Wardrobe Staples: Unstructured Jacket

One of the reasons I started this blog was to write about and share my process of becoming more in touch with my style as it relates to fashion.  I think that for me, and I am betting others as well, I have gone off the grid before when it comes to my sartorial style.  In the past I have found myself not dressing in a way that is true to who I really am.  Yes we develop over time and perhaps we will try out things that in retrospect never worked, but for me my clothing had just gotten stale.  Not to say that I was a bad dresser, but I just wasn't clear on what I should have in my wardrobe to be a well-dressed man and how to put it all together.  So this blog is and will be a blog about my journey in the sartorial realm, in addition to incorporating pieces about other stylish facets of our lives with food, design, travel, and other areas.  It's not about a lifestyle or even my lifestyle but how we can incorporate style into all aspects of our lives. 

So that said lets get into it and talk about building a wardrobe.  In the past I had a closet of clothes that didn't work well together as a wardrobe but as individual outfits perhaps.  I bought what I liked but was often motivated by what was on sale instead of proper fit, quality, what it brought to my wardrobe.  It is a common pitfall for men, and I am sure women as well, to buy clothes without the big picture in mind.  If you buy outfits instead of a wardrobe you sometimes end up with things that don't work well with each other.  By collecting pieces that are staples you will have great components that you can put together in endless combinations.  If you want a great wardrobe and cannot afford to buy it all at once then you can buy it piece by piece as you find pieces that fit into your game plan. 

One piece that I had wanted for quite some time was a really great unstructured jacket.  An unstructured jacket is a key wardrobe component for men because you can wear it so many ways.  It is like a man's version of the "little black dress" and can be dressed up or down.  There are numerous options out there with a multitude of color and fabric choices.  You do get what you pay for so go for the best you can afford because this will be an item you will wear often and you want it to last and to fit well.  Arguably the best out there are made by Italian menswear company Boglioli.  Their take on the jacket is a dressed-down approach to tailoring, but that doesn't mean casual.  However because it is more dressed-down and unstructured yet very well made and tailored you can pair it with a pair of great wool pants, jeans, and chinos.  It can take you from the office to a casual weekend event with friends.  I love mine and have yet to run out of things I can wear it with.  I had originally wanted a navy Boglioli jacket but instead opted for a brown/khaki type color in brushed cotton.  It is the jacket I am wearing in the first piece of this blog and you just might see it on me since I wear it often.

So I wanted to show how versatile an unstructured jacket can be.  In this story our guy Justin can use this jacket for a more dressed up work look, can wear it after work to have drinks with friends, and can wear it just as easily for running errands on the weekend or for Sunday brunch. 

 For the work look we have our wardrobe staple an unstructured jacket in a washed lightweight wool by Boglioli, grey wool trousers by PT-01, a grey cotton shirt from Eton, VK Nagrani's dark navy tie, and brown Scarpe DiBianco monk strap loafers. 

 

You can also layer the jacket with a vest like this wool-cashmere down vest from Herno and Bigi's wool-cotton-cashmere scarf.  A vintage brown messenger bag completes the look.   

 

The work look can easily change gears to an after work event like drinks with friends.  Simply take a pair of dark washed denim by The Independent, Private Label to work with you and change them out for the grey trousers.  Remove the tie to be more casual.

 For the weekend look we keep the jacket and the shoes but pair them with a Boglioli cotton chambray shirt, red cotton chinos by PT-01, and a casual cashmere Isaia sweater.  If you want to see the benefit of building a wardrobe by choosing key pieces just look at the image above where the jacket has been replaced by the Herno vest for an even more relaxed look but still very well put together. 

So building a wardrobe doesn't happen all at once, it is a process but a process made easier if you have an idea of what are your core wardrobe staples.  I would like to thank Jon Stone at The Independent, Little Rock for styling these looks.  All clothes are courtesy of The Independent, Little Rock so go talk to Jon, Sean, or Flynn and get the guys to help you build your wardrobe.  I would like to thank Dustin Zimmerman for modeling the clothes.  Dustin is from Little Rock, Arkansas and works as a bartender with a background in marketing and promotions.  For this blog I hope to use real guys rather than models so if you or someone you know would be interested contact me. 

All of these images are courtesy of Brian Kelley/Imagine Photography/Brian's Style Guide and are protected by copyright law. None of these images may be used, edited, reproduced, transferred, published or distributed in any form or by any means whatsoever without prior written permission.