If you haven’t looked at a fashion magazine lately, I’m excited to say we’re finally bringing back menswear suiting for women – and it looks elegant and fresh. For fall/winter, the black and white plaid, boxy, loose fit is back in. Believe it or not, it’s a refreshing look because we haven’t seen it in so long.
Here’s my insider tips to shop. For your best look, it needs to fit you loosely. And many of them have two buttons or are double-breasted. These jackets only hang well when the buttons are buttoned up, so you need to try it on for fit. The ‘right’ size on this style of jacket may not be the size you regularly buy; the fit is more important. And don’t be surprised if you need to have the sleeves shortened – unless, of course, you’re tall and have to make sure the sleeves are long enough! We all have something we have to look for – our height and our width make for vastly varying fits. Because one size DOES NOT fit all. And more often than not, one size does not fit MOST either. And so it goes.
If you’re in a hurry, search your favorite department store or designer for jackets, or blazers, or even suiting to get there in a hurry.
How do you check for quality? Look for the lines in the plaid to match across the jacket – across the side seams and the sleeves. Cheaper quality doesn’t have the time to match the plaid, so the sideseams don’t line up – a sure mark of poorer design and construction.
Photo credit: Zara
And a really simple tip for coordinating accessories is to look for any thread of color in the plaid. Often black plaid has a thread of red or another color in it. Repeat that color in your shoes or bag or even lip color to pull the outfit together to look polished AND professional. You’ll look like the HERO YOU are!