Elegant, virile, flattering, the jacket is the essential piece of the men's wardrobe . So we rolled up our sleeves to examine it from every angle.
Ah, and for the more curious among you, I'm talking about the blazer that I made entirely myself at the end of this article.
The men's jacket: a versatile garment
As long as you choose quality materials and construction, the blazer is a timeless piece : a beautiful jacket can be worn whatever the weather, and never becomes outdated over the years.
- In winter , the seasonal coat covers the jacket, provided that you have chosen the coat accordingly.
(Photo by Neil P. Mockford/GC Images)
- In mid-season , the trench protects the blazer in case of rainy weather. For the rest, the shirt / cardigan / blazer / scarf combo allows you to face the lowest temperatures without threatening to suffocate under an unexpected ray of sunshine.
(Photos by Catwalking/Getty Images & Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)
- When the sunny days return, it becomes the central piece of the look.
The strong points of the jacket
The jacket brings structure and elegance to an outfit made up of solid basics and highlights pieces with character.
Worn over a graphic tee, chinos and sneakers, a well-cut jacket in a beautiful material gives just the right amount of presence for a pretty summer look.
(Photos by Naomi Rahim/WireImage & Mark R. Milan/GC Images)
Screen-printed or not, the t-shirt can easily be combined with a blazer.
The materials of the men's jacket
The most common jackets are made of wool , the material for jackets par excellence, in particular because of its insulating, breathable and low-wrinkle properties - as we have already explained to you, do not focus too much on the size of the wool ( 100S, 120S and other ) because it is not necessarily a guarantee of quality.
4-season suits are generally made from wool.
In summer, look for lighter fibers like cotton (strong, regular and fine), linen (soft, resistant and airy), or even mixed fibers.
The mixture of fibers makes it possible to multiply the properties of the garment: strength, non-shrinkability, lightness, waterproofing. In this case, a hint of synthetic material mixed with a natural fiber can provide a relevant advantage.
That being said, you should be wary of 100% synthetic materials found in major brands. Although you can find interesting cotton jersey jackets there, this is also where polyester reigns supreme, which is painful to wear (not breathable), and which shines.
Note on linen: the ultimate summer material
Linen is a plant fiber that comes from the stem of the plant of the same name. After the retting, scutching and combing processes, we obtain a long, reliable, flexible and resistant material, with a pleasant touch, not very dirty and which insects do not attack.
In addition, linen absorbs moisture well and is easy to wash. A good conductor of heat (and therefore cold), linen is a poorly insulating material which gives an impression of freshness, justifying its use for summer clothing.
(Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Linen suit and polo shirt: the ultimate summer combo.
A green product by nature, linen requires no irrigation, is environmentally friendly and guarantees absolute recyclability for equipment, hygiene and health purposes. Finally, it is good to know that France is the main country to cultivate textile flax. The opportunity to satisfy the chauvinist in us.
Choosing a men's jacket
It's a complex style exercise that requires demanding skills, but is within everyone's reach. Indeed, the jacket is the cornerstone of the men's wardrobe, and requires all the more fittings as it is relatively expensive.
Fortunately, the game is worth it: a good jacket is a solid basic with an excellent lifespan .
1. How many buttons on a men's jacket?
To start, a safe bet is to choose a two-button jacket. Three-button models tend to make your silhouette smaller and single-button models are a pain in the ass to begin with.
(Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Remember: two or three buttons, you never close the bottom one.
Where possible, choose simple models rather than double-breasted jackets - which have two rows of buttons.
(Photo by Jim Spellman/WireImage)
A very elegant model that you will experience after a few years of experience.
2. The color of the jacket
You probably already know this but it is good to remember that the essential color of the jacket is gray.
Why gray? Because gray is the color that goes well with all others, in all tones. A beautiful gray jacket enhances colorful chinos, highlights selvedge fabrics , and even goes well with black.
Generally speaking, a well-crafted gray jacket calms all the bright colors and, at the same time, is itself highlighted by this contrast .
If you already have a gray jacket, other interesting colors are blue, beige, brown, khaki green:
(Photos by Catwalking/Getty Images)
You can also play with patterns and textures, as above.
Generally speaking, I advise you to avoid black , unless there is a lot of work on the material and the details. Except for certain designers who offer particularly elaborate pieces, the black jacket can be easily boring, or even negatively age the wearer.
Essential criteria when choosing a jacket
1. The shoulder: the most determining element, the shoulder must break cleanly; the angle of the shoulder must be well defined, without folds or unnecessary material.
2. The cut: open, the jacket should outline your hips with a nice, regular curve. This is called bending. There should be as few folds as possible in the back or at the collar.
3. Length: standing, arms relaxed, the jacket should stop in the middle of the hand. The sleeves must reveal 2 cm of shirt in a straight position, and 4 cm maximum when bending the arm for a handshake or a rabbit tchek .
4. The size: the jacket must barely tighten at the plexus level (noticeable by the slight folds on each side of the buttons). We must always feel supported at the level of the sides but we must be able to pass the equivalent of a fist between the plexus and the jacket.
Shoulder, fit, length and waist are perfect here.
In practice, this is what a well-chosen jacket looks like:
Above, the collar of this Fursac jacket perfectly matches the collar of the shirt worn by Benoît.
Above, the back has a cut that tends towards perfection.
Above, the shoulder breaks cleanly, and there are no creases that would reveal the sleeve set-up.
A little history: why a deconstructed costume?
For those interested in history, in the 80s, Giorgio Armani cut the traditional costume in two . He puts aside the pants matching the jacket, and thereby introduces a comfort and fluidity that revolutionizes the men's suit.
Therefore, the relaxed silhouette does without the traditional interlining (= the ancestral technique of making a jacket), and the lining. He places the buttons lower on the jacket to highlight the hips. He invents a new aesthetic that appeals to professionals in creative sectors such as media, advertising and architecture. Along the way, he rejected tweed and flannel in favor of softer, more fluid fabrics and designed light jackets in a palette of neutral and masculine colors, such as taupe, anthracite or greige.
With the international success of the film American Gigolo and its star Richard Gere dressed by Armani, its Italian collection is acclaimed around the world. Subsequently, the designer is essential in Hollywood where he continues to highlight his glamorous aesthetic of discreet luxury in the numerous costumes he designs for around a hundred films.
(Photo by Dave Bennett/Getty Images)
Above: Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton and Giorgio Armani during the broadcast of American Gigolo.
The men's blazer today
Unlike the suit jacket, a blazer is a short jacket (even shorter than the suit jacket). An icon of the sportswear wardrobe, it offers the freedom to be worn with mismatched pants (= a different color than the jacket), or even jeans or chinos to accentuate a contemporary side.
By the way, let me be clear: "sportswear" refers to ready-to-wear clothing (street clothing, casual clothing, day and evening wear, cocktail dresses, etc.), and not sports clothing that are instead referred to as “active wear”.
Important note : you should NEVER mismatch a suit jacket to use it as a blazer (= without the matching pants). It is often much too long for this use.
Exception : Today's suit trend features fairly short suit jackets. In the case of a suit jacket that is the length of a blazer, you can wear this mismatched jacket (taking care to take into account the often more formal nature of the jacket).
Bonus: making my own blazer
A year ago, I challenged myself to make my own jacket . I wanted a sporty model, short, fitted and in my favorite color: gray.
So I went hunting at the Saint-Pierre market, the Sacred Land of fabric in Paris, in search of the Grail. That's where I fell in love with a coupon of Vitale Barberis Canonico flannel in flea feet that was absolutely sublime.
Flannel is a wool that is brushed, so that the touch is as silky as possible. The process developed by Vitale Barberis is unique in its kind, which explains why it is considered the best in the field (if I dare say so).
Once the coupon was in my pocket, we had to create the pattern.
So I looked at lots of PAP jackets that looked like what I was looking for, and I found one that spoke to me. I looked at it from every angle, and I was inspired by what I saw.
This allowed me to draw a pattern adapted to my measurements, and to modify it according to my wishes.
This is the Tetris moment: the pattern, which is cut out of tissue paper, is placed on the piece of fabric. The goal is to lay all the pieces in the right direction, and waste as little fabric as possible.
Ah, and just to spice things up a bit, I opted for the traditional technique of full interfacing . The principle consists of trapping a tailoring canvas (the wadding which thickens the bib) between the visible fabric of the jacket and the facing.
This age-old technique is tedious. But it guarantees an exceptional garment fit , unlike heat-sealed jackets, omnipresent in the PAP.
Above: the tailoring canvas trapped inside the jacket, and secured with parallel lines of chevron stitches. Very technical, this stitch is made by hand by printing a roll on the wool-canvas assembly.
Thanks to the instructions of my sewing teacher and the wise advice of Julien Scavini (the author of the blog Stiff Colar , a reference blog for those interested in the other side of men's wardrobe), I managed to brave the ordeals and to finish my work, after several months of hard work .
Not forgetting our own jackets and blazers...
A whole collection of jackets cut from the fabrics of the most beautiful Italian Houses: Ferla, Loro Piana, Botto, Maggia, or even Vitale Barberis Canonico.
