If you’re going somewhere formal and your jacket fits well, do up the top button—it’ll help your suit look sharper.” And for a waistcoat: “Follow the blazer rules; never close the bottom button—but never ever leave a waistcoat completely open; it just doesn’t work.”
In this post
Keeping the button fastened maintains a balanced proportion. These jackets should ALWAYS be buttoned when standing. Unbutton the jacket when sitting down, so that it doesn’t crease. The traditional way to button a two-button jacket is to Always fasten the top button and leave the lower undone.
Women’s Blazers & Suit Jackets: To Button or Not To Button? The rule is so simple for men: When they stand up, the top button of their suit jacket should be buttoned; when they sit down, they can unbutton.
Can you keep blazer Open?
“If you’re wearing a suit or blazer to a wedding or formal event, you should never leave your jacket open—but if you’re wearing a blazer casually with chinos or jeans, you can keep it relaxed and open.”
Do suit jackets have to close?
Regardless, no matter what kind of suit you’re wearing, the bottom button should never be buttoned up. For a waistcoat, there’s a similar rule: always leave the bottom button open.
How tight should a blazer be?
Measured to not hang over your hands or rise up your arms, the sleeves should land somewhere between your wrist and your thumb. When buttoned, the lapels of your blazer should only be loose enough to fit a tightened fist between the fabric and your chest, and they should be snug to your chest.
How should an open front blazer fit?
Your blazer should be fitted (not tight!) across your shoulders. The hem of your blazer should skim your hipbone. The sleeves of your blazer should hit mid-thumb when your arms are down at your sides.
The when-to-button rule is: When wearing a single-breasted jacket from a suit, a blazer, sport coat or black-tie evening suit (tuxedo), the jacket is always buttoned when a man is standing and always unbuttoned when he is seated.
How do you know if a jacket is too tight?
Stand in front of a mirror and look for signs that the fit isn’t right. If the sleeves don’t cover your wrists and the bottom of the coat rides up — like the image on the left — the coat is too small.
Can a suit jacket be let out in the chest?
The process of taking in or letting out your suit jacket involves the tailor pinning the side seams based on your desired fit, and taking from either the chest, the stomach/waist, the vents or all three zones.
Ensuring the Best Fit. Leave the bottom button unbuttoned. Waistcoats have buttons down the front and you should always button them up, except for the bottom button. Traditionally, the bottom button is left undone and it’s usually considered a fashion faux pas if you wear the vest otherwise.
Should I be able to lift my arms in a suit?
Go to shake someone’s hand. If the suit raises up as you raise your arms, then your armholes are too low. The area around your armpit should snug but not too tight. There should also be enough room for you to wear a dress shirt without it constricting your arms.
Are Nike Blazers supposed to be tight?
Nike Blazers do fit true to size. They fit very narrow, but also quite long, so definitely keep that in mind. They may feel tight across the toe box at first until you wear them in. If you have wide feet then you may want to go half a size up from your usual size to avoid the uncomfortable break-in period.
How much room should be in a blazer?
Although you should always button your blazer when standing and unbutton it when seated; for fit purposes, there should be a little bit of room — say three inches or so — between your body and the top button when you sit down.
Having both buttons closed increases the formality, however, the lower one can be skipped if it results in the blazer fitting the figure better. The lower button should never be closed without the upper button. If both buttons are closed, a smoother and more structured effect is achieved.
Buttoning Your Vest
Vest or no vest, buttoning the bottom button will make you look like a rube, plain and simple. If you do have a vest on, the bottom button on the vest ought to remain unbuttoned as well. To learn how to wear a vest casually solo, read here.
How do I know if a blazer is too small?
The hem of the jacket should hit right around the middle of your hand — at or just past where the fingers meet the palm. If the hem of the jacket is sitting on top of the butt, with a small little flare in the back, it’s too short. If it falls past the bottom entirely, longer than the arms, it’s too long.
Do blazers make you look thinner?
The first thing to consider is that a blazer always adds an extra breakpoint to the top and pants ensemble, which can visually shorten your legs while adding extra volume to your upper body.
Do you wear a tie with a blazer?
More formal ties are needed for blazers – similar to those used for tailor made men’s suits. Usually, these blazers are paired with stripe or club ties. While sports jackets are usually considered informal, the tone of their fabric can be complemented with: Patterned wool neckties.
Can you wear a sport coat with an untucked shirt?
Sport shirts are a casual button-up, with either long or short sleeves. They are meant to be worn under a sport jacket or on their own and typically have more pattern, a casual fabric, and a soft collar and cuffs. Sport shirts tend to be shorter, and therefore can be worn untucked.
If you have a single button suit or jacket, you should wear it fastened when standing or walking and leave it open when sitting so you don’t pull the fabric. A bonus of wearing your jacket unbuttoned when sitting is that you’ll be more comfortable and look like a gentleman who knows his style.