An oversized blazer is fall's statement piece, Long Islanders say. Here's how to style it.
A buttoned-up vest under a matching oversized jacket with a relaxed silhouette, both in menswear-inspired plaid, is a new look for back-to-work power dressing. Credit: Talbots ; @Simplygailg
Oh, the fashion conundrum at the start of each season: Is it possible to buy just one garment that is useful, on-trend and works as a big-time wardrobe update? As autumn hits, by many accounts, the answer is yes: the blazer.
During the summer, it made a rather unlikely appearance at the beach tossed over bralettes and cutoff shorts. Moving forward, the proportions are bigger with a more substantial shoulder and plenty of swagger. Some are anything but basic, turned out with embellishments and in unusual fabrications. It all looks so fresh, and the once-conservative blazer may well be the wardrobe workhorse in your closet for fall.
So says Baldwin resident Constance C.R. White, author of the book, “How to Slay: Inspiration From the Queens and Kings of Black Style,” (Rizzoli International Publications, $55). “If you’re buying one thing for the fall, especially if you’re work-minded, the blazer is great,” she says. “It speaks to versatility. We’ve been seeing it as almost a summer cover-up, yet it goes seamlessly into transition with people putting it over floral maxi dresses.” Come winter, says White, with many returning to the office, “this will continue. I think it’s wonderful. It can give you such power and authority and while before, blazers were so serious, there’s also the fun side too. And they’re across every price point, from H&M to Gucci.”
At Cosmopolitan, fashion director Cassie Anderson calls the new blazer silhouettes, “a very relaxed, casual way to wear what’s traditionally been a really buttoned-up look.” On one hand, she explains, “A blazer can elevate and polish an off-duty T-shirt and denim looks.” But, if your tastes run toward fashion that is less than modest, Anderson says, “It can balance out the scandalousness of what you're wearing underneath,” suggesting it as a topper for an out-at-night mini dress.
The blazer as 'armor'
Statement blazers such as this dramatic boxy style with sparkly mesh sleeves are standout this season, $148 at Penny Lane boutique, Huntington and pennylaneny.com. Credit: Penny Lane
Beyond pure fashion, the new blazer may serve as a sort of societal salve as well, say some. “People may feel a bit more anxious with world issues than they did before the pandemic,” explains White. “And one of the ways we combat that is in the way we dress. How much does it have to do with people trying to get more control?” she asks rhetorically.
Agreeing is Afshin Haghani, an owner of Gallery Couture in Manhasset and Loop in Port Washington where his inventory is stocked, he says, with “tons of blazers.” He concludes that, “The blazer is our armor for what’s happening in the world. Whenever there is uncertainty, fashion can provide a sense of security. Many are heading back to the office and are looking for something more powerful like the exaggerated shoulder.”
Haghani’s advice? “If you buy one thing this season, please make it an oversized blazer. It will modernize everything you have.”
Oversized is in
Over at Penny Lane in Huntington, Gabrielle Sunshine sees the “oversized boyfriend blazer as a must-have. It’s the favorite item in my closet.” Her younger customers are wearing it “out to the club over a bustier. We’ve never seen that before.”
Top sellers here include the bigger looks and what Sunshine calls, “statement” pieces” that feature embroidery, rhinestones or textural treatments. “My push this season is for a plaid or tweed oversized style with suede elbow patches. It’s a little more elevated. Wear it with a black turtleneck for work and with jeans, a rock and roll T-shirt and sneakers for the weekend.”
The oversized blazer question of the day stems from the likes of Kendall Jenner, who has been spotted lately jaunting about in, well, just a long blazer (as in no pants or skirt). Is this a thing?
“If the blazer is long enough, I absolutely love it when they’re worn as a dress,” says Cosmo’s Anderson. “Pair it with a combat boot, and it’s a perfect fall outfit.” White says, “I will concede that the psychology of it can be really titillating. But it’s not that different from with shorts or skirts at incredible heights. There’s no difference.”
Though she says, “I’m totally OK with it,” she adds, “It’s not like I’m going to be doing it.”
