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Can I wear this suit jacket as a blazer?

bjornb17

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I have a handful of suits and only one blazer. I was thinking about buying a second blazer but I have yet to find something that strikes my interest and so I've deferred that purchase til I find something down the road. However, that got me thinking, can I occasionally wear a suit jacket as a blazer? I understand that normally this is a no-go as it will look like half of a missing suit, but in this case I think it might make more sense. Please see the attached photos. The dark green jacket is a blazer. The oatmeal outfit is a suit and I do have the matching pants, but this jacket also looks great on its own. The blazer and suit jacket both have similar detailing (blazer is slightly less structured) but both have a prince of wales pattern and the oatmeal jacket isn't obviously part of a suit when worn by itself. What do you think?
 

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maxalex

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Personally I would wear that suit jacket as a separate, but I live in Europe where splitting up a suit is more accepted. Even in the States where it causes trauma, the jacket has enough of a pattern to work separately, perhaps with beige trousers. To me.
 

bjornb17

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Personally I would wear that suit jacket as a separate, but I live in Europe where splitting up a suit is more accepted. Even in the States where it causes trauma, the jacket has enough of a pattern to work separately, perhaps with beige trousers. To me.

Thanks for that feedback - as a German-American I sort of prefer the European style of dressing anyway and I find it more interesting than how most Americans dress. I get the feeling that most people around here wouldn't know or care the difference between a suit jacket and blazer but either way it is cool to know what the norms are in various places.

I will test this out and see what combos work if any. I feel like beige might be a little too matchy unless they are significantly lighter in color (maybe like a stone color?). I'll give navy a shot as well.
 
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maxalex

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Thanks for that feedback - as a German-American I sort of prefer the European style of dressing anyway and I find it more interesting that how most Americans dress. I get the feeling that most people around here wouldn't know or care the difference between a suit jacket and blazer but either way it is cool to know what the norms are in various places.

I will test this out and see what combos work if any. I feel like beige might be a little too matchy unless they are significantly lighter in color (maybe like a stone color?). I'll give navy a shot as well.
By beige I meant a light color, like a khaki or creme. Yes, very few people these days would even notice if you wore the jacket of a navy pinstripe suit as a separate. You should be safe.
 

bjornb17

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By beige I meant a light color, like a khaki or creme. Yes, very few people these days would even notice if you wore the jacket of a navy pinstripe suit as a separate. You should be safe.

While I have your attention what do you think of black shoes with the oatmeal suit like in the pics? I figured brown shoes would look best with an oatmeal suit but even with my dark brown shoes it is a little too matchy, whereas black seems to pop nicely which I wouldn't have expected.
 

breakaway01

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The jacket will work fine as an odd jacket.

Personally I wouldn’t wear black oxfords with that jacket. I could maybe see black loafers working.
 

bjornb17

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The jacket will work fine as an odd jacket.

Personally I wouldn’t wear black oxfords with that jacket. I could maybe see black loafers working.

Is it because oxfords are a bit too formal for a jacket like that or some other reason?
 

bjornb17

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yes -- I would personally find oxfords too formal for that jacket.

The suit is kind of interesting to me because it has a pretty classic pattern in a somewhat casual texture and color but at the same time the pattern is pretty small and subtle and the cut is pretty slim and modern. It also has some gray undertones in person that is not as obvious in the pic and so dressing it up with black oxfords seems to work although maybe that is a little fashion forward. Also I have nothing but oxfords because I find derbys to be a bit unsophisticated haha.
 

notdos

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Not my favorite as an odd jacket. Maybe if the pattern were bolder or more textured.
Not black shoes.
 

bjornb17

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Not my favorite as an odd jacket. Maybe if the pattern were bolder or more textured.
Not black shoes.

What do you think about the suit as a whole? It is a bit of a deviation for me from the charcoal and navy suits I wear most of the time.
 

notdos

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What do you think about the suit as a whole? It is a bit of a deviation for me from the charcoal and navy suits I wear most of the time.
No offense intended, but hopefully the fit is better on you, than the model. It reeks of the “1 size to small” style, that has been popular in the fashion forward world for sometime.
I’d prefer wider lapels. Wear in good health.

Phillip
 

rjc149

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American here. I wouldn't be able to tell that jacket apart from a sport coat, and I can easily tell when a suit jacket is being worn as a sport coat. My boss has taken to wearing his conservative suit jackets as sport coats with chinos, apparently because it's 2024, and he looks like a 22 year old who just drenched himself in Axe to seek mating opportunities in nightclubs.
 

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