Alternative to the blue blazer?

Just get a jacket you like that fits and isn't blue. Based on what you've stated throughout this thread, you shouldn't care what anyone here thinks.

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Originally Posted by Flartchy

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Just can't bring myself to wear a blue blazer. They remind me of 70 year old men on boats. All the women I know under the age of 45 hate them as well (whereas the 45+ year olds all seem to dig 'em). They also clash with blue jeans (IMHO) and the brass buttons look.. umm.. well, again, old and nautical. I'm in Los Angeles and 35 years old, looking for an alternative that would work in the situations that a blue blazer would.. from semi-formal to "smart casual" or whatever the term is? It would be worn with jeans most of the time, sometimes khakis, sometimes with dark grey dress slacks... for casual but somewhat stylish nights on the town. Not the hottest clubs in LA or anything, but not Olive Garden either. Somewhere in between. thx
Ok, I know most won't like it but what you want is a slim fitting black blazer from a fashion label. D&G martini collection, Givenchy, something like that. You can pair it with a white dress shirt, some raw jeans and black chelsea boots or w. a white tee, black jeans and white sneakers or with a white dress shirt, grey slacks and black captoes. If you can swing it also get something like a black velvet blazer and you'll be set. Remember to never wear a tie, always wear a plain white tee or dress shirt and never to try to match it with black slacks (matching diff blacks in the same fabric is an art). I have 13-15 sportcoats and maybe 12 of those are black (hell I own 2 black SUITS a capital offense in here), most aren't "dressy" or conservative and can't be worn in a corporate environments. They are, just like me, very well suited to going out though... I can't stand navy blazers either... The jacket should be: slim fitting unless you're not slim yourself have 1 or two buttons a slim lapel (peaked collar is fine but make it one button) a light fabric, I like delicate ones reminiscent of black tie (or wearing DJs casually but don't do that) be relatively short cause long casual jackets suck

wow, thanks guys. Some out of the box thinking here on SF. When I was in London, I wore what was appropriate there. What's appropriate in one place will get you laughed at elsewhere in the world. I remember one of the barristers I worked with there had an American wife who told a funny story about the two of them visiting her family in Arkansas for the first time. He was wearing a blue blazer. They were wearing jeans and working on an old pickup truck. His Italian leather shoes were filled with Arkansas mud. It's still laughed about in her family.

So the black blazer is ok for this sort of look? Interesting. Very interesting.

What material? And thanks Fuuma for the good help.

Originally Posted by Flartchy

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wow, thanks guys. Some out of the box thinking here on SF. When I was in London, I wore what was appropriate there. What's appropriate in one place will get you laughed at elsewhere in the world. I remember one of the barristers I worked with there had an American wife who told a funny story about the two of them visiting her family in Arkansas for the first time. He was wearing a blue blazer. They were wearing jeans and working on an old pickup truck. His Italian leather shoes were filled with Arkansas mud. It's still laughed about in her family.

So the black blazer is ok for this sort of look? Interesting. Very interesting.

What material? And thanks Fuuma for the good help.

Light wool or mixes with silk or linen, depending if you want it regular, shiny or wrinkly.

If you don't like a dark blue blazer I don't see how much better a black blazer is. In bad light they both look black.

A lighter colour will me obviously not a navy blazer. Even if it's light blue.

^ same thought I have.

I don't understand the hate for navy blazer in this situation.

Sounds like OP is going to use it to hang around in a lounge, bar or club. So your navy blazer will be a black blazer even to the most discerning eye.

Hell, many people confuse navy with black even during the day in a well lit environment....

And why do I get the feeling the OP is a trolling? Not the evil kind, more like he wants people on here to quibble over the navy blazer subject.

Oh and

I have 13-15 sportcoats and maybe 12 of those are black

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Wth? I'd figure you would favor more variety. At what point do they all look the same, the 6 or 7th black one?

To defend the navy blazer a bit, I know tons of women under 45 who love them (including all the girls who I have dated in the last few years...who, like me, are in their 20s). Many girls are into the preppie look (not that a navy blazer is strictly preppie).

I prefer silver to brass buttons on my blazer and frequently wear it with a nice pair of dark jeans and a white shirt. I've worn the look out in LA many times.

If you don't like the navy blazer, though, I won't change your mind. There are many other sportcoats you could wear.

In the spring/summer, you could try a tan or grey unstructured cotton sportcoat. In the fall and winter, a brown corduroy jacket or a tweed sportcoat could look good with jeans.

There are tons of options for sportcoats beyond navy blazers...but navy blazers are definitely not just for old men.

Originally Posted by bringusingoodale

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^ same thought I have.

I don't understand the hate for navy blazer in this situation.


I do. I hate navy blazers. I just don't see the point of going with something that can be confused with something I hate

It will be used in the day as well as the evening. I'm not really here to start a blue-blazer war, I just wanted to make sure that everyone posting in this thread knew that I didn't like them and that suggestions to utilize them wouldn't be constructive. There is no way I'm going to look like the guy on the left here: http://www.andersonlittle.com/ Navy clashes with the jeans and it's just too much blue. (Though that look wouldn't be bad with a dark grey/maybe-black blazer). Plus, blue blazers are just really uncool where I'll be going. Sorry but that's the case. I'm not here to debate it, maybe I'm going to a club that specifically bans blue blazers, who cares, the point is that I simply cannot and will not wear one. The above posters were very helpful, though I'm still not completely sold on the black blazer. I will have to try one out. Someone I respect once said, when you're over 35 and unmarried, always take a woman who is under 30 with you when you clothes shop, and if she says don't buy something, for the love of god don't buy it. Well, no woman under the age of 30 has ever recommended I wear a blue blazer. A couple of cougars I used to date liked the look. But I'm trying to get away from the coug vibe and go with the younger women these days, and blue blazerdom is "instant dry-p*ssy" from what I've been told. So, anyway, hopefully that discussion is over. I'm going to try both black and dark grey slim-fitting not-too-long natural-shouldered sport coats and blazers and see if they work, per prior suggestions. And I'm going to toss it in the back of the car and let it get a little wrinkled and scuffed, per the look I'm going for.

Originally Posted by DerekS

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yeah, a navy sportcoat. huge difference. get a nice navy jacket that doesnt have brass buttons. I have quite a few.....I have a great linen blend with patch pockets and white MOP buttons.

+1

That is, I also have a kind of navy linen blend with patch pocket and white buttons. Very nice for summer. But maybe a bit to "casual" for business. That is, not as versatile as the traditional navy blazer. But I am also one of those who cannot dig navy blazers, and I am 49...

Originally Posted by Flartchy

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It will be used in the day as well as the evening. I'm not really here to start a blue-blazer war, I just wanted to make sure that everyone posting in this thread knew that I didn't like them and that suggestions to utilize them wouldn't be constructive. There is no way I'm going to look like the guy on the left here:

http://www.andersonlittle.com/

Navy clashes with the jeans and it's just too much blue. (Though that look wouldn't be bad with a dark grey/maybe-black blazer). Plus, blue blazers are just really uncool where I'll be going. Sorry but that's the case. I'm not here to debate it, maybe I'm going to a club that specifically bans blue blazers, who cares, the point is that I simply cannot and will not wear one.

The above posters were very helpful, though I'm still not completely sold on the black blazer. I will have to try one out.

Someone I respect once said, when you're over 35 and unmarried, always take a woman who is under 30 with you when you clothes shop, and if she says don't buy something, for the love of god don't buy it. Well, no woman under the age of 30 has ever recommended I wear a blue blazer. A couple of cougars I used to date liked the look. But I'm trying to get away from the coug vibe and go with the younger women these days, and blue blazerdom is "instant dry-p*ssy" from what I've been told.

So, anyway, hopefully that discussion is over. I'm going to try both black and dark grey slim-fitting not-too-long natural-shouldered sport coats and blazers and see if they work, per prior suggestions.

And I'm going to toss it in the back of the car and let it get a little wrinkled and scuffed, per the look I'm going for.

I have given black a lot of thoughts but I am glad that I never got it.

Grey may be OK. But I personally think that one of the colours that goes best with jeans (blue denim) is dark or medium brown. I use brown donegal in winter and a brown herringbone linen mix in summer. Also, dark brown linen goes very well with off white trousers.

thanks, brown might be ok too. I don't really care for brown suits... just make guys look a giant truffle IMHO, but a brown coat with blue jeans might work nicely.

But then I'd have to wear brown shoes right? Brown coat, blue jeans, and black shoes just don't seem right.

Originally Posted by epa

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I have given black a lot of thoughts but I am glad that I never got it.
FWIW I think in specific circumstances black can work, in some particular fabrics. I have a black corduroy blazer which I'm quite fond of and I think the texture helps it more than just a normal flat black, but I only wear it in Autumn/Winter of course and it only really goes with grey trou. On topic, if the OP doesn't like blue blazers then fair enough, you don't like them, there's nothing wrong with that, but, with respect, I think basing it on either "doing it in LA" or what women under 30 would recommend is misguided. Clearly if you move in certain social circles you're never going to hear certain recommendations, it doesn't necessarily mean a particular garment is going to be widely met with contempt. For example, I move in social circles with people who would actually never recommend a single item of tailored clothing or proper shoes, and yet, having chosen to wear such items amongst them have not recieved any negative comments whatsoever. On the contrary, in fact. Often people don't know what they like until they see it. It's probably not safe to assume all these people who haven't recommended blue blazers to you have either a) seen it done well, or b) even considered the idea in the first place. I wouldn't have the bottle to rock a brass buttoned number myself but a navy SC with regular buttons definitely. With the right cut, fit and accessories it can look very youthful - perhaps a summer scarf or a straw hat, though probably not both at the same time unless you're Jude Law or something.

Originally Posted by Flartchy

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thanks, brown might be ok too. I don't really care for brown suits... just make guys look a giant truffle IMHO, but a brown coat with blue jeans might work nicely.

But then I'd have to wear brown shoes right? Brown coat, blue jeans, and black shoes just don't seem right.

I agree that brown suits are not easy. I have one which I find really nice, but it is very dark, with pinstripes, and has a nice shine to it. It looks kind of "special".

No, I would not wear black shoes.

But what is wrong with brown shoes? When I am wearing my brown coats with jeans I normally wear dark brown suede shoes or ankle boots. I have a pair of brown double monkstrap suede Carmina shoes that looks great with jeans.