If you spend most of your time wearing a suit, you may experience some added weight to your body or sometimes the suit may make you feel a bit stuffy and uptight. For those of us who like jeans and t-shirt and occasionally a hood or sports jacket as an outer layer, we may find it awkward to fit in a formal setting or feel uncomfortable in the presence of significant people, for example, on a date. If you have found yourself in one of the above situations, let me introduce you to your SOS contact, your go-to savior; the Blazer. The blazer is your 9-1-1 when you are searching for something in between feeling too stuffy and uptight and looking too casual and dull.
The blazer is the king of smart casual. From my experience and other testimonials, it has rightfully earned that title. By the simplest definition, a blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket but cut more casually. It is the most versatile jacket you can ever own. Some blazers are made from textured fabric that keep them from looking like a half suit. To give a more casual look, other blazers would have patch pockets and unstructured shoulders. Look out for details like elbow patches, contrasting colors and pattern-printed fabrics that may affect the versatility of the blazer.
One of the main pros of blazers is that they never go out of style. Also, they can fit in different settings and therefore a go-to outfit when you cannot tell the dress code for an event is formal or not. If you are tired of the stuffiness of a suit, a blazer will dress you down and make you feel relaxed. If you are casually dressed, a blazer will add a stylish twist and elevate your look from casual to smart casual.
The slim-fit, tailored and modern-cut craze for menswear outfits is still alive with us. Men in slim but not skinny tight pants do look spectacular. However, there exists a challenge. As the pants have gotten slimmer, items to carry around have kept increasing. Stacking items in your slim-fit pants will definitely make you look weird. If you love slim-fit things, do not panic, the blazer is there for you. With its many pockets- two inner pockets and two outer pockets, you can safely store your many gadgets that travel with you. Personally, it comes in handy when travelling on a public bus. Stacking my gadgets (phones, coins, pens, power bank, earphones, USB-cables etc) in the inner pockets of my blazer, where I can always feel them, gives me comfort. It also makes it hard for any malicious hands to reach them.
The weather in our beautiful city of Nairobi can be very unpredictable (or is it very predictable?). From cold early mornings, through sunny and hot midday and afternoons to chilly evenings and nights. When you are on an evening date and she has ticked all the boxes, wait until the night gets chilly, offer her your stylish warm blazer, and boom, you score a bonus (110/100). One more thing about a blazer. If you dress casually at the office but are occasionally called into abrupt meetings (with a client or the Big Boss), always keep a blazer at your desk. Throw it on before you go into the meeting and it will instantly transform your look to smart. It also helps to cover non-ironed shirts.
You clearly need a blazer. Invest in a quality and well-fitting one today or add more for diversity if you have some. Ensure you buy quality and cry once, if you buy cheap you’ll always hate the man in the mirror.