Wear the blazer with a loud, Jermyn Street check, some dark jeans, and brown suede semi-brogues.  Socks are either argyle, striped or just brightly colored.  Not very Ivy, but rather wicked.  Especially when the blazer is double-breasted.

Last edited by AQG (2009-05-31 07:11:17)

Yea, ive worn it a few times. I think I am going to get rid of the brass buttons though.

Bizarrely enough I think the brass buttons add a touch of 'difference' on this side of the Atlantic.

I might replace brass with white pearl on another blazer, though. Something I've seen on nouveau tailoring like Mark Powell, Richard James etc. and think it could work quite well. I don't think I would go for buttons which were intended for a business suit.

Last edited by adam! (2009-05-31 08:12:27)

i had my blazer's brass buttons changed to dark navy ones, have been wearing it with red gingham check (also half-sleeve) or loud madras or plaid check bd's, dark denims and dessies, playboys or oxblood brogues. have worn it only a few times though.. i also have problems with the conservative / yacht club connotations.

wouldn't ever wear a double-breasted though. ever. too yachting club bourgeois for me.

adam's pic is a good example of alex's theme imo.

I just chuck one of mine on without thinking about it. I've got two old 346 patch jobs, hopsack, the minimal lining and padding. One's a tad shorter than the other, like Tom Rath I prefer that.

I also have a Southwick that's dressier, more shoulder to it.

Isn't the key to making this funky the pants? A blue blazer's just like a 12-bar blues - anybody can have a stab at that, it's what's added or subtracted that make it new.

Plus sometimes it's just simpler for me to don the standard bd, repp tie and chinos and loafers with it. Doesn't require a lot of thought and I will blend in. Only a handful will notice the rolled over third button, or the tell-tale mark on the lapel where the unused button has rubbed through a bit.

I could defintely do without the brass buttons and the ersatz crest. Of all the things to learn how to sew on, blazer buttons must be the easiest. I'd like plain matte silver.

After all, reclaiming it is only like reclaiming Burberrys' from the chavs and footballers' wives.

Crests are for stuffed chests.  Brass butttons though; they are sublime.

Well that's just fine. He made it work. The same basic choices as so many other guys but just an attitude that made him different. That specific combo is almost like a uniform around these parts. I have heard it called the Louisville suit. I have a very specific reaction to it. His picture changed that perception. Ivy, Trad, Americana..small town yankee reporter style, whatever he had going on in that photo it certainly worked.