Men's Style Sins with Blazers

Few pieces in men's fashion can come close to the typical blazer in terms of ubiquity and universality. A single blazer can encompass an extremely wide range of styles that run the gamut from lounge casual with sandals to office formal in a necktie. Yet many guys have still found ways to mess up the almost idiot proof blazer. No man should live life without one, but at the same time no guy should be forced into any one of the following.

Statement Blazers
The last decade of men's fashion has seen the rise of statement t shirts, but never will there come a time when statement blazers will become the rage. In fact, the very idea of a 'statement' piece of clothing is antithetical to the whole concept of a blazer.

Blazers ought to be uncomplicated, understated and elegant, the reasons why they're such versatile style pieces in the first place. When you add other things like silkscreen prints or sewn on patches, you destroy the simplicity that gives the blazer its power. You might be adding something interesting to half a square foot of the blazer, yes, but you're also destroying the jacket as a whole style piece.

If you've ever seen the classic blazer at any men's boutique before, then you know how your own piece should look like. The solid coloring and lack of anything explicit on the surface may seem boring at first, but it's this same characteristic that lets you wear your blazer ten, even twenty years down the road.

Distressed Blazers
Ever since the revolution of hippie and Bohemian chic, beatup and distressed styles keep popping in and out of vogue with men's fashion. Yet even as frays, rips and fades come and go for t shirts and jeans, blazers remain stolidly immune to the deconstructing tides.

Theoretically speaking, adherence to tradition is one of the basic ideas that lie at the very foundation of every blazer. Blazers are great fashion items not just because they keep you warm and toasty, but also because they carry a long heritage of style with them. A blazer with rips, fades and frays only serves to go against that heritage and make you look like a hobo in the process.

Although they might appear boring at first, the very best blazers aren't the ones with all sorts of details. The most prized ones that you see displayed at fashion shows are the ones with sharp tailoring and immaculate execution. It's skill and workmanship that makes for an excellent blazer, not the novel and cutesy pie details that happen to come along with it.

Popped Collars
From a functional perspective of men's fashion, blazers are still outerwear at the end of the day. No matter how luxurious or exquisitely tailored one might be, it's still meant to keep you warm first and foremost, and there's really no problem when you use it as such. What's abhorrent, however, is when you use the blazer as outerwear too much, forgetting that it's part of a formal or semi-formal outfit as well.

There is a purpose to the big lapels you will find on every jacket. When you pop them up, they serve to protect your neck and nape area from chilly winds, making for some very functional fashion. Once you step indoors, though, it's time to put those things back down. Your blazer is a blazer, and you should never leave the lapels popped up any longer than is necessary, even if you're aspiring to create that frat boy look.

Blazers require more than merely a neutral shirt and a nice necktie to make them work for you. Much thought should also be given to how you pick out a blazer to work with the rest of your wardrobe as a style piece. Once you are able to pick out a great looking blazer in a timeless desire, your battle to assemble a cohesive outfit is already half won.

Seed Newsvine

Bookmark this article in your preferred program

Comments

Add Comment

Popular Articles in this cathegory

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.