How To Buy The Perfect Sports Jacket (4 Simple Steps)
[0:00:00] [Music]
With over 1,500 videos on my channel, I was actually pretty surprised that I hadn't made
a video yet on this topic. Seriously, if you've just watched a few of
my videos, you've probably seen me talk up the sports jacket, how this one item can make
you look taller, stronger, more masculine, more manly. So without further ado, the ultimate
guide to buying the perfect sports jacket. So, to start things off, I should probably
be wearing a sports jacket, right? Let's make it happen. And, boom, just like that, you
look taller, leaner, more masculine, right? You see the difference. Obviously, I'm standing
on something, but the point is valid. Whenever you wear a jacket, it builds up the
shoulders, not only in the lines, but in the appearance of the size of the shoulders. When
your shoulders look a little bit higher when they're more pronounced people will actually
assume your height is a bit higher than what it is.
Now, specifically why does a jacket make you look slim? First up, yes, the height has to
do with that, but also the shoulder points going in, this right here, the lapels, the
gorge, that shape right there is something that's going to make you look slimmer. It's
going to create this v-shape in the front. Another interesting thing about jackets is
how they can make your hands look larger. Large hands are actually viewed as attractive.
This goes back to primate days. Basically, large hands meant that you're going to be
able to hold on to something, so it was viewed as attractive. But, when you wear a jacket,
guess what? It slims up the arm and it draws attention to the hands.
Now, all this designed to make a man look more pronounced to build up the chest, this
isn't by accident. If you know the history on the jacket, they come out of military uniforms.
In fact, the Marine Corps uniforms, we used to have leather right around here. We were
called leathernecks because it protected the neck.
Point being is the history on the sports jacket is there to make a man look better. So, that's
why you want to wear it. Okay. So, we've established that sports jackets
are going to make you look better, but what's the difference between a suit and a blazer
and a sports jacket. Really quick. A suit is any jacket and trousers
made from the same fabric. But, let's go over and let's look at the blazer. The blazer,
very similar to the sports jacket except normally it's going to be made in a navy material worsted
wool. You're also going to see regatta blazers that
come. But, blazers in general they've got this nautical feel, which we often see with
the type of button. So, you're going to see silver, you're going to see gold, you're going
to see these type of buttons, but blazers in general are going to be more confined.
I love sports jackets because sports jackets in the last hundred years basically what we
have are orphaned jackets. It's a jacket created by itself. It does not have a pair of matching
trousers like a suit does. So, does that basically mean a sports jacket
is a suit jacket without the matching trousers? Sort of. Sports jackets in general are going
to be more casual. So, you're going to see them made from a wider range of different
fabrics. You're also going to see a lot of styles that are very particular to sports
jacket because those styles are going to be very casual.
But, what I love about sports jackets over suits or blazers is that they are more casual
and in my opinion more versatile. You can find so many different situations in which
you can pull off a sports jacket. Am I going to recommend breaking up a suit
and actually just wearing it as a sports jacket? If that's your only suit, I would say no because
you want those that jacket and trousers to always match and if you damage the jacket
when you're wearing that let's say with a pair of jeans, you know you kind of lost your
suit. But, if you've got one more than a few suits
and you know you get those trousers ruined, I would say you could take possibly one of
those jackets and wear it as a sports jacket. Now at this point, I'm talking about the function
of the sports jacket. And this is one of the key points to this video is you first have
to ask am I going to be able to wear this in my day to day?
So many of you guys now are on Zoom meetings, you know what? Everyone is saying they got
their Zoom shirt. How about you have your Zoom jacket? If you throw on that jacket with
a shirt, you look amazing. What I love sports jackets work with a wide
variety of shirts. You could actually be that whole Silicon CEO and simply wear a t-shirt,
throw a sports jacket on top and you look better than that guy showing up with that
nice crisp dress shirt because guess what? You got a jacket. The jacket always trumps
the shirt. And, yes, you can wear a polo shirt with a
sports jacket. I think it looks great. But, in general you want to start gearing more
towards dress shirts, button downs. And there are just so many different shirts that you
can bring in. But because in general, these jackets are
casual, you can pretty much wear them with any type of shirt. You can dress them up,
you can dress them down. So, why is it when a man wears even a casual
sports jacket like this color brown right here that he still commands respect. When
he walks into a restaurant, they call him sir. Whenever he's at work and somebody's
new there and they're looking for the guy in charge, oh, that guy looks like he's in
charge, I'm going to go talk to him and ask him what I should be doing. Not always a bad
thing. We assume success has a uniform as well. That
uniform for most men is going to be a sports jacket, it's going to be a suit jacket. So,
when we see this, we default to, oh, that's the person in charge.
No matter what industry you're in, if you're in creative if you're in IT, why not look
like the guy in charge? Because sooner than later people are either going to promote you
or you're going to start getting more responsibility or you're going to go off and start your own
company. And it's going to be able – just going to be easier to get business or to get
people to loan you money if you look the part of a success.
[0:05:06] Now, what about fit? Me, personally, I like
my sports jackets a little bit looser. I want to be able to have a little bit more freedom
of movement. On my suits, they're going to feel a little bit closer to the body.
But sports jackets, I expect to wear them not only in the summer, but in the winter
when I'm going to be layering them with additional pieces. As you can see here, I slipped on
a sweater underneath. Now, specifically a good fit starts with the
shoulders. If it doesn't fit you in the shoulders, gents, do not buy it. Similar to a suit, the
jacket needs to fit just like this right here in the shoulders. If it's too large or if
it's way too tight, you do not want to have to try to adjust the shoulders. If it doesn't
fit you in the shoulders, do not buy it. Next up, let's look at jacket length. If a
jacket is way too long or if it's way too short, again, very difficult to adjust this.
Yeah, you don't want to mess with this. If the jacket doesn't just barely cover your
buttocks, if you're a little bit taller you can go a little bit longer. If you're a little
bit shorter, you're 5’2”, you can go for jackets that's shorter.
Now, let's pay attention to arm pitch. This is something a lot of people look over. The
pitch is the way that the arm is attached to the torso part of the jacket and it may
have to be adjusted. This is a very expensive fix. So, if it's really bad, do not buy the
jacket. Now, let's talk about things that you can
adjust, the chest. First up, you can bring a jacket in usually about an inch and a half
to sometimes up to two inches, if it's a bigger jacket. Smaller jackets, more like an inch
and a half to an inch and a quarter. And you could also let it out about an inch.
Now, what about the stomach area? This, you can bring in easily about an inch and a half
to two inches, again, sometimes I've seen two and a half inches on bigger jackets. You
can also let it out, again, about an inch to an inch and a half depending on the jacket
manufacturer. But, in general, buy the right size. You don't
want to make huge adjustments because once you start to go past two inches, all of a
sudden, the proportions the placement of the pockets, it just doesn't look right.
Now, what about sleeve length? A very easy adjustment assuming that you don't have working
surgeon cuffs, if you have that on the jacket, you may only be able to adjust it about half
an inch to three quarters of an inch. But, if it doesn't have working cuffs, you
can easily lengthen or shorten the sleeves usually by about an inch and a half. Past
that, all of a sudden, the proportions start going off.
Now, whenever you adjust your jacket sleeves, you want to be wearing a dress shirt because
what you're going to do is you're going to put your hands down. Now, that dress shirt
the basically the cuff part should go to the top of your hand. And you want to be showing
about three quarters of an inch. Point being is that jacket sleeve is going
to go to about the wrist bone and you want to make sure that the sleeves of the shirt
just go protrude a bit more than that. And if you're going with a custom sports jacket
or a designer sports jacket, look for a jacket with a higher armhole especially if you're
a thinner guy. If you're a fit guy, if you're a bigger guy it may not work for you, but
in general, higher arm holes they are actually more comfortable.
They usually give you more freedom of movement because you don't have all this excess fabric
in and around the sleeve. So, you're going to get a more tapered sleeve and this looks
better on slim guys. And, again, if you want something that you basically can move around
in, higher armholes are key. Now, gents, we're talking about fabric and
build quality. Let's look at this jacket I'm wearing right here. Notice the pattern? Of
course, everyone's going to notice the pattern. This is a window pane. This is a jacket that
I probably couldn't wear two days in a row. It's not going to be super interchangeable,
but it is going to be one that, hey, if I've already got five to six sports jackets, I
want to bring something with a fun pattern. Larger patterns are going to be much more
casual and in my opinion aren't where you want to start your sports jacket wardrobe
with because they're not really interchangeable. So, where to start? Guys, it's simple, go
with solids. Solids are going to be easy to match, they're going to be easy to bring into
your existing wardrobe, and there are tons of options out there.
Now, you may be confused, okay, what's the difference between a navy blazer and a navy
sports jacket? Honestly, not much. Maybe the buttons, but in general they're pretty much
going to be the same jacket. I would say that going with a solid navy is
a good option. It's going to match pretty much anything any type of trousers you've
got in your wardrobe. But, you could go with more of a bluer variations of blue, more true
blue. You could even bring in a gray, you could bring in a green.
But, again, just solids, they're so versatile. They're going to work with so many options
and they're just a great foundation to have for your first few sports jackets.
Now, does that mean that every solid is going to be a great choice? Not necessarily. As
I probably wouldn't go with this as one of your first sports jackets. This is beautiful
color. Actually, kind of like this combination. But, in general, when it comes to sports jackets,
you want to stick with the colors that are more traditional, things that you're already
wearing in your wardrobe. Now, does that mean that you should avoid
patterns for your first few sports jackets? The answer is no. If you know what you're
doing and you bring in a pattern that's very muted, you can actually pull it off easily
and it can be interchangeable. Just look at this jacket right here. When
you get up close, you see the patterns. You see the blue, you see the white, you see the
black. All that speckled right there in the tweed, but from a distance, it looks like
a light gray solid. And that's what I love about this jacket.
Now, this jacket very similar as you can see. Get up close, you look at those patterns,
you see that they're a bit more pronounced than we saw in the Harris tweed, but from
a distance this looks like a light blue. [0:10:02]
And, yes, it's a bit more and that is interchangeable, but still if you only own four to five sports
jackets I would definitely have this in the mix. And sometimes it's going to be all about
the weave, all about the pattern that's created with actually not much contrast in the fabric.
When you get up close, what do you notice about this jacket? That herringbone pattern.
Very distinct and you'll see this in a lot of different sports jackets out there.
Now, what about fabric materials? So, I'm going to start this one off with the one that
probably gets the least attention, and that is performance fabrics. And I do think in
the last decade I've seen a lot of improvements in performance fabrics.
For me, it was always about, you know, some of them can look and feel really good, but
the issue is it's the style of the jackets. There are some manufacturers out there just
need to know what you're looking for that are starting to come out with some nice style
jackets. This one right here is a good travel jacket,
relatively lightweight, breathable. It's overall a well-made jacket. And that's what you want
to look for, a performance jacket that's made in the color you want.
And the best jacket the best sports jacket you're going to own is the one that you wear.
And that's what I like about these because they're made from materials that, yeah, just
may make it easier if you're in a really hot environment.
Next up, let's talk about worsted wool. This is the same material that you see in most
suits. Worsted wool is going to be a very tightly woven wool that gives a little bit
of a sheen, overall, just a very luxurious feel. Wool though is a luxury fabric. It's
going to be expensive. And that's what's going to drive up the cost.
These are oftentimes going to be 100% wool. That is a good indicator. You usually don't
want to go for blends because it just means that they probably skimped in other areas.
Now there are many wool jackets out there without that tight worsted finish, so they're
not going to have a sheen to them. This wool jacket actually has more like a flannel, a
napped surface to it. I like it, it's great for the fall, great winter maybe, even spring.
You can almost never go wrong with wool. Another sports jacket material you're going
to see a lot, linen. Linen is great because it's durable, it's breathable. This is going
to be a staple for the summer especially if you want to continue to wear sports jackets.
Look for jackets that are going to be unlined. I'll talk more about that in a few minutes.
But, general, linen is great, except for the fact that you have to iron it. You have to
get it pressed because linen is going to wrinkle. Just understand that's part of the nature
of the beast. It just comes along with it, but if you can get past that, linen is amazing.
Now, gents, I know you've got an opinion. I want to hear from you down in the comments.
Do you wear a sports jacket? Yes or no? Let me know. And if you answer no, I would love
to hear why you don't wear it. And if you answer yes, why do you wear it.
Because, guys, I'm on a mission to get more men to wear sports jackets. I think they just
look great. I should start my own sports jacket company, right? Someday.
Now, what about the style details? Well, first up, let's talk about lapels. In general, notch
lapels are where it's at. You may want to go for a sport lapel especially if you're
getting something custom or if you see a jacket out there and a sport lapel just in general
is going to be one that looks like [kelatch?] clothes.
What you want to avoid are shawl lapels. Shawl lapels are fine for black tie, but they're,
yeah, not really great for sports jackets. They're just too formal, the same with peak
lapels. I do think maybe on a solid gray sports jacket or solid blue sports jacket. I've seen
some guys pull off the -- the peak lapel thing. But in general, I would reserve that for suits.
Now, with pockets, this is where you get to have a lot more fun. Jetted pockets, you’re
going to see on black tie. Flat pockets, you're going to see it on suits and a lot of sports
jackets. But, you're also going to see patch pockets.
Patch pockets don't work for suits because they make them too casual. Those are pockets
sewn right onto the canvas. It just makes the jacket more fun and you want to look for
things like that especially if you can find one on the breast pocket.
Now, when it comes to vents, most jackets are going to be single vent, just simply because
it's inexpensive to manufacture. But, I don't think it's the best option. If you can find
a jacket that has double vents, that's where it's at. And also fits with the whole sports,
you know, background with the jacket. Now, if you go with a jacket with no vent,
that's an Italian thing, but you'll probably have to get the sports jacket custom made
because it's very rare to see that. Now, what about surgeon cuffs? This is basically
where the buttoning right here works. The history on this is surgeons on the battlefield,
they wanted to be able to roll up their sleeves, hence they wanted this to be working. But,
nowadays, it's just for decoration. Most off the rack sports jackets aren't going
to actually have them working and for good reason because it allows you to basically
adjust the sleeve more. So, if you didn't have working button cuffs, you can simply
take these off. You can move it up two inches or extend it an inch and then just simply
put the buttons back. The problem with the working cuffs and why
it's actually a premium thing is because it's just going to work for less body types. It
shows that the jacket was probably made custom for the individual, although that's not always
the case. And if it is something you want to adjust, understand that you can only adjust
this by about half an inch to three quarters of an inch with the amount of room that you're
left there. Now, what about the inside of the jacket?
So, you're going to see a few variations out there. You're going to see lined jackets,
you're going to see partially lined jackets, and you're going to see unlined jackets.
Now, unlined jackets, they do have a bit of lining because you need to have that to basically
the chest piece and the shoulders need to be protected. I also like it in the arm, so
you can get your arms in and out of the jacket easily.
[0:15:01] But, believe it or not, unlined jackets and
partially lined jackets are more expensive than fully lined jackets, or at least they
cost more to manufacture. The reason being is a fully lined jacket allows you to cover
up a lot of ugly things on the inside of the jacket.
So, you can put that lining in there -- and by the way, you're looking usually for Bemberg.
That's going to be one of the best materials. Comes from a wood pulp. It's going to be breathable.
You want to avoid silk. Even though silk sounds nice, the problem with silk if it starts to
tear, very difficult to replace or to fix. Fully lined jackets are great, but I love
partially lined jackets or unlined jackets for the summer especially if you're looking
at a linen jacket, you want something that's going to be breathable. Unlined jackets are
going to be where it's at, but understand that they're going to usually cost more because
they have to make everything look really nice. They got to build the jacket in a way that
it not only looks good on the outside of the jacket, but it also looks good on the inside
of the jacket. So, what video to watch next? Well, guys,
you got to wear pants with your sports jackets, right? Well, most the time. Point being is
you want to check out this video. I talk about 15 different styles of trousers that every
man should consider buying. [0:16:04] End of audio