In this, the second part of my Wardrobe Game Changer series featuring the key items that can make a big difference to your wardrobe, I am turning my gaze onto jackets. A good jacket is an essential part of a stylish wardrobe – it adds structure and polish to your outfit and smartens up a casual look.
A single breasted style suits all and chosen well should work with smarter and more casual items in your wardrobe. If you are curvy, go for a seamed and shaped fit. If your body shape is more angular, a straighter cut will suit you best. If you have an oval body shape, a soft and fluid style falling from the shoulders will look elegant.
The length of a jacket needs to fall at a flattering length on the body and also work with your proportions. If you are pear shaped, make sure the length falls above or below the widest part of your body.
If you’ve changed careers or lifestyle and have suits you no longer wear can you split them to wear the jacket with jeans? A change of buttons or a sleeve alteration could make a difference too. If you have cooler colouring characteristics, changing the buttons from gold to silver will make your outfit look more coordinated.
For an investment piece, a neutral colour tone will work with all the colours in your wardrobe. This doesn’t have to be black or navy, try an interesting neutral such as teal, pewter, rose brown, chocolate, or forest. If you want to be bolder with your colour choice, choose one of your best colours from your colour palette. Cornflower blue is a colour which suits everybody and will revitalise and elevate your style.
Depending on your personal style, your go to jacket might be a blazer style, a classic and timeless look which works with dresses, skirts and jeans. To vary your look, why not try a biker or aviator jacket, safari jacket or kimono style? My favourite jacket is a teal boucle wool style that I can wear with most things in my wardrobe – with jeans to smarten a casual look and also with a striped skirt or polka dot dress as a suit jacket.
Photo by Petr Sidorov on Unsplash