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How to wear a blazer: a tutorial inspired by Rachel

2/26/2014

6 Comments

 
What is your relationship with blazers? Some women toss one on daily to upgrade & pull an outfit together. 

My friend & colleague Rachel is one of these people. She created this cartoon on the right at designhergals.com modeling her signature style: a shapely black blazer & skinny jeans. The blazer adds a little sophistication & class to her outfit. 

I've tried to wear blazers for years but have never quite pulled it off. I own a fair number of them, but most have only seen the light outside the closet once or twice. 

Rachel very kindly offered to give me a primer on how to wear blazers, & last Friday she brought a selection of them over to my house for me to try on. We moved from my trying on Rachel's blazers to putting together combos with my own. 



Rachel
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The Common Denominator: Skinny Jeans
One mistake I've made for years is in trying to wear a blazer with dressy pants. Abiding by the principle of pairing high with low, jeans or a mini-skirt seems to me now the best option. Rachel's jeans shown in these photos are Seven for Mankind that she snagged for a song from ebay. Mine are BDG jeans from Urban Outfitters. We both like a dark wash.



The Black Blazer

We started out with Rachel's classic style: a striped shirt & black blazer. 
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We discovered that Rachel prefers to keep her blazers open while I prefer buttoning mine up. We tried adding a belt to the look to help lighten it up & make the blazer less formal. 
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Also in Rachel's collection (& supposedly heading for a clothing swap) was my favorite of Rachel's jackets: a short, swingy, less structured jacket. Rachel said "It's yours now," & I wore it the rest of that day & out for happy hour that evening!
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The Colored Blazer
Next up was the colored blazer, great for spring! This yellow gingham one is mine (from Target), but I'd only managed to wear it once before. With the added cow-hide belt, I suddenly felt light & playful. Rachel says I should wear this to work next week!
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Rachel was wearing this pink blazer when she arrived. Rachel looks so natural & relaxed in it, & I love the color on her. 
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We tried belting an old, more casual blue jacket of mine, but I'm not sure if it works or not. My hubby says the belt cuts me in half, & maybe there's a bit too much going on with the pockets and the white seams along with the belt. 
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Dressing down the conservative blazer
Our biggest challenge of the day was to save my dressiest, most conservative blazers from the donate pile. The trick appears to be in the top! Here we tried a slinky, long, monochromatic top with my stoddgiest gray blazer, and I'm shocked to say I really like the look! Some casual jewelry helps to lighten up the mood. 
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This outfit--a cotton velvet blazer (also Rachel's, also one that she gave to me since she claims she has several)--seems to work thanks to the untucked shirt & embellished sweatshirt underneath. 
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To Sum Up...
*Do choose jeans or a casual skirt for the bottom half. Skinny jeans seem offset the bulk of the top layers. 
*Do add casual accessories--even messy hair--to keep from looking too stiff & mature :-)
*Do choose youthful, trendy, playful, sexy tops instead of a starched shirt underneath. 
*Look for blazers in soft fabrics with unstructured shapes & try belting them.
*Great thanks to Rachel for helping me & giving me new styles I can wear!


What do you think? Do you own any blazers? Do you wear them regularly? 
What's held you back & how can we get your blazers out of the closet?










You may also like...
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Not a working stiff: how to look smart & feminine in a blazer

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Colorful skinny belts

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Here's to stripes!



6 Comments
Monica link
2/25/2014 08:42:59 pm

LOVE that first black blazer - and your final look! I have several I just don't know how to wear - so I don't wear them at all. Will dust them off and give it a go! Thanks for the inspiration.

Reply
Josie
2/25/2014 08:53:06 pm

You'll see me working hard at the same goal. So hard to wear unless you've made them a regular in your life, but they do feel kind of good once you've got it down. Thanks so much for visiting & commenting, my Monica!

Reply
posemanikin link
2/25/2014 10:29:34 pm

the cotton velvet blazer paired with the untucked shirt, jeans and boots is a great look on you! what do you think about wearing with a scarf? sometimes i like to wear blazers over simple knit dresses or even jumpsuits. :)

Reply
Josie
2/25/2014 11:20:15 pm

You are so stylish, Allie--I can see you wearing a blazer, and I love the idea of adding a scarf--maybe you'll send me a photo so I can see how you do it? Love the blazer over simple dress idea--there's a photo of one those in the link below about blazers. Would love to see how you're wearing this look! Thanks for much for visiting & commenting!

Reply
Rachelle Hubbell
2/26/2014 12:25:44 pm

Love the cotton velvet blazer with the sweatshirt underneath! It's so chic but comfortable, makes me think of Diane Keaton!!

Reply
Josie
2/26/2014 08:57:50 pm

Sweet Rachelle! This is such high praise! I can just picture that lovely Diane Keaton in Reds wearing a velvet blazer--I'm so flattered to be brought up in the same sentence with her! Thank you so much for visiting this post and for your lovely comment!

Reply



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