Long blazers are a flashback to the late ‘80s and ‘90s. They’ve been on the fringe of fashion for a while and are gaining momentum.The lengths of the blazers cover the bottom, and finish on the hips about a quarter or a third of the way down the thighs.
The silhouettes vary. Some are highly structured like an equestrian jacket. Others are soft, floppy and fluid. Some are single-breasted and others double-breasted. The stance of the blazer is low, and that’s a very important design feature. Many of the long blazers in the late ‘90s had high stances, which changed up the look a lot. They’re usually collared, and come in all sorts of colours, patterns, solids, and fabrics. You can wear the blazer open or closed, and throughout the year in the right fabric for the season. The collection below shows a good assortment of the item.
I am cautious about this length of blazer because the proportions can look very off to my eye. The length of the blazer dramatically lengthens the torso thereby shortening the leg line because of the low hem on the leg. The low stance and position of the welted pockets further accentuate the length of the torso, and drag your eye downwards, which shortens the leg. This is a perfect classic British riding jacket length because when you’re on a horse, the length is swallowed up by the way you’re seated in the saddle and drapes elegantly over the thighs.
The long blazer is a slam dunk on my tall clients. They look WOW in the silhouette because they have the real estate to carry the length. The proportions that are jarring to my eye are effortlessly evened out. This is harder to do when you’re regular height or shorter. Not impossible, but you have to be careful. Keeping the long blazer open in front tempers the short-legged effect because it breaks up the horizontal line on the leg. It also creates a vertical line up the centre front of the body which draws the eye upward. Showcasing the waistline by tucking or semi-tucking a top, or wearing a cropped top when wearing the blazer open, will also lengthen the leg line because it shortens the torso. You can wear heels to give your outfit some height, keep the blazer low contrast to your bottoms to blur the low horizontal line, or wear a column of colour.
I do have some petite and regular height clients who rock the structured and unstructured long blazer vibe, some even with flats. They’re curvy hourglass and pear-shaped body types who fill out the lower half extremely well and enjoy the covering comfort of the bottom, hips and thighs. Some long blazer silhouettes have cut-away fronts that dramatically lengthen the leg line, and those are easier to feel fab in when you’re not tall. My own long Smythe equestrian blazer has cut-away fronts that make it a whole lot more flattering when I wear flats.
And last, here’s an outfit with interesting proportions. The closed long blazer draws the eye down and lengthens the torso, which shortens the leg line. Yet the much shorter length of the culottes lengthens the lower leg from the ankles upward. The two opposing silhouettes cancel each other out and create harmony. The heels further lengthen the leg line. Clever.
Over to you. What’s your take on the long blazer trend?