To Catch A Gray Blazer
We all know about the blue blazer. In fact, its being blue is often why we call it a blazer in the first place. But its cousin the gray blazer offers an elegant alternative to what might be the most worn sport coat these days. Cary Grant’s not a half-bad endorsement either.
Non-blue blazers are rarely seen, mentioned, or even thought of, but the blazer didn’t start out blue. The original blazers were those multi-colored striped boating jackets you see every so often from brands like Rugby and New & Lingwood. Eventually the stripes went away and became crests on a solid navy blue ground, and we got the blue blazer. But technically, any solid-colored odd jacket can be called a blazer. Without some kind of contrast in the buttons you risk it looking like a mis-matched suit jacket, but that’s a preference not a rule.
Simon Crompton mentioned recently on Permanent Style that some men might find the formality of the blue blazer too much for some occasions. I can see that, and I think Mr. Grant does a great job up top showing us how to dress down a gray odd jacket pretty darn effectively. Sure the neckerchief isn’t for everyone, but neither is summering in Cannes.
You can see how the light color of the cloth, curved patch pocket, and hefty gold buttons keep Grant’s blazer looking much more casual than something like a double-breasted blue number. You want to keep the color light, since that is sort of the whole point of not choosing the typical navy blue, and so you can still wear it with mid-gray trousers as well.
And cut is more important than ever. Light cloth (in both color and weight) is much less forgiving than dark or heavy stuff. Grant typically wore very structured clothes in his movies (due to very uneven shoulders and a slightly large head), but you can see how light the jacket above looks. The shoulders are nicely padded, but not heavily so, and the body looks minimally lined and structured. The patch pockets only add to the effect and in this case I’d stick to single breasted 3/2 or 2 button stance. If it starts to look too formal – peak lapels, one button, dark buttons – it’s just going to look out of place, not casual.
Your best option is, as almost always, to get one made. But since that’s not realistic for all of us, there are some shortcuts. The best ready-made jacket I could find was this Ring Jacket from The Armoury for fall. At just over $800 USD it certainly isn’t cheap, but throw some horn or metal buttons on that and it’s as perfect as they come. J.Crew and the like offer jacket separates and they might be accessible alternatives, but it’s tough to really get behind tailoring like that. That Ring Jacket on the other hand is almost too easy to like…
You could also find a gray suit with a jacket that’s not too formal to wear on its own – that way it does double-duty and you get more bang for your buck. Ovadia & Sons for instance has a great light gray suit for S/S 2012 with light horn buttons and a slightly shorter cut. You could easily get away with wearing the jacket with some dark gray or cream colored trousers on your day off.
Just whatever jacket you decide to go with, please, for the love of all that is good in this world, button up like the top picture, not the bottom picture. Please. Cary Grant, myself, and the rest of the reasonably-dressed world thank you.
Thanks to Sartorially Inclined for the Ovadia & Sons S/S 12 image.
