A man needs several dark blue odd jackets in his wardrobe. Now let me clarify this by pointing out that not all blue odd jackets are blazers, just as not all blazers are blue odd jackets. The intersection of the two terms however is a well populated place and for the purpose of this essay I will use either name interchangeably to mean a not quite navy or darker blue coat with or without metal buttons and either single or double breasted.
The place of the blue odd jacket in the wardrobe is unique. Too casual for business and too formal for most casual wear, it resides between the two. It can be worn for cocktails with gray flannels, for travel with a pair of jeans and, as Emily Post wrote many years ago, it is a good choice for church or lunch in the country.
With all these opportunities a man should really have a blue odd jacket for each season. A few days ago I mentioned G. Bruce Boyer's navy cotton double breasted with black horn buttons (those right out of the pages of Apparel Arts by the way) and something like that or its brother in linen is good for warm weather. A Finmeresco or mid-weight lambswool or cashmere coat with horn buttons will take a man through the shoulder seasons, and a heavier flannel or hopsack does the trick for the cold (dark blue Donegal tweed makes a nice change of pace).
The blazer was first worn with cream colored flannel trousers and those are still the best choice in warm weather and clean locales, and it is now worn most often with gray. Be careful by the way that your own gray is no darker than medium so that jacket and trousers have an appropriate contrast. Tan or stone trousers also complement blue. Whatever the color, weights and materials need only be seasonally appropriate. Choose cavalry twill and moleskin in winter; gabardine is nice for shoulder season and fresco, cotton or linen are good for the heat.
Striped neckties are at their best with blue odd jackets, as are emblematics of all types to which one is entitled. Demonstrating the blazer's flexibility, tattersall shirts look good and at the other end of the formality spectrum so do dress shirts with checked bodies and white collars and cuffs paired with a bow tie for an early evening drink.
A man can not have too many dark blue odd jackets.
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13 comments:
Will, I can't grasp your point about "dark" blue. Looking at the AA picture I'd say it's fairly medium blue and works nicely with light gray trousers and spectators shown. But "Navy" is where I find confusion.
My tailor recently changed an order of cloth I ordered. Instead of a fairly dark blue tropical he went for a medium blue. Not as light as the blue pictured, but lighter than what most semi formal occasions call for. His point was "you have too many dark blues and look like a dilettante. This is a summer suit, make it a real blue" Who am I to argue?
So, when you one says "Navy blue" I am always a bit confused.
I notice that Emily Post suggests "The coat of a blue suit with white flannel or duck trousers..."
Given that most men own at least one dark blue suit, can suit jackets be worn as odd jackets?
Ms. Post should stick to manners!
This is something I do a lot, but I like to hear you justify it. I wore one this evening in cotton with tan trousers. I prefer a blue odd jacket to a blazer, because blazers make me look like a retired colonel.
Mr. Stillwater, you might consider something other than the coat of a suit, which often fails to look like anything other than half a suit. Not always, but mostly. I admit to only one exception but mine is from an old tweed suit and they are uncommonly had as new suits nowadays..
Good article, it is true that not all blue odd jackets are blazers and vice-versa.
By the way I like the jacket color in the picture, it is a good example.
To Initials CG:
"you have too many dark blues and look like a dilettante. This is a summer suit, make it a real blue"
That was a good advaice from your tailor.
"A man can not have too many dark blue odd jackets."
Couldn't agree more Will. I have five blazers and plain blue jackets in linen and other fabrics. Although I have other odd jackets in solids and patterns (excluding sport coats) none of them are remotely as flattering and versatile as the plain dark blue. Forced to have only two odd jackets (the horror) one of them would be a plain dark blue and the other a real tweed sportcoat.
I recently tripled my collection of dark blue jackets to three. Joining my lightweight blazer are a flannel blazer (with nice patch pockets) and a light indigo linen jacket (with patch pockets and white buttons).
Now if someone would just donate a double-breasted blazer in my size to a local thrift store....
My appologies for posting the suit jacket comment as a question.
Emily Post's Etiquette (referencing 1922 edition) was just a record of what "best society" did rather than a suggestion of style.
Will, do you think a worsted wool is appropriate for a patch pocket navy sports coat, or it does it run the risk of looking too business formal?
the rule is navy blue for dark latin types and the blue in this image for light anglo saxon types
Apologies for commenting on an old post but I was skimming through the site and noticed and Mr Stillwater's comment about using the jacket from a blue suit as an odd jacket.
I recently had a patch pocket jacket made for me in a dark blue (not navy) hopsack. The tailor persuaded me to have a pair of trousers made in the same cloth so I'd have the option of wearing it as a full suit as well.
While I'm incredibly pleased with the suit, I haven't worn much it as an odd jacket because I can't escape the feeling that it looks like I'm wearing half a suit.
I'd love to get your thoughts on this. Did I just start out with the wrong material for an odd jacket or will a tailor cut an odd jacket differently than a suit jacket? Or is the whole thing just psychological because I'm always aware of those matching trousers sitting in my wardrobe...?
Bespoke, I have a navy fresco jacket that came with buttons that would have been at home on a suit, and it looked like I was wearing the jacket of a suit. I had the buttons replaced with a lighter brown and everything fell into place.
Great tip, thanks Will! What are your thoughts on a smokey grey mother of pearl set. Or maybe even white, Italian style?
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