What on earth do I wear with a cotton navy sportcoat?

[sadkfjaskfaj]

I have a cotton navy sportcoat from Spier. Two button, single breasted, patch pockets. Very soft make (basically no padding in shoulders). Pic below.

The problem is - what do I wear with it?:

1. If I'm wearing gray high-twist trousers with a white poplin shirt, I'd rather wear a hopsack wool navy sportcoat or a wool navy blazer with gold buttons.​
2. If I'm wearing a white linen shirt with cream linen trousers, I'd rather wear a linen navy sportcoat.​
3. If i'm wearing jeans and a knitted polo, the sportcoat looks too smooth and dressy - I'd rather wear a harrington jacket or a safari jacket.​
4. I even tried the jacket with a white t shirt tucked into dark jeans. Doesn't look right - the jacket looks too dressy.​

Literally the only situation in which it feels right to wear the sportcoat is with dark jeans and a white oxford.

I've had the jacket for 3 years and I've literally never once worn it. I should've bought a full cotton suit, which seem infinitely more wearable.

I think the issue is made more difficult by the fact that the cotton is actually quite smooth and has a sheen to it. So it reads as quite dressy.

Please help thx.

 

[ezev]

none of those outfits sound off to me, but obviously there's a level of comfort that is not being met when you try it out.
I find cotton blazers look better after they've been beaten up and start to fade in color after use. This might alleviate some of those concerns where it looks too dressy for the overall outfit. I don't have a navy cotton blazer anymore, but I usually wore it with olive or tan chinos and a knit t shirt/polo.

 

[An Acute Style]

I have a similar navy cotton jacket from S&M. I usually wear it with cotton pants. I have a lot of cotton pants in various colors: khaki, yellow, red, green, madras, etc. I think a cotton jacket works better with cotton pants than a linen or wool blend jacket would.

 

[leapyourbar]

I have one from Isaia. I wear it with flannel trousers in grey (stoffa) in the fall/winter and in the spring/summer on cooler days, I wear it with grey crispaire pants or cotton khaki (drapers), both pants by Ambrosi.

 

[FlithyButler]

You can wear it with anything CM.

Because, and get this... in the land of the living i.e. not SF sickos, absolutely no one gives a sheet.

 

[Thin White Duke]

If you don’t like and don’t wear it, sell it.

I have three variations of a dark blue / navy cotton blazer. The one I wear the most is my go-to for business travel, worn with grey cotton chinos, PoW Sta pressts, Chelsea boots or loafers, various popovers, stand collar pique polos, Uniqlo linen shirts or Lands End button downs etc.

A BB one I have in darker navy looks good with pale grey cotton strides or even Nantucket reds.

The other is lighter blue so has decent contrast to wear with dark jeans, gingham shirt, desert boots etc.

But there’s a lesson to be learned here - sometimes we get caught up in the ‘acquistion’ stage, being attracted to the latest shiny new thing. I’m largely past that now but if / when I’m planning a purchase I start thinking long and hard about what I’ll pair it up with in an outfit before pulling the trigger, to try to avoid the quandary that you’re in.

 

[William Kazak]

I have a similar problem. I have a light tan TravelSmith blazer with patch pockets. It is silk/cotton mix. Kind of a smooth texture. Lots of interior pockets. Great for traveling I suppose. Not sure what I would wear with it. Maybe white Levi jeans! It seems casual. I have not yet connected with this blazer. Also,since I am blonde, I don't feel my best in a navy blazer with that very dark blue/black nautical color although I do have two of them. One with brass buttons. I found a brand new linen blazer in a medium blue that I feel better in. Are we not just thrilled that our clothing decisions can be as simple or as complex as these are? Style is really a process. Try this and try that. Some works. Some not so much at this level. There is always a friend that needs something and there are donation centers.

 

[Thin White Duke]

I have a similar problem. I have a light tan TravelSmith blazer with patch pockets. It is silk/cotton mix. Kind of a smooth texture. Lots of interior pockets. Great for traveling I suppose. Not sure what I would wear with it. Maybe white Levi jeans! It seems casual. I have not yet connected with this blazer. Also,since I am blonde, I don't feel my best in a navy blazer with that very dark blue/black nautical color although I do have two of them. One with brass buttons. I found a brand new linen blazer in a medium blue that I feel better in. Are we not just thrilled that our clothing decisions can be as simple or as complex as these are? Style is really a process. Try this and try that. Some works. Some not so much at this level. There is always a friend that needs something and there are donation centers.

I also have a khaki cotton blazer.
Looks good with dark jeans, even navy or marine blue cotton chinos which according to SF are notoriously hard to combine into an outfit. Light blue shirt or my favourite a plumb gingham Thomas Mason shirt.

Here it is with a Kamakura black Watch shirt …

Rod’s Togs – Christmas Festival

I frequently say that our clothes choices require context, and that within the broad range of Mod-influenced style lies a framework to create outfits for almost any occasion. What does one wear to …

rodsmodblog.wordpress.com

BTW I don’t put much stock in the whole complexion malarkey. I know Flusser goes on about this at length but I believe that almost anyone can look good in almost any colours. As a pale pasty Blondie I avoid pale blue, pink and yellow pastels as they wash me out. I prefer more saturated colours which are less appreciated by ‘classic’ adherents but on occasion I have occasion to wear light or even white shirts and I don’t lose a wink of sleep over it!

 

[William Kazak]

I can feel wha

I also have a khaki cotton blazer.
Looks good with dark jeans, even navy or marine blue cotton chinos which according to SF are notoriously hard to combine into an outfit. Light blue shirt or my favourite a plumb gingham Thomas Mason shirt.

Here it is with a Kamakura black Watch shirt …

Rod’s Togs – Christmas Festival

I frequently say that our clothes choices require context, and that within the broad range of Mod-influenced style lies a framework to create outfits for almost any occasion. What does one wear to …

rodsmodblog.wordpress.com

BTW I don’t put much stock in the whole complexion malarkey. I know Flusser goes on about this at length but I believe that almost anyone can look good in almost any colours. As a pale pasty Blondie I avoid pale blue, pink and yellow pastels as they wash me out. I prefer more saturated colours which are less appreciated by ‘classic’ adherents but on occasion I have occasion to wear light or even white shirts and I don’t lose a wink of sleep over it!

I know what you are talking about. The blue trousers are certainly a solution to a kaki blazer. As I learned about seasonal color analysis discussed by Carole Jackson, I finally realized that the very light colored pastel shirts did not look great on me. I needed more punch to the blues, the pinks. Ecru was better than pure white next to my face. Again, I learned that a blue blazer needed to show some blue!

 

[William Kazak]

Btw; I just realized that I can wear my kaki blazer with my kaki Lands End chinos! The mono chrome look is in.