Sport Coat and Blazer Jacket Guide

Blazers don’t have a very good public rep. They’re often seen as stuffy, boring pieces that should only be worn when going to formal events and hosting game shows. Men’s fashion today, however, offers you quite a few options in the blazer department, with quite a few that are more than appropriate for non-formal situations. Even when you don’t plan to wear a necktie, there are still ways to score style points with a blazer.

The Casual Blazer
It sounds like an oxymoron, the casual blazer, but it’s a combination that’s easy to do in real life and is quite a versatile and memorable outfit. Aside from the blazer itself, the rest of the ingredients should be easy to find, right in your own closet.

The simplest and quickest combination is add a blazer over a solid (preferably light) tee and dark jeans. The resulting look is sophisticated without being stuffy, yet casual that doesn’t look sloppy. If you want to dress up your outfit just a teeny bit more, wear a polo shirt instead of the tee. It’s a little preppier and dressier, but maintains that laid back and relaxed vibe of the ‘casual’ blazer.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to buy a new blazer just to pull off this look. Although it’s a good idea to get your wardrobe a sport coat specifically for the purpose, this kind of outfit is just as doable with the blazer from your gray or navy office suit.

The Quirky Blazer
It’s true that blazers are formal pieces that carry a lot of fashion tradition with them. It’s not true that blazers have to be boring and completely devoid of personality.

For spring, the quirky blazer is the one that you wear with a slim shirt, no necktie and a pair of slim tailored shorts. Yes, you read that right: shorts. As long as the shorts are of the dressy variety (the fabric feels like the stuff in your office slacks), it’s a casual take on a formal combination of fabrics. Skipping the necktie is standard to maintain the casual feel, but you can throw in a patterned bow tie for extra quirky style points.

Remember that this kind of outfit is playing on the standards of formal fashion, so the rest of your ensemble should be consistent with that. Little details like leather shoes (a pair of loafers or drivers work great) and a nice watch help achieve the desired effect.

The Double Breasted Blazer
Although they’ve been quite the trend for a while, DBs are still as hot a style item today as they were when they first rolled out on the runways. No, they’re not limited to just the high fashion crowd. Yes, there are many ways to wear the DB blazer.

The stereotypical way of wearing the double breasted blazer is also the most formal. It involves fully buttoning up, a crisp shirt and a well-done necktie. Nowadays, though, it’s just as sharp to wear your DB with less dressy items like a tee or cardigan. You can leave it open and even go the whole nine casual yards by pushing up the sleeves.

Blazers add a touch of dressiness and tradition to your outfit, but they’re a far cry from the one-trick style ponies that many think they are. Once you broaden your fashion horizons a bit, you’ll see that there’s much more to the blazer than meets the eye.

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