The Ultimate Guide to Navy Jackets and Blazers
A versatile wardrobe that projects confidence and leadership on every occasion is more accessible by having a timeless navy tailored jacket that can coordinate with different garments in your closet.
Since the early 1800s, the navy blazer or jacket has been an essential staple in every well-dressed gentleman’s wardrobe because of its versatility, wearability, and classic lines. It offers a mixture of formality vs a classic suit and the ability to dress up or down with your shirt and tie combinations. People assume the navy jacket has been around since clothing originated, but it only became prominent in the early 19th century.
The most commonly known origin of the navy jacket is the HMS Blazer. One theory goes that in 1837, a ship in the Royal Navy called the HMS Blazer was to receive an imminent visit by Queen Victoria. Having no standard uniforms to wear, the commander commissioned solid blue, double-breasted coat for his enlisted crew. The jacket was then named after the ship.
Below we will explore the following:
- How to style a navy blazer
- How a luxury navy jacket is made
- What to wear with a navy blazer
- Perfect accessories to pair with your navy tailored jacket
- Components that make up a navy jacket
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A TAILORED JACKET VS SPORTS COAT VS BLAZER
Whilst all three terms can be interchangeable to mean the same form of a navy menswear clothing item. The main minor differences between a sport coat, blazer, and tailored jacket are the patterns, buttons and fabric.
- A sport coat, also called a sports jacket, is a men's smart casual lounge jacket designed to be worn on its own without matching trousers, traditionally for sporting purposes. It is slightly looser vs a fitted navy jacket.
- A blazer is defined by its solid colour and metal buttons. Often, those buttons feature a nautical motif relating back to its HMS heritage as explained above.
- And a navy tailored jacket often has variable lapel styles and can be worn separately or has a pair of tailored trousers made from the same cloth and pattern as the jacket.
All types can cross over and are interchangeable, but defining the differences helps us understand when to wear each and how to coordinate garments to create a truly versatile wardrobe with a navy jacket.
HIGH QUALITY WOOL FABRICS
Wool is a timeless and classic fabric choice that you will find in most of our tailored jackets collection, specifically superfine merino wool or cashmere. Wool fabrics are usually rich in fibres and textures, giving warmth to the fabric base. A navy wool blazer is the ultimate classic, but it’s certainly not your only option. Wool can also be blended with high-end fabrics like cashmere and silk for new blends and distinctive hand-feels.
SCABAL FABRIC
The world-renowned Scabal, with its home at No.12 Savile Row, is the natural choice to provide the highest quality fabrics for any luxury navy jacket. Tracing the history of their original mill back to 1539, they have mastered the skill and craft required to produce rare and elite cloth.
With their mills, set in the glorious hills of Huddersfield, they have perfect atmospheric conditions to nurture the cloth and create rare fibres. Alongside this, the fabrics and cloths have great stability and recovery performance, producing garments that will stand the test of time. Knowing their beautiful elite yarns and the fine details and workmanship of the fabrics, Scabal fully reflects our brand values on quality, design and sustainability.
All our Scabal jacketing offers you the most definitive choice with its large selection of colours, designs and interesting checks, all with the Scabal Bloom finish, which adds a subtle lustre to each cloth to enhance the hue levels. At Scabal, everything begins with cloth, and for over 80 years, they have stood at the forefront of innovation and sophistication in weaving. At present, their unique and inspired cloths can be found in over 75 countries worldwide.
TYPES OF FABRICS USED ON NAVY JACKETS
Our Navy Superfine Merino Wool Jacket is made from the finest 100% wool fabric and features a classic cut that can be dressed up or down. All of our tailored jackets collection uses either wool or cashmere sourced from specialist mills as standard. Below we look at the other commonly used fabric types across navy blazers, sports coats and tailored jackets.
Cotton
Cotton jackets are the most versatile fabric for all year round use. The lightweight fabric has a draped feel for a truly casual look. This material is easy to dress up or down as cotton fabrics are breathable and easy to care for. Be sure to look out for organic cotton for both sustainability and the highest standard make.
Linen
Linen is another incredibly lightweight fabric and the perfect summer weave for a tailored jacket. Linen is ideally suited to casual, unstructured jackets and is usually worn with chino shorts or trousers in cool light colours such as creams and blues.
Tweed
Tweed is a heavyweight fabric that is also best saved for cold weather. Tweed is practical but still a stylish way to keep warm in the winter. It adds textures and substance to your outfit whilst incorporating a traditional English heritage look—often seen in brown, caramel and grey hues.
TYPES OF NAVY JACKETS & BLAZERS
The classic menswear navy jacket can come in various fabrics, styles, and shapes. Below we explore some of the commonly known jacket types.
Textured Navy Jacket
Fabrics can have either a flat surface or added textures through the yarns, usually found within wools, hopsack and tweed fabric. This is where the surfaces are slightly raised, allowing some fibres to stand upright and create a rougher handfeel. Colours can also combine within the yarn to twist and create a new surface pattern for the eye.
Our navy textured blazer below features a hopsack weave that uses a blend of dark and light blues with an orange speck to give the appearance of a blue from a distance while providing a unique combination of colours when viewed closely. Although hopsack is usually associated with a rougher weave, the fine wool gives this jacket a beautiful texture while making it exceptionally soft to the touch.
Unstructured Navy Blazer
An unstructured pattern blazer is a softer form of dressing, retaining an air of formality without the sharp edges of a tailored jacket. The blazer shape will come from the fabric shell with some light fusing, and it has no shoulder padding or chest canvassing. Furthermore, it might not even have a lining, or perhaps just a half lining to allow for a couple of inside pockets.
Cashmere Navy Jacket
One of the softest fabrics available, cashmere tailored jackets, belongs to a group of textile yarns known as ‘speciality hair fibres’. Our cashmere is sourced from the finest of sources within Inner Mongolia. Cashmere fibres, more prolonged, smoother and straighter than sheep’s wool, are removed manually with a comb, starting from under the goat’s chin, then spun into a filament ready to be woven or knitted.
Checked Navy Jacket
Check patterns are a classic British statement, with iconic check types you may know, such as Tartan, Prince of Wales and Houndstooth. Checks can have different scales, sizes and styles across a navy blazer. For example, a windowpane is usually large scale and woven or printed across two colours, creating a window-like pattern. Tartan checks are 3-5 colours and are classically a mixture of green, white, red and navy from their Scottish heritage.
THE PERFECT FIT
Once your cloth and fabric are selected, the next element to make up any luxury navy blazer is the cut and fit. The most commonly seen fits across menswear navy jackets are slim and regular. Both have benefits and suit different body types.
What Makes a Rampley & Co Jacket the Perfect Fit?
Fit is incredibly important to us and so our tailored jackets are designed to look good across all body shapes, ensuring you always look and feel your best. We offer two fits, slim and regular, as well as allowing you to choose the perfect chest size and length to suit your torso and arms.
We recommend you take a look at our comprehensive size guide which gives a full overview of the sizing should you wish to check against another jacket here: Jacket Size Guide.
Our approach of made to order tailored jackets means we ensure the perfect fit when ordering online across both your chest size and body length measurements. Our customer service team will liaise with you at every step along the production process to create a one of a kind jacket that is wearable for life and truly versatile.
The classic tailored jacket comes with a liberal cut through the chest and waist. It provides enough space for the wearer to feel comfortable. Although the classic fit tailored jacket is less constructive than a modern and slim fit jacket, it still provides an excellent shape to the body and does not look baggy.
Slim fit jackets are cut closer to the body and fitted more to the silhouette. While not restrictive, slim fit is more narrow and has a tighter fit in the jacket’s arms, waist and chest area, so it should be considered. The slim fit will give a more closed and narrower overall appearance, which may be your preference.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TAILORED AND A TIGHT JACKET
Buying a jacket online that fits beautifully is actually a surprisingly simple process if you take a few comparison measurements off one of your own jackets.
The main point of measure to ensure your jacket is not too tight is the shoulders, it’s really crucial to get a well fitting shoulder. Ensure you look at size charts when purchasing online to understand your key measurements.
In our video details series, we explore the main differences between a tailored jacket vs a tight one, including the four key signs to watch out for that your jacket is fitting too tight.
COMPONENTS OF A LUXURY NAVY JACKET
All our jackets are made to order by master tailors with years of experience. The attention to detail, and delicate finishing touches result in a truly special jacket that will see you through life. Our jackets feature classic styling that can be dressed up or down. They come as standard with medium sized notch lapels, kissing buttons, flap pockets and double vents.
Shoulder
The correct shoulder placement is standard in any luxury tailored jacket. It defines the shape and how well it fits. They come in two types – 'structured' and 'unstructured'. Structured shoulders have a piece of padding beneath the fabric for shape and support. This creates a more robust shoulder line and gives a blazer a tailored finish. Sports coats and sometimes blazers come unstructured with no padding, allowing the fabric to follow your body.
The pitch of a shoulder in a structured jacket has to be perfect in any navy jacket and requires skill and craftsmanship from any tailor or supplier. Unstructured blazers tend to be more comfortable but also more casual – a blazer that wears more like a cardigan.
Lapel
The lapel is the strip of fabric that runs from the collar down to the buttons and folds across your chest. Usually, they are formed by folding over the front edges of the jacket or coat and sewing them to the collar, an extra piece of fabric around the back of the neck.
Our tailored jackets collection is notch lapel by standard as this is the most versatile lapel type across menswear to suit any occasion. If you want to slim down your chest and shoulders, notch lapels are the best choice. Lapel styles are determined by how the gorge is treated, and by gorge, we refer to the point at which the jacket's collar and lapel meet. A 90-degree opening cut characterises Notch or Stepped lapels into where the low end of the jacket's collar meets the upper end of its lapel.
Rampley & Co tailored navy jacket with notch lapel
Buttons
A single-breasted navy jacket has one column of buttons and a narrow overlap at the front. Typically, this column will include either one, two, or three buttons and a notch lapel. A tailored jacket will have two or three buttons, whereby a sports coat or blazer is just a singular front button.
Elsewhere you can expect to find buttons on the inside button as a spare and on the sleeves. Simply put, functioning buttons on a navy tailored jacket sleeve are called surgeon's cuffs. Sometimes we call them working buttonholes.
The kissing buttons are buttons across the sleeve and cuff edge of your jacket that touch slightly instead of spaced apart and come as standard with all our jackets. There is also the term, stacked or 'waterfall' buttons, which are kissing buttons that slightly overlap.
Pockets
Most blazers have three outer pockets, one on each side and another at the left breast. Blazers can also include a ticket pocket, a small extra pocket above one of the side pockets. They make a blazer feel a touch more casual and traditional.
The outer pockets of a navy jacket usually come in either flap or patch pockets. Patch pockets are sewn onto the outside of the jacket, usually on the chest left-hand side. A flap pocket is smarter and more luxurious as it's cut into the blazer, with a piece of fabric that covers the hole up. Most formal is the jetted pocket, which loses the flap altogether.
The chest pocket should be deep enough to hold your silk pocket square to perfection for a finished and accomplished look.
Breast Closure
All our tailored luxury blazers at Rampley & Co are single-breasted. They offer a classic and versatile luxurious look, letting our fabrics and quality silk fine art linings be prominent. Single Breasted jackets typically have one column of buttons and a narrow overlap of fabric. In contrast, a double-breasted navy jacket has a wider overlap and two parallel rows of buttons.
It is important to note that a single-breasted blazer is genuinely versatile than a double-breasted due to its streamlined and classic V shape when fastened. Double Breasted jackets can synch at the waist and stomach, which can be unflattering.
Hem
At the rear of any navy blazer or tailored jacket, you’ll find a perfect and precise slit cut into the fabric. This is known as a vent and will be either singular or double. A single vent is cut through the centre of the hem, and a double vent has a slit at either side, just behind your trouser pockets.
A standard hemline on a menswear jacket or blazer is cut straight to perfection and not curved.
FINEST SILK JACKET LININGS
Once a men's navy jacket is cut and made to the specific size and requirements, the final part is to insert the lining of choice into the back panel.
Firstly, you need to understand what type of lining fabric to select. Most common and high street brands will use a standard polyester to line their jackets mainly due to cost. So what makes Rampley & Co tailored jackets so special? It has to be our unique and exquisite fine art silk linings, which are standard in all our made-to-order jackets.
Some of our silk jacket linings feature stunning works from masters such as Canaletto, Giordano, Turner and Ruben. Select or browse your favourite artist on-site when purchasing your order.
With our Rampley & Co tailored jackets collection, we always use three lining panels per jacket. This allows our tailors to recreate as much of the scene as possible and will enable us to match it up accurately along the jacket seams. The back seam is particularly tricky, but the use of multiple panels means the image matches whilst also including an allowance for the lining to move within the fabric as it's worn.
If you'd like more information on our bespoke jackets, please get in touch for further details: bespoke@rampleyandco.com.
THREE OCCASIONS TO WEAR YOUR LUXURY NAVY JACKET
The perfect tailored jacket will be wearable and versatile on any occasion to enable you to dress up or down. See three excellent examples of how to outfit below.
Casual
Trouser pairing can define the occasion and how dressed you want to be. For example, if you wear your navy blazer with a pair of rolled hem chinos or pleated wool trousers, you will have the perfect balance of informal vs formal. You can play with colours in this setting as the textures and the versatile nature of the navy jacket colour will combine with ease.
Shirt choices within a casual setting are usually an open neck Oxford twill, ideally with a button down collar. The navy fabric works as a complement to any twill base to form a relaxed but still smart look. Footwear can be worn in beige or brown Chelsea boots in colder months, and for Summer, we suggest lightweight brogues or loafers.
Dressed Up
This is a formal event that will require an appropriate dress code to match. Try pairing your navy tailored jacket with trousers from the same pattern or cloth for the ultimate sartorial look. Make sure your accessories are in check with a handmade tie and silk pocket square to match.
Your pocket square should ideally be hand-rolled and contain 100% silk to catch the light and ooze elegance. Be sure to add lapel pins and cufflinks in your jewellery choices for a defined formal look.
Everyday
The navy blazer or jacket is really versatile and can be worn in everyday use, for example a dog walk or even a shopping trip. How you pair your shirt, jumper or even t-shirt underneath will really be the decider. We suggest opting for an Oxford or Twill shirt underneath if you want a more casual look, as the open weaves give a textured and softer appeal.
Knitwear can be layered with a cotton t-shirt for an everyday casual look under your jacket, ideally in neutral tones. Finally, for shoes, you can wear desert boots or even trainers for a high-low outfit. This will give you comfort and a classic, effortless style for any event.
WHAT COLOURS SHOULD YOU WEAR WITH A NAVY JACKET?
It’s one of the most universally used colours around and can look less harsh than black. But what is the best way to wear a navy blazer? What colors go with navy jackets? How can you put together stylish navy outfits?
The best thing about navy is how versatile and wearable this colour is across menswear outfits. However, there are some easy pairings to match to navy to ensure sartorial elegance.
Browns
The beauty of brown is that it stretches across many well known colours such as caramel, stone and tobacco. Brown colours are earthy and grounded and work brilliantly with navy jackets, as shown below. Brown accessories such as handmade ties or silk pocket squares are a classic look with any white shirt to complement your navy blazer.
Greys
This combination of navy and grey always looks sharp, whether you're going casual or dressing up for the office. We recommend sticking with a lighter shade of grey to provide some contrast. For example, light grey textured trousers or shirts works superbly with any navy jacket. Grey checks also complement navy within a pattern or design, particularly windowpane and houndstooth.
Greens
Forest green is a classic menswear colour within Autumn/Winter seasons. Knitwear in particular works perfectly across wool or cashmere jumpers layered under a navy jacket or blazer. Navy and green have a strong heritage feel and can provide richness to any outfit.
BEST ACCESSORIES TO WEAR WITH A NAVY TAILORED JACKET
Handmade Ties
Navy is a very neutral colour meaning you can play with various ties to pair with your suit and shirt. You can play it safe with a navy jacket and red tie combination or be a little more adventurous with some patterns. In terms of colours, grey and navy blend perfectly and are suitable for business attire, while tonal dark blues work well for wedding occasions.
Other primary popular colour ties with a navy jacket are seasonal. We advise choosing dark, rich colours to pair your navy tailored jacket in autumn, such as forest greens, deep reds and brown tones. Summer months, you can be a little more colourful with soft blues, pinks and mint greens. A silver tie clip, cufflinks, and brown leather shoes would give any blazer or jacket an indeed sartorial edge to complete the look.
To view our entire collection, click here: Handmade Tie Collection.
Silk Pocket Squares
A highlight or pop of colour running through your pocket square can really add a touch of finesse and class to your navy blazer. Ensure you capture tones that complement your tie and shirt choices, but don't be afraid of a print or pattern. Ideally, we advise not matching your tie and pocket square in a singular solid colour. This and more are covered in our definitive guide.
The fold of your pocket square can also add some flair to your outfit; check out our folding guide here.
To view our full collection, click here: Silk Pocket Squares
Merino Wool Socks
Can you wear black socks with a navy jacket? Even though barely visible, your sock choice with your navy blazer says a lot about your personality. Black socks are definitely allowed with navy, but as a rule, we would avoid black socks and brown shoes, so ensure you are thinking about this on your footwear choice. Socks with your outfit can be paired with tonal and plain fabric such as merino wool. Don't be afraid to add some pattern and interest to your sock option to show your creative side if required.
CONCLUSION
The navy blazer is a timeless menswear icon that will carry you through any occasion. Due to its wearability and versatility, it's essential to invest and spend time researching your jacket of choice. The tailored jacket is made up of many components and parts that can add a sense of luxury and excellence to your wardrobe, for example, rich premium fabrics and fine silk linings.
As the navy base fabric colour is super versatile, it gives you options to be creative in your outfit builds and lead any event in confidence.
Our tailored jacketing range features fabrics from the world-renowned Scabal while also allowing you the unique feature of being able to choose your own fine art silk lining from our collection. We also offer a bespoke lining service for a truly unique addition to your wardrobe, and the Modern European cut of the jackets makes them incredibly versatile, allowing them to be worn with more formal or more relaxed attire.
WHY BUY A RAMPLEY & CO JACKET?
Fit is incredibly important to us and so our tailored jackets are designed to look good across all body shapes, ensuring you always look and feel your best. We offer two fits, slim and regular, as well as allowing you to choose the perfect length to suit your torso and arms. We recommend you take a look at our comprehensive size guide which gives a full overview of the sizing should you wish to check against another jacket here: Jacket Size Guide.
As well as being constructed from fabric supplied by the world renowned Scabal of Savile Row, what makes our jackets truly exceptional is the ability to select your choice of lining (included in the total price). Your lining is not about being extravagant, but ensuring you have something personal to you. We have a large selection of jacket linings, but also offer a bespoke service should you want a truly one-of-a-kind jacket.
Once you have purchased your jacket, one of our team will follow up with you to double check the details and answer any further questions. Your satisfaction is absolutely guaranteed, so you can be sure that you will be delivered a jacket that exceeds your expectations. Don’t take our word for it, see some of our Trustpilot reviews below.
Product Reviews
Menswear Blogger - Linus Norrbom - Sweden
"From a person that feels naked without a pocket square in the chest pocket of my jacket, I can honestly say that Rampley & Co. have change the way I look upon pocket squares.
Rampley & Co. is well renowned for their beautiful and unique pocket squares, but have more recently widened their range of quality men’s accessories, such as e.g. ties in lovely Scabal fabrics but also braces, umbrellas and socks.
In terms of the pocket squares, it is truly a great joy wear a piece of art in your pocket. They feature carefully selected artwork motifs, beautifully printed on high-quality silk and well handcrafted with nice hand-rolled edges etc. I find that the size of 42×42 cm of the Rampley & Co. pocket squares works really well, it sits well in the pocket and allows various folds. The different folds, combined with a lot of colours in the motif, makes the pocket square really versatile in terms of complementing an outfit..." Click to read full review.
The Grey Fox - David Evans - United Kingdom
"I've used Rampley & Co pocket squares, socks and ties for a few years now. All are well-made and stylish. I believe in buying few and buying well - it's the only sustainable way to avoid piles of stuff going into landfill.
The pocket squares are exceptional; in fact I'd collect them all if I could. Those based on old paintings and prints have the advantage that you can fold them in infinite ways, effectively giving you scores of squares in one.
The ties are the ideal width and length and their quality enables me to tie a full knot - always important. It's always worth keeping an eye on their website as the best designs come and go quickly..." Click to read full review.
Jesse - United States
"I was elated when I received the most elegant and exquisite pocket square I had ordered from Rampley & Co! It is absolutely gorgeous. The color and clarity of the scene depicted, and the quality of this accessory are truly exceptional." Read more reviews...
Tom - United Kingdom
"Very impressed by both the quality of the product and the customer service. The team fulfilled a last-minute request and got a beautiful pocket square to me via international shipping nearly instantaneously." Read more reviews...
Thorvaldur - Iceland
"I recently purchased a scarf for my wife´s Birthday and a pocket square for myself. We could not be more pleased. The items arrived promptly, beautifully presented and I received a surprise with my pocket square." Read more reviews...