I am in bed about to sleep when I decided to surf online shopping sites as my “bedtime story.”

I found something interesting that illustrates the current blazer trend perfectly.

The Boyfriend Blazer and The Girlfriend Blazer.

This is the Boyfriend Blazer. It’s longer, covers the bum area and has a loose and boxy cutting. The overall boyish and cool feel it gives contributes to its name; the boyfriend. It’s to look as though you borrowed this blazer from your boyfriend. Wonder why they don’t call it the Husband Blazer. Haha.

This is the Girlfriend Blazer. I wonder if a trend will come when men will start wearing tight blazers like these to look as though they borrowed their girlfriend’s clothes, just like how we wear Boyfriend Blazers.

Anyway, The Girlfriend Blazer is shorter and tighter around the chest and waist. It’s more snug and fitting, which shows off the contours of a woman’s upper body. A more feminine and flattering choice, especially for petite women like me. We tend to drown in The Boyfriend Blazer.

Depending on the occasion and which look you want to portray, both these blazers are must-haves in any woman’s closet. Blazers have become a staple in the wardrobe and now, even a trend outside work, worn with simple jeans and top.

Personally, I like single-breasted blazers with nicely-tailored shoulders. I have quite a few black ones so now I’m collecting coloured blazers. I find that lighter coloured blazers go really well with black trousers too, without looking so boring and matchy-matchy.

I think blazers are pretty tricky to shop for. You want to wear blazers for a more sophisticated look, but if the fitting isn’t right, you’ll look the opposite; instead of sophisticated, you’ll look like you’re wearing your dad’s blazers.

The first thing I look for is the shoulders. Whether or not the shoulder pads are too thick that can make people look constantly tensed and constipated. Shoulder pads should be thin and comfortable. The shoulders should end just a little bit more than where your actual shoulders end. If it ends before or just where your shoulders end, then you’ll look like The Hulk, and  the sleeves might just tear when you stretch your arms. If it ends too much further than your shoulders end, then it’s too big for you.

Then the sleeves. The length doesn’t matter, because you can always get it tailored to suit your arm length. What’s crucial is the diameter of the sleeve, how big the sleeve holes are. If it’s too tight, it’ll be uncomfortable to move around, not to mention you’ll look like you’re about to explode. That’s easy to spot. But it’s difficult to know how much bigger the arms should be. Your eyes are your only help here. I like to go for slightly tighter arm holes, but I’ll move my arms around when I try it on to see if it’s comfortable and practical or not.

Then the other stuff; chest and waist fitting, lining, length, material (I still don’t know how I feel about linen blazers…but one thing for sure, I steer clear from velvet and suede), stitching, buttons, pockets, other embellishments.

I know all this is obvious, but yet I still see so many ill-fitting blazers when I meet people from other offices.

And plus, not everyone knows the difference between boyfriend blazers and girlfriend blazers. Like my mom…or my aunt, who just discovered my blog and reads it every morning at work. Hehe. Hi, Cik Yah! 😀