https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:52:48 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-917263 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:11:20 +0000 lyn67 917263@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ That concept is crazy and dated applied&nbsp;to women! So no worries, go with it! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-917245 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 06:13:55 +0000 deb 917245@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I love the lok of a suit jacket with jeans on a man. Nice jeans, that is. Sports coats are ok for colder weather but for a cool summer evening, give me a man in a suit jacket and jeans.<br /><br />edit: I just foud this:<br /><p>A <b>sport coat</b>, <b>sport jacket</b>, also called a <b>sports coat</b> or <b>sports jacket</b>, less commonly <i>sportcoat</i>, is a <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Jacket?qsrc=3044" rel="nofollow">jacket</a> for men. Though it is of a similar cut and length to a <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Suit_(clothing)?qsrc=3044" rel="nofollow">suit</a> jacket, there are several differences. First, a sport may be worn on less formal occasions than a suit would be. Also, it is designed to be worn on its own, without matching trousers, and does not come as part of a suit. Styles, fabrics, colours and patterns are also more varied than in most suits; sturdier and thicker fabrics may be used, such as <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Corduroy?qsrc=3044" rel="nofollow">corduroy</a>, <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Suede?qsrc=3044" rel="nofollow">suede</a>, <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Denim?qsrc=3044" rel="nofollow">denim</a>, <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Leather?qsrc=3044" rel="nofollow">leather</a>, and <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Tweed_(cloth)?qsrc=3044" rel="nofollow">tweed</a>.</p><p>Originally, sports coats were worn as casual attire for hunting and other outdoor sports (hence the name). With time, they came to be used on more formal occasions, sometimes being used in school uniforms as at <a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Summer_Fields_School?qsrc=3044#Summer_Fields_today" rel="nofollow">Summer Fields School</a> in England.<a href="http://www.ask.com/wiki/Sport_coat#cite_note-uniform-1" rel="nofollow">[1]</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>So basically, a sports jacket has not matching pants and if it did, it would be called a suit jacket.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-917232 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:32:58 +0000 Diana 917232@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ OK, I was curious so I asked J. whether he would ever break up a suit.<br /><br />He said:<br />--<i>only</i> if it was a solid fabric, with no texture or pattern.&nbsp; Apparently most men's suits have some sort of subtle pattern or texture like small pinstripes or a herringbone weave.&nbsp; This is somehow a dead giveaway that the jacket or pants are part of a suit.<br />--Also, certain jacket styles (like double breasted) are only found in suits.&nbsp; It has to be a pretty plain single-breasted jacket if you want to wear it separately.<br />--Also, the tailor told him that it would cause uneven wear if he wore the pieces separately and then you could tell that they looked different.&nbsp; You also always have to get both pieces cleaned at the same time because of this.&nbsp; (This is weird to me because I feel like bottoms get dirtier a lot faster than jackets!)<br />--Finally, most men who wear suits do so because they have to, i.e. they work in a business environment where doing sartorially daring things like breaking up your suit is frowned upon.&nbsp; <br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-916174 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:39:50 +0000 RoseandJoan 916174@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ (phew back from the school run.)<br /><br />Womenswear does not have&nbsp;a long association with this type of tailoring, we have been able to create new rules with relative ease because&nbsp;we are unburdened from its history. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-916144 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 06:50:07 +0000 RoseandJoan 916144@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Please excuse the rushed response Elisabeth (DD5 is desperate to look at Phineas and Ferb photos on the laptop and I can feel her breath on my neck).<br /><br />I think the rule you speak of no longer applies to women due to the elevation of denim in terms of design and status. For a woman her premium jeans are now&nbsp;equal to a suiting jacket&nbsp;or her designer heels. I'm not sure jeans have the same gravitas in menswear. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-916075 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:34:37 +0000 Aziraphale 916075@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Oh, good point, Diana, about women already having several options in terms of pants vs. skirt/dress.&nbsp; <br /><br />And Suz, I see what you mean about the type of fabric.&nbsp; I find the distinction between suit jacket and sports coat quite clear, actually.&nbsp; I think of suit jackets as being the sort of thing that probably shouldn't get wet, whereas a sports jacket needs to be "tweedier" or more rugged, since I guess originally they were intended to be worn for the sort of outdoorsy sports that involve truncating the lives of various woodland/wetland animals.&nbsp; But the distinction between "blazer" and "suit coat" is less clear, especially since we seem to use "blazer" for any jacket with lapels that isn't a sport coat.<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-916069 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:28:07 +0000 Diana 916069@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ What Una said.&nbsp; J. would definitely never break up his suits, nor would most of the men I know.&nbsp; On the other hand, I think most of the men in my life are very conservative sartorially, or else they are extremely casual and I have never seen them in a suit!<br /><br />I think for women the rules are more flexible, because, for example, a suit can consist of the same jacket with pants, skirt, or dress.&nbsp; So that's already 3 options where the men only have one.&nbsp; <br /><br />I own a whole load of blazers and no suits!<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-916061 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:23:10 +0000 Aziraphale 916061@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Suz -- yay!&nbsp; Bring on the juxtaposition!&nbsp; <br /><br />Una -- so, what you're saying is that the rules ARE different for men, right?&nbsp; Because you plan to wear your Theory blazer with matching pants both together and separately, even though your husband wouldn't do it?&nbsp; <br /><br />By the way, I noticed a few days ago that you posted how you "got the job", but I'm so out of the loop that I have no idea what job it is, and I didn't have time to reply at the time.&nbsp; Congratulations (belated)!<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915994 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:55:14 +0000 catgirl 915994@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ My husband wears all manner of suits and suit jackets for work.&nbsp; What he would wear with jeans or khakis he calls a sports coat or sports jacket - a plain or patterned blazer of some kind.&nbsp; Then he has actual suits which are the jacket and pants bought together, and he never wears them broken up.&nbsp; And somehow you can tell if the jacket is part of a matching suit, although I don't know why. <br /><br />Meanwhile, my plan is to buy a Theory blazer and pants in matching fabric and wear them both together and separately, if they work for me.&nbsp; <br /><br />Confusing! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915955 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:23:15 +0000 Suz 915955@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I have heard the rule (for men) but I thought of it as one of those old-fashioned rules that men today&nbsp;wouldn't necessarily feel bound by. OTOH, I think <b>most</b> men who want to wear a jacket with jeans would choose what they might call a sports jacket -- which could be a blazer, properly understood (i.e. according the old definition with brass buttons etc.) or some other type of jacket -- tweed, glen plaid, what have you.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br /><br />I think there's a reason for the rule and it has to do with the relative&nbsp;weight and drape of the fabrics. Tweed, say, feels "rugged" like denim. Even linen, which is light, has a bit of rough texture. Whereas a fine wool crepe (suit jacket) feels very different against the hand and lies differently. So it might seem jarring to place them together. Also, suits are dressier.&nbsp;<br /><br />Except in 2013 when we are all about juxtaposition! &nbsp;:-)<br /><br /><br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915937 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:08:38 +0000 Thistle 915937@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have never heard this. DH doesn't wear suits, or blazers though. He owns two pair of non-jeans a couple no-iron button downs for funerals and weddings. </p> <p> But I definitely don't think this holds true for women. I have seen way too many fashionable ladies do it. And gold nautical buttons? Required for a blazer? Forget about it! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915936 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:07:03 +0000 Aziraphale 915936@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ OK.&nbsp; Thanks guys.&nbsp; Glad to know I'm not committing some kind of major fashion crime.&nbsp; Because glib as I am, I <i>do</i> care about rules -- or at least, I need to know what they are, so that if I choose to break them, I'm doing so intentionally.<br /><br />K can shop -- the jacket I just bought is the same one you posted on your other thread -- funny!&nbsp; I posted a comment on that thread.&nbsp; I did in fact try on the navy pinstripe one.&nbsp; :-)<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915934 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:06:28 +0000 Suz 915934@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Absolutely, women can do this.&nbsp;<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915933 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:04:02 +0000 Anonymous 915933@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What? Forget it, I wear blazers with everything.Guys wear suit jackets with denim day in and day out in these parts. I never heard this one. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915930 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:02:27 +0000 Beth 915930@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ If blazers and jeans are a crime, then I'm a felon. There's nothing I like better as a combination. With sandals, with heels, with Cons, with cowboy boots, you name it. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915928 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:01:02 +0000 K. Period. 915928@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think the rule is different for women. You know why? Because we have better shoe variety. &nbsp;We can unify the look with great shoes. &nbsp;Guys? They got their brown and their black. Maybe oxblood and maybe a pair of boots or loafers. None of those do what women's shoes do. And we have jewelry too. &nbsp;They get &nbsp;a wedding ring and a watch. &nbsp;So go ahead and wear your suit jacket with jeans and revel in it!!! &nbsp; https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915908 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:47:14 +0000 bj1111 915908@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Love jackets with jeans. Speaking of pedantic and word association, blazer always struck me as irretrievably preppy, which is not me. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915905 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:41:44 +0000 Aida 915905@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I personally&nbsp;don't find that the rules are the same for women (hubby and I have discussed this, and he has had&nbsp;trouble differentiating that suiting&nbsp;rules would be different for women; he dislikes pretty much all blazers for women though, heh). From what I understand, the "rules" are quite a bit more rigid in menswear than womenswear. I'm guessing my husband would probably agree with the GQ article about a "suit" jacket looking off with jeans, <i>for men</i>. The phrase "get away with" comes up often when we talk about rule differences and what women can do when mixing items compared to what men should&nbsp;do. I like the way blazers look with jeans and will continue wearing the combo, even if hubby thinks I'm "getting away with" some sort of suiting faux pas. I just don't wear them on the weekends https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/blazers-and-suit-jackets-can-anyone-clarify#post-915893 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:33:54 +0000 Aziraphale 915893@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ So, I just bought a second blazer, the exact same as the gray one I got last year, only black this time.&nbsp; Oh blazers, where have you been all my life?&nbsp; The gray one was my first, and I can't figure out why I haven't been wearing them all along.&nbsp; And then I started wondering if "blazer" was even the correct term, since the garment I bought was in fact listed under the J. Crew suiting section.&nbsp; So I googled it, and the first page of hits contained articles all aimed at men.&nbsp; The upshot: if you wear it with matching pants, it's a suit jacket.&nbsp; Ifyou don't, it's a blazer.&nbsp; Except if you want to get pedantic about it, in which case a blazer should be more of a nautically-inspired item that has brass buttons etc.&nbsp; One GQ article actually stated that a suit jacket looks goofy with jeans, as if you spilled your coffee in your lap at lunchtime and had to change.&nbsp; <br /><br />So here's my question: are the rules the same for women?&nbsp; Because I wear my blazer (suit jacket) exclusively with jeans.&nbsp; I can't wear a suit.&nbsp; My life circumstances have never permitted regular suit-wearing.&nbsp; I was first a science teacher, then a housewife, and next September, an art student, for crying out loud.&nbsp; I'd look like a loon.&nbsp; But I just love the way the blazer looks with jeans and short boots, and I can't imagine giving it up. &nbsp;Please tell me the rules are different for women!&nbsp; Or at least tell me that GQ is wrong.<br />