them with a single new jacket, possibly made-to-measure.
A good navy jacket, regardless whether it’s technically a blazer or just a sport coat, should be versatile, i.e., pairable with a wide variety of outfits. For my work environment, that means mostly tieless with both stiff and soft-collar shirts slacks or chinos. I’d also like to be able to use the jacket to dress up a pair of jeans without seeming like I forgot my suit trousers, and, of course, when the occasion calls for it, to wear it with most of my ties.
With that in mind, my “perfect navy blazer” would look something like this:
- Medium navy, plain weave: I want the color and texture of the jacket to allow maximum versatility. This means a jacket dark enough to provide contrast against most odd trousers I’d be wearing but not so dark to look out-of-place without matching pants. A matte weave, or anything without an obvious sheen for that matter, would help keep the jacket look appropriately “not a suit.”
- Soft shoulder and construction: a button-down collar, especially when open, looks sloppy and out-of-place with a stiff, structured-shoulder British jacket. I learned this the hard way, through putting my highly-structured T.M. Lewin jacket with countless button-downs, looking in the mirror, seeing something “off,” but not being able to figure out exactly why. Definitely not making that mistake again if I’m planning to pay >$50…
- Notch Lapels: I’ve experimented with peak lapels in both suits and sport coats. As sleek as they look, I find that I only wear them during specific occasions where I want to “stand out.” A navy blazer/sport coat is a garment that I wear on a daily basis. So, the standard, “blend in with the crowd” notch lapels will do. With respect to width, a classic 3 - 3.5” works best with my preference for larger spread or high-roll collars, as well as for any occasion requiring a tie.
- 3-roll-2, dark brown buttons: I’ve written an entire article on my love for three-button, and the choice of brown over gold is one of versatility. Granted, traditional blazers demand gold, or at least metal, buttons, but this choice is limiting. On a purist perspective, the color of the button limits the color of other metals being worn as accessories (belt buckles, watches, etc.). On an aesthetics perspective, they simply look out of place when worn with jeans and, as such, fails the selection criteria.
- Standard breast pocket, patch side pockets: patch side pockets are the best way to make a statement that a garment is casual, and since I’ll be using dark brown (i.e., suit-passing) buttons, having more casual pockets becomes a necessity. This would also avoid the annoying fact that jackets with flap pockets often end up with one tucked and one open by the end of the day from disproportionate use, and jetted pockets, which get rid of the flap altogether, simply look too formal.
Combining these features with side vents and standard lining yields a jacket for work, play, and warmth – thus allowing me to wear it for 90% of my planned occasions. Not too casual or particularly formal, but definitely shows that you put thought into what you wear.
If you’re planning to wear the jacket to more formal occasions as a suit substitute, it certainly would make sense to choose flap pockets, metal buttons, and possibly even a smoother fabric (e.g., twill). But, I got this covered. My double-breast, gold-button Brooks Brothers blazer is about as formal as these garments get, and it looks to be able to withstand at least a few more years of wear. The other, lighter navy, almost indigo jacket will also get some rotation in the summer months, although I’ll probably get the buttons replaced with Mother of Pearl, first.
And thus begins the process of consolidating my wardrobe!
Update: It appears that both SuitSupply and Spier and Mackay sell ready-to-wear jackets that pretty much meet my criteria (through the three-roll-two is sold out at SM), if anyone is interested in matching blazers.
Cover image courtesy from Huntsman of Saville Row (source).