Fed up of frills? Clean up in a sharp white blazer
DeSpIte all the fuss about meghan markle’s Wimbledon appearance — she was wearing jeans; she was in the wrong box; she was getting her protection officers to stop people taking photos — I confess I was distracted by the fact that she was wearing a white blazer.
the old classic combination, in fact, of white blazer, blue jeans and white fedora. It wasn’t striking summer fashion (for that you had to look to mrs Cumberbatch in that jumpsuit with the matching neck tie… wasn’t that something?) but it brought back with a bang the point of a white blazer in the right place at the right time.
Clever meghan remembered that a white blazer is a woman’s best friend if that woman wants to sharpen up her lowkey look. had she gone for khaki or navy or emerald green, it wouldn’t have been half as chic or summery.
I don’t know if you have a thing about white jackets in summer, but I do. to me — whether it’s a blazer or more of a denim style — it punches above all the rest. It’s a classic, but stands out in a crowd.
It’s smooth, sophisticated, a bit decadent by association. White jackets make me think of martinis, David hockney swimming pools, Bianca Jagger (on her wedding day), Lauren hutton (with scarf and denim flares), Bryan Ferry.
they’re pure glamour in my book, provided you wear them with more white, or black or denim (or both) — whether it’s trousers or a skirt or shorts. If you put a pretty dress under a white jacket it takes away its iced gin edge, and the edge is what we’re looking for.
THERE’S
nothing pretty or flamboyant about this jacket, and that’s why it’s returning to the spotlight. In a summer of colour and print and wraps and frills it’s like the shot of eau de vie after the rich 12-course dinner.
Some of us are craving something sharp, crisp and uncomplicated, and simplicity is the key with a white jacket.
We’re not talking roomy linen or bulky denim, or leather (leave that to Billy Idol). We’re not mixing it with a jazzy print shirt or a maxi dress or pink and red and orange and a flourish of peacock blue.
No. this is palate-cleansing tailoring, and all it requires to show it off is black trousers
and a t-shirt; white trousers and maybe a pale yellow shirt; or denim jeans and a black or white top ( if the jacket’s double-breasted you might wear a camisole underneath).
the rule seems to be white jacket plus one other colour works best and, if you’re going the colour route, pale shades with gold and silver jewellery.
For what it’s worth, all white, as in jacket plus top plus trousers, is hard to pull off, and you may end up looking like Vic reeves in randall And hopkirk (Deceased), or some sort of beauty technician.
there’s plenty of choice when it comes to styles, from cropped and boxy to long-line doublebreasted, but you shouldn’t narrow your sights. the ones I like best — as they’re smart and versatile — are nippy single-breasted blazers (£49.99
mango.com) or a slim fit, longline one-button blazer (£59.95, massimodutti.com).
Best of the bunch, if you like defined shoulders and lapels, is the phoebe Blazer (£137,
baujken.com), which is just cinched in enough at the waist to give you shape.
topshop does a twill belted version (£35, topshop.com) if you’re looking for something softer and less structured to wear with floppy trousers.
Double-breasted styles that fit the bill include Stradivarius’s (£39.99, stradivarius.com) and uterque’s longline one with black buttons (£180, uterque.
com). But don’t forget, dark shiny buttons make it harder to wear casually: tortoiseshell buttons are better.
For me the blazer is the answer, every time, but you may prefer a boxier look — say somewhere between a Chanel suit jacket and a white denim jacket (£180, uterque.com) or a much dressier one with threequarter-length sleeves (£89, mintvelvet.co.uk).
mango does a cropped boxy jacket with two waist buttons (£39.99, mango.com), but it’s not as easy to wear as the slingon Wimbledon blazer. that’s the one we’re rooting for.