Odd Jackets

I don't believe that a classic wardrobe requires many odd jackets. They are very useful when you need something to throw on above a pair of cords, but a flannel, tweed or linen suit looks as good or better at other times.

That doesn't mean odd jackets are not perfectly acceptable for lunch at the club, Sunday worship and any business trip where you'll arrive too late for a meeting. It just means that they are a discretionary purchase once you have a few of them. I think four or five of them cover the basics, with two or three pairs of trousers that you can wear with each jacket.

For spring and summer, you should have a navy blazer of 10 oz. fresco. A tan linen or fresco jacket makes a good change of pace. Complementary trousers could include tan and cream linen, light gray and tan fresco, and tan and khaki cotton drill.

For fall and winter you’ll want to start with a blazer of blue flannel or serge, and one or two tweed jackets. Medium and dark gray flannel trousers go with almost any jacketing. Tan cavalry twill is also a classic with the navy jacket and corduroy looks great with tweed.

A great feature of odd jackets is that they give you quite a bit of room to exercise your creativity in the details while remaining appropriately dressed. A belted safari jacket, or safariana, can be a different look in warm weather. Patch and bellows pockets on a tweed coat, developed to hold shotgun shells, are a good place to put your Blackberry.

That flexibility is probably enough reason to have more than four or five of them.