Dressing Up the Navy Jacket

Usually we think of the navy odd jacket as something to pair with relatively informal striped neckties, or sometimes no necktie at all. But that is not the only use for the style. I have written before that it also dresses up nicely as warm weather guest attire at an afternoon wedding in the United States for one example, as well as for late day dress (cocktails, theater or dinner) generally.

Dressing up a navy jacket or blazer may require little more than wearing a more formal necktie, dress trousers, a pocket square and perhaps a shirt with a spread collar and turnback cuffs worn with links. After 6 PM, the shoes should be black of course. During the day, they can be white, brown, black or a combination of those that complement the trousers.

Speaking of the trousers, cream is my personal choice these days but the blazer is not limited to a single style or color. Light gray, mid-gray and shades of tan usually work well, and there are those who wear navy jackets with various shades of denim. That may be OK under certain circumstances but few of us would call that dressing up.

Once the trousers have been chosen, I like the trick of mating them with a discreetly patterned necktie whose ground is in the same family of colors. So, couple light gray trousers with neckties that have a silver ground like the navy dotted three-fold in the photo. Mix cream trousers with neckties that have a lot of white in them, or tan with tan. Try it, the next time you want to dress up a navy jacket.