How To Shop For a Women's Blazer
- Melissa
- May 5
- 7 min read
We talked about women's blazers on our social media throughout the month of April and based on our insights, all of you loved it! So, I thought I would write a blog post about how to shop for a women's blazer to ensure you're shopping correctly😉
On April 23rd, I posted about how a good statement blazer is my Visual Signature. It's what I'm known for. And because of that, I've had clients who want to go shopping just for blazers - my Personal Branding clients especially! Think of it this way: How many of you have gone shopping for jeans and tried pair, after pair, after pair, to finally find the right one?? That's exactly how blazer shopping is! But man oh man, once you find that perfect one, you feel so good in it!
Now, if you have a larger budget, you can always get a custom blazer made by Indochino. Some of the local custom suit shops and independent tailors may accommodate women as well! The nice thing about doing custom is that you can basically design it; the buttons, lining, fabric, etc. I don't know about you, but I think that would be super fun! It's not for everyone though ;)
The Fashion History of Blazers
Let's first get a little nerdy and talk about the fashion history of the blazer🤓 I've found a few different articles with slightly different stories. Some articles said that it came from a mid-1800 ship captain that made his crew wear double breasted navy blue blazers. Then there are articles that say that it originated from a sports team who wore bright red blazers. So what is the truth? No clue.
We do know that at the turn of the 20th century, blazers went from being only found in a man's closet to a woman's closet! The most common outfit you would see was a blazer with a knee-length skirt, as seen here:
And of course, we have all heard of the term "power suit". This came about in the 80's when women in the workforce increased by more than 50%! Enough said💪🏽 (source: facettes-studio.com)
Blazer Fit Guide For Women
So how do you shop for the perfect blazer? Well, lucky for you I'm 'The Blazer Queen'! Before I had Lucia, I had 1 whole side of my closet as just blazers - most of them from Express or thrifted! And a lot of them had a story, which is always the best! But no matter where I was, there were several things I looked for:
1) Blazers should come into your waistline and into the curve of your back
As you can imagine, this can give it dimension. Of course, there are boyfriend fit blazers; that style is more oversized. When it comes to a boyfriend fit, it should hang just right while still giving you a little structure.
2) Blazer shoulder pads and seams should hit right at the edge of your shoulder
If they're hanging over, it's not the right fit. If everything else fits you and it's just the seams/shoulder pads that are the problem, I would alter it....HOWEVER, only if you love it! You should love every single item you buy.
3) You should be able to do everyday things in the blazer
If you have kids, can you bend over and pick them up? Can you sit at your desk and type on your laptop comfortably? If you're at a restaurant, can you sit and eat?
4) Blazer length shouldn't be too short or too long
A good way to tell if something is too short is it should hit your hip bone, anything higher you can forget about. Then a good way to tell if something is too long is if the bottom of the blazer hem goes past the middle of your palm.
5) Does the blazer fit your the chest?
Okay, hear me out. This may sound weird, but I promise this works every time! If the lapels don't cover your nipples or are just on the edge of them, it's too small! Not sure? Walk down the hallway and if the blazer starts moving to the outside of your chest, that's when you know it's not the right blazer or you need to size up. I call this the "Nipple Trick". I know, I know, you're probably laughing. I promise though, when I give this advice to my clients, it never leaves their head and they actually find blazers on their own by doing this little "trick". Even my stylist Sarah talks about it to her clients! 😂
How To Style a Blazer
I get this question a lot! I'll be personal shopping with a client, we find a really good blazer, they love it and feel good in it, but then they say, "Where do I wear this?" Or they say, "How do I wear it?"
I think it has to do with what blazers were worn for, and to, back in the day (aka to the office and to meetings). I think we still have this stuck in our head. I also think it has a lot to do with our surroundings. I've lived around the country and each region has "a style". Some states have a more relaxed look while others are more dressed up. It's as if fashion psychology, social psychology, and behavioral psychology had a baby! Society influences some of us.
Where to wear a blazer
My answer is always: Dinner, a play, brunch, your place of religion if you have one, special events, shopping, throw it on as a little jacket if it's chillier out, and even if your workplace is more casual nowadays, wear it anyways! Here's the thing - you should wear whatever you want wherever you want. If you aren't quite there yet, plan an event around the outfit. God knows I have!
Blazer outfit ideas
To get you started, a good go-to blazer outfit and something you can never go wrong with is a:
✔️Blazer
✔️A nice tee (if you like graphic tees, wear it!)
✔️Jeans
✔️Loafer or a fashion sneaker
Another outfit idea is a blazer layered over a dress, which actually may be more beneficial than you think.
I'm sure you've put on a dress at some point in your life and thought, "I have no shape in this. I look frumpy. I look larger than I am." This is where a blazer (or even a fashion jacket such as a bomber, moto, or denim jacket) can help give you shape and dimension. You could always wear a belt with the dress to give you a waistline, but if you don't want to, a jacket (like a blazer) will do the same thing! If you want even more dimension, and it would really depend on the fit of the skirt part of the dress, how long it is along with how long the blazer is, you could wear a belt OVER the blazer AND dress. See below ⬇️
A skirt is a great alternative to a dress if you need to change things up a little bit. So naturally, a skirt with a blazer is a great option too! You can add the belt to this outfit just like the dress outfit above as well. Depending on the length of the blazer, you could even wear the belt OVER it.
How to 'zhuzh' a blazer
I'm sure you've all been there when you have gotten dressed for the day, you look in the mirror, and you've said, "Something's missing!" I know I have! Or maybe you've even gotten bored wearing just a blazer, tee, jeans and loafer. It just becomes repetitive. I've been there too! To fix this problem, it comes down to the tiny styling details and accessorizing.
When clients book the Closet Analysis & Cleanout , sometimes styling outfits from within their closet is all we focus on. Here are a few things I've personally added to a clients outfit to 'zhuzh' (or "fluff") an outfit with a blazer:
1) Roll up the sleeves
This can help make the blazer not look so conservative. It gives off more of a relaxed look. You can also shop for a blazer that has ruched sleeves which already gives the affect of rolling up the sleeves.
2) Neck scarf
There are so many ways you can tie them! I've actually started a 'How to Fashion Hacks' onto our Pinterest. Highly suggest taking a look. Remember: You don't need to be matchy-matchy. Ex: If you're wearing a navy blazer, you don't have to wear a neck scarf that has navy in it. It's okay if you do a little contrasting😉
3) Pocket square
You can steal one from your partner, use a neck scarf, or my favorite thing is to thrift them!
4) Neck tie
Yup! Women can wear neck ties too! Women wearing a menswear look is pretty trendy right now. If you don't like that look, you can always wear a pussybow blouse/tie neck blouse to give the same affect.
5) Brooch
Yup, we're going back to the 'grandma era'! You either have one from a family member, you can still find them out at stores, but my favorite is thrifting them! I feel like you can always find cool, weird, or different ones at the thrift store. I know I've thrifted them for clients before. Just recently, I thrifted a parrot brooch for a client and to say it was amazing is an understatement. I'm scared of birds, but if she wasn't going to buy it, I was😍
Where To Go Shopping For a Blazer
Now the question is, where do you go to shopping for a blazer? Well, as professional personal stylists and shoppers we have been around the block or 2 when it comes to shopping. I mean, some people have hired us on an hourly basis to go shopping for a blazer😂
Here are each of our favorite stores, which just like the some of the boards above, ARE SHOPPABLE! You can view everything from this blog in 1 place, too! Just click here.
Melissa's blazer picks: Anthropologie, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, & Loft
Sarah's blazer picks: Tahari, Banana's 'Long & Lean', & Rails
If you find yourself needing help after reading this blog post, whether you just want someone to shop FOR you, want to go shopping WITH someone, or you just have questions, we can help!
Personal Shopping via a Package or Hourly
Ask us questions via our 30 minute Virtual Style Consulting
Until next time,
-Melissa
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