Men's Short Hairstyles
Men's Mid-length Hairstyles
Men's Long Hairstyles
Men's Curly Hairstyles
Men's Black & Afro Hairstyles
Celebrity Hairstyles
Introduction
This season, two is better than one as double-breasted makes a return. With power dressing – reminiscent of the seventies and eighties – hitting the big time, a single-breasted blazer just doesn’t cut it.
The natural broadness that a double-breasted blazer brings has earned it somewhat of an unfavourable reputation. This year’s take however has seen the piece slimmed down and shortened for a more modern appeal. Despite this updated approach ‘DB’ is a still an unforgiving customer and will pounce on any shortfalls in a flash.
On The Runway – Autumn/Winter 2011
The double-breasted blazer was ubiquitous in many autumn winter collections. Fashion houses such as Salvatore Ferragamo, Roberto Cavalli and Versace, all gave a nod to the double-breast in a variety of cuts, lengths, colours and patterns.
Buying Tips
To ensure you aren’t caught out by the many pitfalls that come with this revitalised classic, follow these essential tips:
- Firstly, the cut needs to be spot on. Ideally the shoulders should be soft not sharp and the jacket should frame your body not hug it.
- Accessories are also a vital component to successfully pulling off a double-breasted blazer. Your pocket shouldn’t be left empty as the dash of colour (or white) breaks up the top heaviness and the full sartorial effort creates an air of authenticity.
- Even with the streamlined modern variants, it is vary rare an ultra-slim frame can carry of a double breast. Double by no means outdoes the singular (unless ordering from the bar); dress for your body and size, not to appease a trend.
The Double Breasted Look Book
Look One: All Business
Show everyone you mean business by making a successful ploy in a double-breasted suit. Opt for a grey coloured version, paired with a pale blue shirt and pulled together with a patterned burgundy pocket square and tie for a coordinated and above all stylish office look.
A simple puff fold in the pocket square shows some subtle individuality as opposed to the easy – and rather boring newsreader – square fold. Go for braces opposed to a belt for authentic power dressing and finish off with a silver tie bar for a truly polished look.
Speaking of polished, a pair of clean black pointed shoes is a great choice of footwear to anchor the entire ensemble. Please remember to look after and polish your shoes.
Look Two: Office Alternative
With the emergence of the polo neck as a major knitwear player this season, make use of the two trends by pairing them together for a chic alternative office look.
Camel has made its steady rise to autumn/winter wardrobe essential in past seasons. A camel polo neck is a great investment piece and, when paired with a navy double-breasted blazer, it simply oozes sophistication.
A pair of grey check trousers and black brogues on the bottom allows the combination up top to shine. Accessorise with a matching black belt and unleash your inner dandy with a bright pocket square in a flamboyant fold.
Look Three: Separates
Britain’s best-dressed real man Dan Wood evidently doesn’t get it wrong. A double-breasted blazer used as separates is very, very right.
White trousers and a navy blazer is a great nautical look for home and abroad, although be vigilant in the current climate; rain plus white legwear is a disaster in the making.
A contrast collar shirt is bang on trend at the moment. Wear a sky blue and white (collar) number underneath your navy blazer to show off your impeccable attention to detail – the matching whites and blues are subtle yet incredibly effective. A crisp white cotton handkerchief ties it all together and finish it all off with some brown brogue boots.
A brown leather briefcase style bag is ideal to carry around your effects and the absence of any straps means your attire is kept crease-free.
Look Four: Smart Casual
Utilise a double-breasted blazer to decode that pesky smart-casual ask. Pair a grey wool DB blazer with some indigo denim, white shirt and a green knitted tie. A pocket square becomes a little more optional here although I would personally slip one in simply to fill the void.
Finish off with a few (even) trouser turn-ups to flash some of the tan brogue boots that are hiding underneath – brogue boots are notoriously prevalent in the outdoor looks of AW11 so invest in a good pair. Once again, braces over a belt so even if the jacket comes off you still stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Double Breasted for Spring/Summer 2012
It’s not been long since the spring/summer 2012 collections were shown across the various fashion weeks of our calendar. What quickly became apparent during the major events was that double breasted wasn’t going to be a one season fixture.
Now the double-breasted blazer is looking like [at least] a two-season piece, can you afford not to buy one?
Conclusion
As menswear as a whole is becoming much more sartorially inclined, traditional pieces such as the double-breasted blazer have become much more prominent. Designers have sunk their claws into the classics and redesigned them to appeal to the younger generation by slimming them down and making subtle changes.
With all that said, does twice the breast mean twice the fun? As usual we love hearing your opinions and sparking up a good old debate so leave your comments and styling ideas below.
Men’s SS13 Fashion Trend: Safari
Men’s SS13 Fashion Trend: Ethnic Inspired
Men’s SS13 Fashion Trend: Denim
Men’s SS13 Fashion Trend: Statement Tailoring
Back To Top
Love this Alex. Got an event on Saturday, think I might invest in a double breasted blazer for it!
I have just bought the grey double breasted Burton suit above. It was reduced to 99 pounds and claims to be 100% wool. I’m normally inclined to save up and invest in the best possible suit I can reasonably afford and try to shop in store given the emphasis I place on fit with all my clothes and given the frustrating extent to which the same size for the same brand can vary from item to item, but I decided to go for this online purchase one on a whim and use it as an experiment really. I’m not expecting any quality but have been wanting to try this trend for a while without possibly investing until I know whether I can pull it off. I’m quite broad shouldered which is always problematic when it comes to off the peg suits especially given that it’s one area a tailor can’t do anything about. Given that I am quite broad and just und 5’8″, I’m not expecting to pull this one off as much as I love the sophisticated aesthetic, but here’s hoping I haven’t just thrown 99 quid away and that a tailor can make it appear more flattering if need be. There’s always e-bay to recoup some of what was a very reasonable outgoing. My hope lies in the fact Dermot O’leary isn’t the skinniest yet pulls off the double breasted look immacualtely, although his double breated suits are tailored to perfection and never have more than one line of buttons allowing a deeper elongating ‘v’ making the look less top heavy and the jacket less block like… Have I been silly? Any tips on how I might want to get it altered?
Sorry if this is a bit of a stupid question but what actually defines a ‘double breasted jacket?’ Or any type of breasted jacket for that matter? I’m not really a suit or blazer person but i’m looking to branch out
Hi Dalton,
Essentially double breasted jacket has two sets of buttons running down it – imagine a pea coat type shape/fastening but on tailoring.
Drew… remember you can return it. If you buy online then legally I think you’re entitled to a full refund if you return within 7 days, but many retailers are pretty nice about returns anyway. Look it up on the website.
That said, if the fit around the shoulders is good your tailor should be able to do the rest.
Don’t worry about being broad – the key to pulling off a DB isn’t size but proportion; if your midsection is too wide or too thin it might not work but if you have a healthy physique then most frames should be okay. Dermot’s a good example, yeah. He’s broad but everything’s in the right place. Incidentally I think you might be wrong about his suits; more often than not I note 4 or 6 buttons on his DBs.
Thanks Sean! Some reassuring words. Cheers for the heads up that I wasn’t aware of but the return option is unlikely to work for me as I live in Spain and Burton unlike most other well known high street retailers of the same ilk don’t deliver here, so I’m picking it up from the parent’s house at Christmas!
You’re right about Dermot’s DB suits which again is good to know. I’m certianly happier with my whimsical purchase now and more convinced a tailor should be able to make it look a bit more expensive than it is until I can hopefully invest in a decent one in a few years.
And the wiki explanation:
“In clothing, the term double-breasted refers to a coat or jacket with wide, overlapping front flaps and two parallel columns of buttons or snaps”
I really love the idea of a DB suit, sockless, with loafers. Good article.
Good article, the look with the contrast shirt was really nicely put together. I have my eyes on that fetching grey one from the Topman Design SS12 collection – the one that’s paired with matching loafers. I think I might get that if and when it turns up instore.
I have my Dad’s old 1980s Gieves + Hawkes doubled breasted dinner jacket = it is beautiful. But I’m not sure whether to wear it, its quite long…
Great article, as always! I recently had a nose around the charity shops near my house and realised that there were about 2 or 3 DB Jackets in each one! Obvioulsy, these were old DB’s from the 70′s and 80′s (some with very questionable buttons) Do you think a taylor be able to cut these old versions into the modern-day DB or are the differences in the cut/style/fabric etc. too big to even bother with?
In theory a tailor could ‘chop’ the jackets to a more modern length. This is difficult though as ,depending on the individual jacket, it could potentially throw off the balance of pockets, button stance and jacket lines.
It would be worth talking to your tailor about it although most like to see the job before making any promises.