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Boyfriend, we still love you

February 14, 2011 12:12

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

2 min read

Yes, readers, we are all still deeply infatuated with the boyfriend. The boyfriend jacket, that is, also known as the blazer and occasionally as a tuxedo when it has a roll collar in place of revers. Last year, it was the hottest jacket shape on and off the catwalk, and this year the boyfriend is still strutting its stuff in the high street and all the leading stores.

There is some mild competition from the Chanel-esque, edge-to-edge jacket, the summer-weight biker jacket and the fresh, kimono-esque collarless, wrap jacket with its bow-tying fabric belt, as seen on the 2010 runway at YSL and on the high street this season at H&M, Banana Republic and Zara. But there is little doubt that the boyfriend will triumph because he - sorry, it, I was getting carried awaywith the metaphor - is so versatile, working perfectly over a dress, skirt or tailored trousers for work, and over jeans, shorts or a maxi dress at weekends.

Nothing, of course, stays the same from one season to the next on Planet Fashion and there are some subtle (and not-so-subtle) changes which differentiate this year's blazer from 2010's.

Many are oversized and slouchy, with a distinctly 1980s feel, while others are skinny and shrunken, sometimes nipping in sharply at the waist, often done in jersey or other stretchy fabric, at River Island and by Alexander Wang in his diffusion T collection at Browns. Other mutations include the deconstructed boyfriend which has had its arms lopped off. Feeding into the 70s vibe, the sleeveless blazer can be worn with bare arms or - more likely in this climate - over long sleeves, teamed with a mid-calf skirt or wide-leg trousers.

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