Eclectic Joy

34 Comments

• replied 7 years ago

  This is tricky. I'm no expert, but I would say that maybe the last one with three buttons is my least favourite. I'm not keen on the high buttoned/short collar stance. I think a one button fastening has more staying power....but I could be wrong see what others think.

• Joy replied 7 years ago

  Thank you, Diane. That is very helpful. I tend to wear blazers casually with graphic tees for the most part. Sometimes in transitional weather they are an outside topper. I know the details on black is hard to see and the shirt and jeans are not doing me any favors either.

• texstyle replied 7 years ago

  It is hard to see details. 1/2 the pocket placement isn't my favorite but it looks like it fits really well so I don't know. I think #5 maybe looks more current right now than #4 but I prefer it open for whatever reason. The last one has a nice fitted look all buttoned up. I'm afraid I'm not being much help.

• Angie replied 7 years ago

  I'm not sure you should keep any of them, Joy. The fit looks off in all these styles - unless the camera is playing tricks with the fit. 

• texstyle replied 7 years ago

  Just curious Angie - is the fit too fitted in most of them? That's the main thing I thought but some people like fitted blazers.

• catgirl replied 7 years ago

  See, to me these are all just different - I don't see anything terribly wrong with any of them.

  Now I'm curious as to what the current "right" fit is for a black blazer.  Are we talking just regular fit issues, like seams and waist being in the right place, sleeve length, etc.?  Or current vs. dated?  I have a large black blazer collection too.

• Joyce B replied 7 years ago

  I am also curious to hear why the fit is wrong. I thought the first two looked fine.

• unfrumped replied 7 years ago

  I could only go for 1-2 and there the button placement is too high for my eye but that's how I view many women's blazers-they seem to feature the button just below bust instead of at what I think is a more natural waist area. Also it may be a bit short as shown with the low-rise pants, but maybe works differently.
  I am watching this also because I have jackets I've kept but am not sure I would buy again. These are kind of in that category.
  Not sure you want to spend time shopping, but sometimes browsing, nto buying, helps show me what I might be looking for in a jacket and then compare to ones I have. This of course is for B&M shopping and the problem there is that real blazers are more scarce, since the casualization of the retail floorspace. But maybe AT, BR, JC etc are browsable.

• BrieN replied 7 years ago

  Black is hard to see in photos and I am no expert but to my eye at least the first few Blazers seem to have the button too high. Were any of these part of a suit?

• Joy replied 7 years ago

  Brien, as far as I know none are part of a suit but might be.  The first is Brooks Brothers from Marshalls, the second is Theory in what I thought was my size from consignment, but other Theory items don't really fit me very well, I've found.  The last two were thrifted.  The Brooks Brothers (1-2) has a non-traditional collar, more rounded with a low stance.  I think the Theory blazer feels too small. 

  Thank you all for your help.  I need to be tutored on how a jacket should fit and what works best on a small busted, sway-backed, short waisted rectangle with broad shoulders. :)

• Firecracker (Sharan) replied 7 years ago

  I think they aren't as fab as the other black topper options that you list.

  I like the fit of 1 the best through the body and shoulders, plus the length. But it would need to be worn with higher-waist pants, imo--the button looks quite high compared to where the waist of these pants sits. And in that case, why keep it, if you want to be able to wear it with jeans. The next photos look a bit wide in the shoulders. The last jacket seems to trend slightly toward the shrunken look that was in a while back, so it doesn't look that current to me.

  P.S. I really like the pants you're wearing here--such a great color for spring, and I like the fit on you.

• Aquamarine replied 7 years ago

  I'd keep the first one, if any. To my eye, that one fits fine.

• Angie replied 7 years ago

  To my eye, the buttons seem a little high on all the styles. And some a little snug when closed, which happens when women have a large bust. This is not the case with Joy.

  Joy is also trying to edit her larger wardrobe. Let's keep the best items. Hope that makes sense.

  Joy, feel free to disagree with me.

• UmmLila (Lisa) replied 7 years ago

  I'm a fan of black, but I see you in softer colors, Joy.

• Sal replied 7 years ago

  I like 5 the best but it sounds like you have other black options available so you may not need any?

• Yuna Nguyen replied 7 years ago

  Ji Joy,

  When it comes to black blazers, i love wearing it with t-shirts, polo shirts and shirts which contrast in colour.

  .For a casual look, you can wear them unbottoned with a white plain shirt and khaki or flare jeans.

  I love blazers in summer days when i go to work. What a professional look!

• Joy replied 7 years ago

  Angie, you are exactly right. I am trying to downsize my large wardrobe for a move and to be rid of the excess. The snugness is probably due to my apple tendencies that remain in spite of diet and exercise. I wonder if a blazer cut is just not right for me. Something with a different shape usually looks better, like a moto or bomber jacket.
  I think my problems with not recognizing bad fit go deep with a long history of wearing whatever was available. I am leaning toward chucking the whole lot.

• Jaime replied 7 years ago

  Thank you for posting Joy. I would have leaned towards the first one, but Angie's comment makes me look at it more critically. Since you are downsizing, you might ask if you really need a black jacket as well (not that I am that evolved!).

• Muffin replied 7 years ago

  I had a tough time seeing too much difference until I read through the comments and Angie's in particular. Honestly it sounds like you have your black jackets covered with some of your other options, and maybe best to pass on all if you are downsizing. Exciting times ahead!

• Joy replied 7 years ago

  I was leaning toward keeping the first one but now think I'll reserve the hanger for something better and probably not black. Thank you, Shevia and Muffin, for your wisdom

• kellygirl replied 7 years ago

  Thanks for posting, Joy. reading the analysis really opened my eyes on some of the details of fit. I'm thinking I need to chuck a few of my blazers too!

• BrieN replied 7 years ago

  Joy - I LOVE the idea of reserving the hanger for something "better" -- that's a great way to look at it! I realized recently that I only have a few empty hangers left... and once they are all full it's one in, one out. 

• chirico (Chiara) replied 7 years ago

  Late to the conversation, sorry.
  If I had to choose, I'd pick the first, it's the one with the best button placement IMO. But I quite agree with Angie: all three of them, although not terribile, don't love you much. If you are trying to downsize, let all of them go.
  Besides, I think right now the shape for blazers tends to be a bit looser, please correct me if I am wrong.

• Angie replied 7 years ago

  Onto the next set go fabulous jackets, Joy. I know you have many of them!

• Joy replied 7 years ago

  Angie, I appreciate your help soooo much.  xoxo

• Mac replied 7 years ago

  Joy - good for you! I'm learning from your experiences with your own clothes.

• rachylou replied 7 years ago

  Ok. I think I learned something here. I was going to pick one, but I've been taught you don't have to, lol. Good point also about the three buttons. I pass these by in stores because they seem not current, but in isolation here my thoughts were elsewhere.

• Nebraskim replied 7 years ago

  This was an interesting thread to read. Before I noticed it was a couple of days old, my first thought was: keep none of them. I think they look and feel dated to me, somehow. And I also think that black is too severe a color for you now. One of my friends, who just celebrated her 72nd birthday but is extremely youthful and stylish, has decided to let her hair turn completely white. So her color palette is changing and she realizes that black is no longer working. She's eager to move to the next cool place on her style journey.

• Joy replied 7 years ago

  Mac, Rachylou and NEkim, thank you for your thoughts. All the black blazers are gone and I think I will do a post on my other black jackets.
  Kim, when my hair first started to be mostly grey, I was thrilled to be able to wear black for the first time. Now, nearly 70, I think I can and dost ill wear some blacks but am moving more toward greys or navy or light neutrals. I wish your friend lots of fun on her style journey.

• Nebraskim replied 7 years ago

  Thanks. She will still be wearing black but in slightly different ways. It's fun to be part of her journey and of yours.

• Henna Mackoin replied 7 years ago

  Well I would say the second one seems a bit tight when the buttons are closed so that would be my least-favorite. I like them all though - they have beautiful shape and form! :) 

• April replied 7 years ago

  Joy, here's a tip I learned from stylist Kendall Farr that has stayed with me the way Angie's Perfect Pants Length rule has.  Kendall says the blazer should either mostly cover the bottom (in which case you're after a fair amount of shape in the torso) or should *not* cover the bottom.  She believes you should never turn to check the rear view and see a jacket hem cutting the bottom in half horizontally, producing "two half-moons" below the jacket's hem.  

  Of course most of my jackets did exactly that, so when I can't quite figure out why a jacket doesn't work, I fall back on Kendall's rule.

  A blazer tip I have learned on my own: if you go with a cropped jacket, don't go with narrow bottoms or you end up looking like a bowling pin.  A short jacket looks better, to my eye, with a fuller-legged bottom.

  And of course there is Angie's invaluable observation that when a jacket is worn over a dress, it will tend to look dowdy and managerial unless the jacket is short.  

• Joy replied 7 years ago

  April, thank you for those valuable tips. As I get older, I want my bottom covered when wearing pants. It's also a good reminder to keep some short jackets for frocks and wider pants.
  I just took a bunch of photos of some other black jackets although they don't show up as much as I'd hoped.

• April replied 7 years ago

  Joy, your approach to fashion (and aging) always brings to my mind the quotation attributed to Michelangelo, when he was in his 70s:

  "Ancora Imparo" -- "I am still learning."

  Very inspiring!