Blazer

If you don’t have a blazer or some sort of basic semi-structured jacket in your wardrobe, then I would love to know how you get away with it! A jacket can be thrown over just about anything and you’re good to go. Jeans + tee + jacket or skirt + blouse + jacket or capris + tank + jacket or dress + boots + jacket … in each case, the jacket completes the outfit, adding balance and finish.

I have all sorts of jackets. A blazer-style jacket, suit jackets, light unstructured and unlined jackets, cropped jackets, denim jackets, zipped jackets and …. In each instance, the jacket has been bought because it fits and it fills a purpose.

For instance, my go-to summer jacket is not a blazer, but Morrison’s Isabel jacket – light, unlined, hip length, ¾ sleeve.

(From the Morrison Lookbook '07)

I tend to love my jackets to death. Once the lining and edges of the sleeves have holes worn in them, that’s my final cue to send them to Jacket Heaven. It’s a sad and emotional time, and some of my past jackets have left gaps in my wardrobe that I’m yet to satisfactorily fill. Finding THE jacket is not easy.

Fit is the #1 thing with jackets. A jacket should have a waist where you have your waist; the sleeves should not be too long; the length should be exactly what you want, whether long or short; the shoulders should be broad enough to allow you to move and layer more clothes underneath; the collar should sit properly; it should button up at the front. Fortunately, jackets are relatively easy things to have altered, but it’s always better not to have to.

Blazers and jackets also almost always have pockets, of which I’m a huge fan. I’ve put things back on the rack simply because they don’t have pockets. I know that pockets can interfere with the line of a piece of clothing, and also add to the cost of clothing. However, the absence of pockets can interfere with my life and good humour. Having nowhere handy to put anything aside from a bag drives me nuts. Keys, lipbalms, handkerchiefs, ticket stubs, small change, etc, all belong in pockets, as far as I’m concerned. A jacket supplies pockets!