The right blazer (or two!) is a super-versatile item that no man should be without. In this video, we’re discussing our picks for the 3 types of blazers every man should own. Don’t forget to check out our blazer fit guide and all our picks below!
Navy
A classic staple that goes with everything. Get one in wool and you can wear it with everything; dressy, business casual and more.
Try one with some texture like tweed or herringbone or even one in cotton. This one is great for fall and the color can be worn with everything from jeans to slacks and a tie.
For a third blazer, try one with some pattern like a check, houndstooth or windowpane. It’s an elevated look that’s perfect with dark jeans or chinos. This one also dresses up well and can stand in for a suit when worn with slacks.
There’s going to be some items in your closet that’ll need to transition for the Spring and Summer seasons, and that definitely includes your suits. If you’ve seen my other suiting articles and videos, then there’s some suits that’ll work year round, but there’s always room for some seasonal specific suits.
So let’s go through what you should look for in a Spring and Summer suit and the best shoes to wear during this time of year.
Colors
I love brown, green, and burgundy during these seasons, but I’m also a big fan of lighter colors such as: light to medium blues, light greys, and camel.
For bolder colors, like green and burgundy, I prefer that they’re solid because a pattern can be too bold of a look and make you look like a goofball.
Patterns
Experimenting with patterns is a perfect way to inject some fun and personality into your suits. I love windowpanes, plaids, checks, and stripes (ie. seersucker striped pattern).
It is perfectly fine to wear a darker color, like navy, but I always prefer to go with a navy windowpane or a nice navy plaid suit to help slightly break up the big swath of a dark color.
Fabric
During this time of year, there’s a lot of fabric choices to choose from – linen, cotton, seersucker, or a lightweight wool fabric.
Most Spring & Summer wool suits will generally be around 8 – 10 ounces, which is your typical year-round fabric weight. I tend to prefer 8-8.5 ounces as that’s a nice lightweight wool that’ll keep you comfortable.
If you live in a more tropical environment that’s hot and humid, I recommend going with fabric that is around 6 ounces, since it will be much lighter and more breathable. Linen is typically a very lightweight, breathable fabric choice although you will have to deal with the immense wrinkles that will accrue throughout the day – there’s just no way around it with linen, unfortunately.
Another really great fabric that doesn’t wrinkle and that’s quiet breathable is seersucker, which I really love. Traditionally, seersucker fabric is blue and white but there are a lot of different color variations these days.
Hem
Aside from pattern, this is another area where you can add some flair to your Spring suiting.
There are 3 different hem lengths I recommend:
Exposed ankle – If you want a little bit of your ankle to be exposed than hem pants so they hit the top of your outer ankle bone. Make sure your pants are tapered pretty slim towards the ankle so that there’s not a bunch of fabric flopping around.
No break – When you want to wear loafers, have your pants hemmed so they’re barely skimming the top of your shoes. Again, pants should be tapered pretty slim towards the ankle.
Slight break – More versatile and appropriate for all occasions.
Pairing Your Spring/Summer Suit with Dress Shirts & Ties
For ties, I love polka dots, florals, and fun patterns during this time of year. I also really like using silk knit ties in solid colors since they complement the visually lighter suits. Just please, make sure your ties are proportional to your body type.
Pro Tips
If you want to inject some color in your charcoal or navy suit (that you already own), pair it with a gingham or striped dress shirt, or even a lavender or light pink dress shirt. This will help give a more Spring-vibe to your outfit.
If you go with a patterned suit, then make sure to keep your dress shirt and pocket square a solid color because you don’t want to go overboard with mixing patterns. The tie can have a pattern, though.
If you’re wearing a solid Spring colored suit, then gingham and striped dress shirts in pastel colors look really good here. You’ll want a bolder solid colored tie so that it stands out from the shirt and compliments your suit.
Shoes
If you’ve watched or read any of my other shoe videos and articles, I’ve specifically mentioned that you should save your suede items for Spring and Summer, and guess what? Now it’s time to bring them out.
I love the Brooks Brothers navy plaid suit – it was so easy to style it in a couple different ways on my friend Jordan O’Brien from The Gentlemen’s Cove.
I’m sure you’ve already seen my article/video about a Navy Wool Blazer in my Wardrobe Essentials Series, riiiiiggghhht? If not, then please read and watch it first before we talk about Fall and Winter wool blazers/sport coats, because I’m going to assume we’re on the same page in regard to the differences between a blazer, sport coat and suit jacket as well as how your blazer should fit your body type as well as the finer details of what to look for in a quality blazer. Otherwise, you will probably be lost or think this article is a little anemic. There will be a few critical differences between your year-round blazers and your specific Fall and Winter wool blazers. So let’s get into them.
1. Fabric Weight
The most important difference during this time of year is the fabric weight of your blazer.
You want a much heavier wool fabric, like Harris Tweed, for three reasons:
It will keep you much warmer during this time of year.
If it has a tighter weave, like Harris Tweed, it’ll be more durable, robust and repel water and snow better.
To get technical for a moment, a typical weight you should look for is around 12 ounces, but you can go all the way up to 16 to 20 ounces. For year-round wool blazers, I prefer a fabric weight of between 8 to 10 ounces, depending on your climate. In comparison, for hotter climates/seasons, I usually go with somewhere around 6 ounces for the fabric weight.
You’ll instantly notice the difference of fabric weights when you feel the blazer in-person. It’s a little harder to see it in in pictures, so I would suggest going to a store that carries suits to see it for yourself.
Long story short, you want a thicker wool for this time of year.
2. Color
The second difference is the colors for the time of year. Unlike the year-round wool blazers, this is the time of year where you can wear richer, more jewel-toned colors, all based on your skin tone, of course.
The best way I can describe colors is to think of the leaves changing to their fall colors and those are the colors you want for the season. So that typically means these colors:
Browns
Burgandys
Greens
Blues
Oranges
I went over all these colors and how to wear them based on your skin tone in my introduction article & video to this series.
3. Patterns
The last and final thing to consider for your Fall & Winter wool blazers are the patterns. Since you’ll be wearing heavier items, bold and heavier patterns work great this time of year.
All of these blazers are from companies that I love. Zegna, Canali, and Brooks Brothers’ blazers have superior construction and the fit, color, and pattern are exactly what I look for in a standout blazer for my clients. For more budget-friendly options, I really like J.Crew’s english tweed sportcoats. The weight of these blazers are perfect and the solid textured colors (brown, grey, and navy) will never go out of style. For a nice camel or dark green blazer, Topman and H&M, respectively, make these nice blazers. The fabric isn’t as thick as I’d prefer, but the price point is hard to beat so I’m willing to overlook that.
Take note of the functional, well-designed Barbour Jacket. With more pockets than you’d ever need, the Barbour jacket is practical, and like a leather jacket, will look age nicely. Pair with a blue gingham shirt and navy trousers to complete this outfit. For added warmth, throw on a navy sweater.
