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**jason_carreira** · October 19, 2011, 06:11 AM

Sorry, that looks like a suit coat to me. The good news is that you can probably get a sport coat or blazer at at thrift store for a lot less that will be a lot more interesting looking. Tweed sport coats are traditional horse track attire in the UK.

**bere09** · October 19, 2011, 06:16 AM

The best part of this website is all the learning I've been able to do, however obviously I need to do a little bit more!

What are you keying in on in making your determination. So many places sell blazers with matching pants so I need to know what to look for. I've read Joe's articals and threads on this in the past but really haven't been able to get comfortable in making my determinations.

**LesserBlackDog** · October 19, 2011, 06:24 AM

You know, not to be too contrarian here, but I think it would be fine if you wore it as a blazer. The number of people who even know that there is a difference between blazers and suit jackets is pretty small, and the number of people who will be able to recognize such differences on the fly and actually care about it, even smaller. If you like the way the jacket looks and fits, I think you should wear the hell out of it however you like.

I don't know anything about horse tracks, however. So I can't give you any advice on whether it's appropriate for that. At the minimum, I'm pretty sure the track isn't going to throw you out if you wear this jacket, some nice slacks, and a shirt and tie.

I'll second Jason's suggestion about thrifting a nice tweed sport coat if you can - tweed is timeless and if you can find one that works for you (or can be tailored to work for you), you'll get a wardrobe staple that you can wear for years for ten bucks or less. In just a few days' worth of thrifting I've acquired a high-end designer tweed jacket and a custom-made navy blazer that both fit me almost perfectly, as well as come across a handful of other jackets that I could probably have had tailored to fit. Combined price for the two jackets I picked up? $12.

**YackoYak** · October 19, 2011, 06:29 AM

bere09, I asked a similar question about this recently:

http://threads.dappered.com/topic/navy-blazer-vs-suit-jacket#post-3172

I can't say I've found the answer though. I picked up a similar [navy] blazer at a thrift store last weekend. No plaid or pattern. No rough texture. Something like this:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KXDWixWUzis/SI44CoxD5LI/AAAAAAAABEM/9jM94CGyVnE/s1600-h/448M_Navy_enlarged.jpg

I'm planning on sewing some new buttons on it. Right now it has solid black buttons and I may opt for black with a gray marbling. I'm not quite ready for brass buttons, although I have thought about nickel...

That blazer you posted can look like a suit separate because it's paired with a model wearing matching pants. But the lapels look like they have less structure so it looks more casual to me. But you can also have casual, unstructured suits... so yeah I guess I'm learning with you...

EDIT: BenR, you have awesome luck. I spend about 2x more at the tailor than I do at the thrift stores. At my local Goodwill jackets usually run $15, suits $20. Then I spend $18 to $50 each on tailoring so it's not AS thrifty but certainly cheaper than new.

**bere09** · October 19, 2011, 06:30 AM

Now that is impressive Ben. I've been following along with the thrifting thread and I think that's definitely my next step. What types of stores are we talking about here? (Names specifically) I see Savers come up. Goodwill an option as well?

**LesserBlackDog** · October 19, 2011, 06:43 AM

@ bere09 - I've had the best luck at Salvation Army and Savers. We have a GoodWill here in town too, but in my experience they only have about half as much men's stuff as the former two, and last time I was there, not a blazer to be seen. SA, on the other hand, has a full rack of blazers, and Savers has two. None of the stores in my area have any decent men's shoes, though.

Honestly, I think it probably varies quite a lot from store to store and town to town. The best way to figure out is to visit them and see for yourself. If you live in or near a large city, the fringe communities and suburbs can often be the best places to check, as they are full of wealthy people with good stuff to donate, and aren't as picked-over by hipsters and other thrifting enthusiasts.

**jason_carreira** · October 19, 2011, 06:51 AM

I think what pushes me toward suit coat is the buttons. Blazers have contrast buttons. Navy or black blazers have light or metallic buttons. Camel blazers have dark or leather buttons.

**jason_carreira** · October 19, 2011, 06:54 AM

I've had good luck with Savers and Goodwill. I got a very nice Hickey Freeman suit at Goodwill a couple weeks ago that only needed the pants tapered and hemmed.

**LesserBlackDog** · October 19, 2011, 06:58 AM

I don't know if the buttons thing is such a hard-and-fast rule. I've got a brown moleskin blazer that has matching brown buttons, but it's definitely a blazer and not a suit jacket. The ivory tweed jacket I just got has matching off-white buttons.

Meanwhile, my grey glen check suit has contrasting black buttons.

To put it in obnoxious legalese, I think determining the difference between a suit jacket and a blazer/sport coat is a multi-factor test. I don't think any single factor is absolutely dispositive, especially in this day and age when manufacturers themselves are so predisposed to bending the traditional rules anyway. The categories were somewhat blurry to begin with, have become more blurry, and our trying to put them back into discrete boxes isn't necessarily productive.

**LesserBlackDog** · October 19, 2011, 07:05 AM

Just to illustrate: We know that a finely-woven blazer of charcoal wool with charcoal buttons and a very structured fit is definitely a suit jacket. A structure-less jacket of cotton corduroy with contrasting leather buttons and suede elbow patches is definitely a sport coat.

But the GAP jacket in question has a foot in each camp and I think we're kidding ourselves to say that it's definitely one or the other.

**bere09** · October 19, 2011, 04:53 PM

Thanks for all the input on this guys. I realize that this is a question that gets asked often, but was willing to risk getting flamed and you guys were very helpful.

**MaxMan** · October 19, 2011, 05:23 PM

one last note before this goes to the wayside, the length of the bottom half of the jacket IMO allows it to be an odd jacket. if you look at the hem(right where the jacket ends) it shortened, not that i would give a damn, but with something that short and fashion forward, i would think it could be worn as a blazer. Cant remember the site i read it on, but it stated a suit jacket must cover your butt in full, whereas a sportcoat doesnt have to. It makes sense IMO becasue back in the day when the sportcoat first came out in England, it was a sporting jacket used to hunt so it needed to be sturdy and allow for movement when buttoned.

BUT, i wouldnt spend that much on it becasue of its composition.•2% Lycra, 64% Polyester, 34% Viscose. Its good for the fitted look, but you will sweat in it becasue its all Polyster, and not an ounce of cotton in it. see pic below to see what im talking about i highlighted it in red.

**bere09** · October 19, 2011, 05:40 PM

Yea Max, I am going to end up taking it back. I looked at it more and more, and where I like the fit of it and look. I can find something comparable for much cheaper OR something of much higher quality in the same price range if I just wait a bit. Ebay is looking like a great place to check things out as well. I have been huge on ebay for golf clubs and it looks like the clothing selection is good as well.

**MaxMan** · October 19, 2011, 06:33 PM

Yea man Ebay and thrifting is where its at! Blue blazer i have on in my avatar was thrifted for 3 bucks, old school with the brass buttons and it fit like a glove off the rack

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