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Navy Blazers: Looking for Tips on Shopping for One

Diomedes

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For quite a while now I've wanted to add a navy blazer to my wardrobe. The thing is, I'm on a very limited budget (think grad student with a wife and child), so I had put off buying one indefinitely. However, I recently came into a bit of X-mas money ($400), which I would probably have used to pay part of next month's rent except that it came with the instructions to "buy myself something nice." If I'm to honor the intentions of the gift giver, perhaps a navy blazer would make a good "something nice."

Anyway, that's a bit of irrelevant background. Here are some substantive questions from a novice shopper. What should I have in mind as far as stores and tailors go if I want to get the most for my money? I might be willing to spend the whole $400, but I would certainly love to save some of it if I can do so and still obtain a quality blazer. I thought to go to Nordstrom, but I have a feeling I will end up paying more than I need to at a place like that. If it helps, and if anyone's willing to recommend a particular place, I live in the San Francisco area.

Do you have any general tips about what I should be thinking about while shopping for a blazer? For instance, perhaps I should stick to a few particular brands given my price range. What are some simple signs that a blazer is of good quality? Any pointers related to fit? Basically, what are some of the things a novice shopper, one without much knowledge about materials and tailoring, look out for or have in mind while shopping for his first decent blazer.

A final note: I know some of you frequent second-hand/thrift stores to look for deals on nice clothes. This would probably get me the best bang for my buck, but it also seems to me that it requires a bit of skill to separate the rare gems from the abundant trash at these sorts of places. This is skill that I don't have, so I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of bang for my buck in the interest of making my search a bit more straightforward.
 

bananananana

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Do you know your size and measurements? There is and will be a lot of good deals on buy and sell during this time of the year. If not, you can go buy the best fitting one from nordstrom, take the measurements of that jacket and match it up with somehitng available on b&s and go return the nordstroms one.
 

LanceW

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Your dollars can go further purchasing brooks brothers gift cards to be used during a sale. A Brooks Brothers blazer is a very nice item indeed.

Other options could be shoes. They would certainly last and be useful in your beyond college years.
 

Archivist

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+1 on the Brooks. Just head in to San Francisco, go the Brooks Brothers on Post, and have a look at the blazers. There is a sale through Jan. 4. They can take care of whatever alterations you need.
 

Harold falcon

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DerekS

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id check out the B&S forum here....GREAT deals....also check out (if theres one near) the saks outlet called Off 5th...The one here in nashville used to have some incredible deals on blazers.
 

Harold falcon

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Originally Posted by atila
Is this Anderson-Little blazer darted, any one know?

Yes, they are darted.
 

Diomedes

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Thank you all for the suggestions. I want to Brooks Bros, tried on a few blazers, and found them very much to my liking. However, I am not sure I'm ready for something at that price.

I'm tempted by the Anderson Little suggestion given that a few of you seem to be in favor. I've never bought clothes online though. Do you have any suggestions with regard to online ordering? Do I order something slightly large since I'll likely need to get it tailored anyway? Any ideas welcome.
 

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