"Necessary" Sport Coats:

OK, just wanted to throw this question out there, as I have been "Sport Coat" shopping lately. [also, before I begin, I would rather not embark upon the sport coat / blazer discussion, that can be saved for another thread]. What would you consider to be the "necessary" sport coats, the kinds that are 'must haves' for people expanding their wardrobe.

My navy blazer is definitely my go-to jacket, but I find that my other coats are a bit limiting. Could anyone point me in the right direction? I have enough suits as-is [for now, at least], so I am here looking for the advice of the SF gurus

http://asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com/...be-part-1.html

Something like the link posted above would be great--I just don't really have a feel for what I need right now I guess!

Thanks!

Navy blazer is the essential. For winter you should find something heavier in cashmere or tweed in a shade of brown or mid-brown (plainish - no bright overchecks at this stage). Grey is too restricting to pair pants etc with.
For summer a bone or light tan linen or basketweave (open weave) wool, fresco jacket will go with many pants - beige, white, grey, jeans.
If you have these two I would suggest later on replacing your existing blazer with a navy cashmere blazer for winter and a navy lightweight fresco blazer for summer.

Originally Posted by Diavolo

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Navy blazer is the essential. For winter you should find something heavier in cashmere or tweed in a shade of brown or mid-brown (plainish - no bright overchecks at this stage). Grey is too restricting to pair pants etc with. For summer a bone or light tan linen or basketweave (open weave) wool, fresco jacket will go with many pants - beige, white, grey, jeans. If you have these two I would suggest later on replacing your existing blazer with a navy cashmere blazer for winter and a navy lightweight fresco blazer for summer.
Sopofific, even when just reading it. I mean, 'Grey is too restricting to pair pants etc with' for a winter odd coat? What about any shade of, oh - blue or green or brown or even a lighter/darker grey for the pants? For myself, the odd coat journey went like this: blues to browns to greys to greens. These four colours are the base colours of most odd jackets you'll find. The order you might vary to match your wardrobe and needs. You may want to spice things up by having coats in 'patterns' or 'weaves'. The fresco mentioned earlier is good, but for spring I prefer a dark blue (not navy!) linen with contrasting mid-brown horn buttons. Lighter brown shades are good as well, tan and beige can do very well - I have a very light tan herringbone with a very subtle blue/yellow/green/white thin overcheck being made up. These go beautifully with white/khaki pants, blue shirts of any shade and tan belt/shoes. Or lighter blue pants when paired with white shirts and brownbelts. For winter the sky is the limit - I have a mid-grey plaid, a darkgrey/midgrey twill and a brown/light-brown herringbone right now. I am getting a heavier tweed mid-grey/light-grey herringbone with a blue overcheck made up as well. Variegated olive-brown-white/black herringbone is a good combination as well. Another fantastic fabric I saw recently had a olive/dark-grey herringbone with a dark blue windowpane.

Originally Posted by instep

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Sopofific, even when just reading it. I mean, 'Grey is too restricting to pair pants etc with' for a winter odd coat? What about any shade of, oh - blue or green or brown or even a lighter/darker grey for the pants?

For myself, the odd coat journey went like this: blues to browns to greys to greens. These four colours are the base colours of most odd jackets you'll find. The order you might vary to match your wardrobe and needs.

You may want to spice things up by having coats in 'patterns' or 'weaves'. The fresco mentioned earlier is good, but for spring I prefer a dark blue (not navy!) linen with contrasting mid-brown horn buttons. Lighter brown shades are good as well, tan and beige can do very well - I have a very light tan herringbone with a very subtle blue/yellow/green/white thin overcheck being made up. These go beautifully with white/khaki pants, blue shirts of any shade and tan belt/shoes. Or lighter blue pants when paired with white shirts and brownbelts.

For winter the sky is the limit - I have a mid-grey plaid, a darkgrey/midgrey twill and a brown/light-brown herringbone right now. I am getting a heavier tweed mid-grey/light-grey herringbone with a blue overcheck made up as well. Variegated olive-brown-white/black herringbone is a good combination as well. Another fantastic fabric I saw recently had a olive/dark-grey herringbone with a dark blue windowpane.


The OP asked about necessary sport coats so Diavolo list was pretty good as you don't want to buy checks and loud pattern jackets until you already have a pretty good collection of sport coats.

For that matter blue will be always better than gray, since the fundamental winter odd trouser colour is grey, and you want your first winter sport coat to be versatile enough to be paired with any kind of grey shades and other colours.

Originally Posted by Canal Directo

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The OP asked about necessary sport coats so Diavolo list was pretty good as you don't want to buy checks and loud pattern jackets until you already have a pretty good collection of sport coats.

For that matter blue will be always better than gray, since the fundamental winter odd trouser colour is grey, and you want your first winter sport coat to be versatile enough to be paired with any kind of grey shades and other colours.
Ah, I see now - Diavolo was referencing a regional variation with which I am not familiar. You should qualify your statement re: winter odd trousers with 'in America' at the end.

FWIW, I have never understood the American obsession with the navy blazer. Given its ubiquity, it's almost like a uniform.

Originally Posted by instep

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Ah, I see now - Diavolo was referencing a regional variation with which I am not familiar. You should qualify your statement re: winter odd trousers with 'in America' at the end.

FWIW, I have never understood the American obsession with the navy blazer. Given its ubiquity, it's almost like a uniform.

I'll warrant there's not a lot you understand about this topic based on your post.

Originally Posted by Diavolo

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I'll warrant there's not a lot you understand about this topic based on your post.
If that's your 'style' you're talking about, I'm thankful for that. Based on what you appear to like on WAYWRN, you would find a more appreciative crowd on AAAC. Go ahead, no one here will miss you.

I think your ideal SC wardrobe is going to depend on where you live , and work. For me I didn't own any lightweight SC's until I had to travel to the west coast often and was dying in what were comfy SC's for the midwest.

I have an undisputed love for solids so I have a few of similar shades in different weights.

Consider corduroy.

Originally Posted by instep

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Based on what you appear to like on WAYWRN, you would find a more appreciative crowd on AAAC. Go ahead, no one here will miss you.

Speak for yourself, please.

Well, to be honest, every poster has contributed some excellent information so far, I am really just soaking up different ideas. And I am sure part of the confusion might be based on my lack of eloquence late at night.

Nonetheless, thanks for the opinions so far

I'm in the same boat as the OP (I only own a navy blazer when it comes to jackets).

If we had to limit this discussion to quantity, and you could only have 3 essential jackets (one being the navy blazer), what would the other two be?

The key insight from Diavolo is consider your trousers. Unless you are also going to go out and buy all-new pants, you should choose jackets that contrast with your existing trouser rotation.

Since gray and khaki are mainstays for a lot of men, all year round, jackets in those colors can be hard to wear often.

Well, to take pants into consideration, I own primarily khaki-colored pants, and browns, and then various shades of grey.

And where might I find a jacket with a fresco weave?

solids with texture are the safest and an elegant bet - ie. herringbone provides nice surface interest

a quick shot from one corner of my closet - I wear these with everything from jeans to flannel pants


l to r: Corneliani, Belvest, Belvest, Zegna, Luciano Barbera cashmere grey flannel



Close-up picture taken with flash:


SUMMER WEIGHT: Adriano & Sons cotton herringbone, Loro Piana corduroy, Borrelli brown linen, Corneliani unlined wool/linen blend

with flash