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The Jewish Chronicle

Blazer trail with the best jacket for spring

The blazer is back, arriving just when we have all become bored with the whole grungy knitwear vibe

February 18, 2010 14:43
Tara Jarmon thumb

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

2 min read

They used to be associated with barely-alive majors in St James’s gentleman’s clubs and appeared as a fashion item throughout the latter half of the last century. In 1971, Bianca Pérez Morena de Macías famously married Mick Jagger wearing a white one with wide lapels; in the 1980s, they acquired vast shoulder pads courtesy of American designer Nolan Miller.

But this spring, the blazer is back, arriving just when we have all become bored with the whole grungy knitwear vibe — the boyfriend cardi thrown over a dress, wrap/tulip/mini skirt or skinny trousers.

Instead, we covet tailoring. And while we have no wish to resemble Dynasty duo Alexis and Krystle (or a building society clerk, so please do not team a blazer with a matching pencil skirt), the hint of authority conveyed by a nipped-in waistline and a sharp shoulder is sexy and authoritative. It is truly fabulous with cargo, harem, peg-top and other hard-to-wear trousers, as well as with those tropical-flower or digital-print shifts and sensuously draped dresses.

And in a rare conjunction of what we want and what retailers want to sell us, there are endless versions of the blazer for spring, from preppy with contrast edging, to nautical with stripes and brass buttons, purist versions with single button and medium-width lapel, and long boyfriend blazers with sleeves pulled up. There are different colours, fabrics (including rose print and denim) and prices, from black satin with gold buttons by Lanvin at Browns at a breathtaking £1,815, to red with defined waist and white edge at £25 from boohoo.com.