Digital Parsimony

So I picked up my first real suit today, for my friend Alex’s wedding. Check me out yo!

Yeah, I know, it’s pretty slick. It took a few stores and some crazy sales guys to get this thing picked out. Not only that, but this encouraged me to go out and buy a set of much-needed dress shoes. Well, above is a picture of the whole-shot. If you’re really interested, it’s a Joseph Abboud modern, fitted suit, complete with no-pleat pants and Johnston & Murphy Faulkner Moc Toe shoes.

Alright, so the shirt and tie combo is rather questionable, but I walked into Express and had to buy this shirt. Every time I have walked into the store, I’ve seen this shirt just staring at me, and every time I couldn’t justify buying it. Thanks to Olga, Olya, and Rodion, I used my birthday gift-card to buy a belt and uber-expensive shirt.

Anyway, so that’s me in a monkey suit, I know Popa wanted to see it. What do you think?

People talk about wearing a sport coat, a suit jacket, or a blazer…who actually knows the difference? I figured I would do a simple google search and be amazed with all sorts of results, finding my answer almost immediately. To my surprise, most answers weren’t credible and long-winded, oftentimes in paragraphs upon paragraphs of contradicting information. So, here’s a simple guide to explain the difference.

Blazer
Traditionally, this is your typical blazer, characterized by patch pockets, metal shank buttons, typically double breasted, and not paired with matching pants. . Where the blazer is part of the dress of a school, college, sports club, or armed service veterans’ association, it is normal for a badge to be sewn to the breast pocket.

They often form part of the uniform dress of bodies such as airlines, schools, yacht or rowing clubs, and private security organizations. As sporting dress has become more adapted to the activity, the blazer has become more restricted to clubs’ social meetings.

Commonly, blazers are navy blue, but almost every color and combination of colors has been used, particularly by schools and sporting organizations. That’s enough on blazers though…

Suit jacket
Suit jackets are basically sports coats that have matching pants. Your suit jacket is basically any kind of coat that has a set of pants made of the same material, using the same pattern and look. Your typical suit jacket is either gray, blue, or black. Any of these colors can come with pinstripes. If it has pinstripes, most of the time it’s a suit jacket, because you just can’t wear pinstripes with khaki’s or jeans. It’s as simple as that.

Sport(s) coat
Finally, your sport coat. This could really have any design and is usually worn more casually. Sport coat’s don’t have a matching pair of pants and are made to go with khaki’s or jeans. This is actually quite simple. If pants don’t come with it, than it’s a sports coat. A lot of the time, when you have a jacket that uses a color that’s out of the ordinary, like a bright color, it’s going to be a sport coat.

So, now you know the difference between the three. Feel free to be a smart a** and tell people they’re wrong when using the incorrect term. Surprisingly, a lot of labeling and in-store tags are incorrect. You tell ‘em though, make sure to say Vlad told you so…