The Perfect Blazer

As much as I love shopping, I am terrible at making decisions and, to that end; I am now in a bit of a fashion rut. Although I already have my trusty beige trench coat, I am on the hunt for another Spring/Summer cover-up and ultimate wardrobe staple – the blazer. However, I am finding it impossible to decide even on which type of blazer to look for, let alone which exact one to buy! There are just too many choices to narrow down:

Shape/cut. The boyfriend style blazer is a longer line cut and often looser fitting, making it more of a casual option, although it would still be easy to dress up as required with statement jewellery and a pair of heels. However, the smarter, fitted style of blazer would be equally as simple to dress down with a casual pair of jeans, flats and rolled up sleeves. You could even have the best of both worlds, with a long line fitted style, but then, do you go for a single or double breasted jacket?

Colour. You would be surprised at just how many colours the simple blazer is available in, from understated blacks, greys and pastels to loud neons. It is hard to pick just one that you might be able to put on top of almost any outfit as, although black or neutral shades might traditionally be conceived as failsafe when it comes to ‘going with’ other colours, we have come to learn that colour blocking and clashing colours are just as stylish, if not more in some cases. The colour palette for this season does seem to lean more towards pastel and neutral colours, but that is not to say that you can’t offset the pale tones with a splash of neon, or break them up with a bit of fool proof black.

Patterned/plain. Once again, there is an impossible decision on whether to opt for a simple one-colour design, or a patterned piece. Stripes, florals and monochrome are all set to be huge this season and are among the designs that are making their way onto blazers. Stripes are a great way to tie in the cyclic nautical trend that just cries out for the sunshine that we are finally starting to see glimpses of, but who can deny that flowers just scream ‘summertime!’ even in hazy pastel colours?

Considering the blazer is supposed to be a staple that is easy to place in a capsule wardrobe, it turns out that it is not exactly the easiest item to shop for. It looks to me as though I might end up giving up on making decisions completely and simply buy two, or three, or four different blazers, although that might leave me in even more of a predicament when it comes to deciding between those purchased to actually wear.

By Louise Hayward