The Tailored Blazer in Black, White, Red, and Navy
The Tailored Blazer in Black, White, Red, and Navy
What color blazer to wear for authority is the question underneath most of the fittings we do for women between 35 and 50, and the answer is not one color. It is four blazers for four rooms: navy for the day you are announced, black for the room where you present, red for the stage, and white for the day that is yours. This is one woman’s year in the Alexa in navy, the Barbara in black, the Alexa in red, the Lola in white, and the Lucy jacquard in midnight blue.
She is 39. In March she is promoted to run the team she joined at 31. The email goes out on a Tuesday at 9 a.m., and at 9:04 she has to walk to the coffee machine past everyone who has read it. She is the woman who is taken seriously in a room she has just entered, and she would like her jacket to say so before she has to.
Shop the pieces in this story: Blazers and Pants. Complete size runs are listed first.
Tuesday, 9:04 a.m., the navy blazer
For the walk to the coffee machine she wears the Alexa in navy: a notch lapel, four covered buttons stacked in a column at the waist, flap pockets, a shaped waist, and a three-quarter sleeve that finishes mid-forearm, where a watch reads as deliberate. The cloth is a structured textile that carries the shoulder without padding, lined throughout. Navy reads as serious without reading as corporate, and it sits lower in contrast against skin and hair than black, which is why the face, not the jacket, is what people remember from that morning.
She wears it open over a printed silk top and navy wide-leg pants, so the column of buttons shows and the waist is visible in the V. The sleeve stops short of her wrist, so her hands are in the conversation. By 9:05 she has stopped thinking about it. The Alexa runs true to size and is cut in sizes 0 to 16; between sizes, or over a structured blouse, take the larger.
The board presentation, the black blazer
In May she presents to the board for the first time, 40 minutes, three of them on numbers she inherited. For that room the answer is the Barbara in black: a notch lapel, four black buttons, flap pockets finished with a fine line of red piping, a waist shaped through the seams, and a hem at the hip. The cloth is a structured twill in a true black that does not shine under a projector, lined throughout. From behind, a small red and silver clasp sits at the back waist, a detail she knows about and the room does not.
Black over a white blouse is the highest contrast a wardrobe offers, and high contrast is what a room reads as authority. She does not need it every day. She needs it on the day she is asked a question she has not prepared for, and answers it. The Barbara runs true to size, is cut in sizes 4 to 14, and has a matching wide-leg trouser for the suit.
The keynote in September, the red blazer
By September she is asked to speak: 20 minutes on a stage, 400 people, a photograph she will be tagged in for a year. The Alexa in red is the same cut as her navy, with peak lapels, four covered buttons stacked at the waist, a flap pocket, and the three-quarter sleeve, in a saturated red that photographs cleanly under stage light. Red is the color for the day you speak, not the day you need others to. It is remembered, and being remembered is the job of a keynote.
She wears it as a suit with the red skirt and a printed blouse tied at the neck, and again in December, over black, at a holiday party where she is introduced to someone she has wanted to meet for two years. He remembers the jacket from the stage. The red Alexa runs true to size and is cut in sizes 0 to 16.
Her 40th, the white jacket
In June she turns 40 and has lunch with seven women who knew her before the promotion. For the day that is hers she wears the Lola in white: a cropped, collarless jacket with a round neck, three-quarter sleeves, and a narrow textured band framing the front closure and its small buttons. It ends at the waist. Over a black pencil skirt it is the cleanest line in the room, and the cleanest line is what reads as expensive. The cloth is a structured textile in optical white, lined throughout.
White near the face lifts skin that black flattens, which matters more at 40 than at 30 and most of all with gray or silver hair. She keeps it for days without a projector and without red wine in a moving crowd. The Lola runs true to size and is cut in sizes 0 to 12.
The gala in November, the jacquard
The year ends with a charity gala where her name is on a place card at a table she did not pay for. A flat black blazer would look like the office. The Lucy jacquard in midnight blue is a tailored blazer in a cotton blend jacquard with a tonal pattern that catches light without shine, lapels in the same cloth, flap pockets, and a single beaded clasp at the waist in place of buttons. With the matching jacquard skirt it is an evening suit; over a black dress it is the jacket she keeps on all night.
Which color for which room
| Color | What it says | The room | The blazer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navy | Reliable, serious, easy to approach | The announcement, the first day, the client lunch | Alexa in navy |
| Black | Authority, decision, high contrast | The board, the negotiation, the interview | Barbara in black |
| Red | Remembered, warm, in command of the stage | The keynote, the award, the holiday party | Alexa in red |
| White | Clean, open, light near the face | The birthday, the daytime celebration, summer travel | Lola in white |
| Midnight jacquard | Evening without sequins | The gala, the cocktail reception, the wedding as a guest | Lucy jacquard |
Shoulders, bust, and the button
Broad shoulders. Choose the Alexa cut, in navy or red. Its structure carries the shoulder without padding, and the three-quarter sleeve draws the eye to the forearm rather than across the top of the jacket.
A larger bust. On the Alexa and the Barbara the buttons fasten at the waist and the lapel opens above them, so nothing pulls across the chest. Size for the bust; the waist is already shaped. On the cropped Lola, between sizes, take the larger.
Gray or silver hair, or very pale skin. Navy and the midnight jacquard flatter where flat black can drain. White near the face is your friend. Red works when it is a true, saturated red, which this one is.
Care, fit, and the safety net. Every blazer on this page is machine washable on a gentle cycle, air dried, and steamed on low; no trip to the cleaner between the board and the keynote. Each ships from California with 30-day, no-questions returns and a fit note on its page, so the first fitting can happen at home with your own blouses.
The arithmetic she says out loud
Each blazer is cut in small runs in our atelier in Pozarevac, where we have made jackets since 1990: a few of each size, no reorders mid-season. The Alexa, the Barbara, and the Lola are $610 each; the Lucy jacquard is $680. Two of them worn 60 times a year is $10 a wearing, in a lined, structured jacket that will still hold its shoulder in the fifth year. For what the price actually buys, read what makes a blazer worth the money.
With one promotion and one budget, start with the navy Alexa and read what to wear after a promotion. With a stage ahead, read what to wear for a speaking engagement or an award and choose the red.
Frequently asked questions
What color blazer is best for authority at work?
Black over a white blouse gives the highest contrast and reads as the most authoritative, which is why the Barbara tailored blazer in black is the choice for a board presentation or a negotiation. Navy, in the Alexa tailored blazer, reads as serious and reliable with less severity, and is the better everyday choice for most women.
Is a red blazer too much for the office?
Not on the right day. Red is remembered, so wear the Alexa tailored blazer in red for a keynote, an award, a holiday party, or a day you present, and choose navy or black for the days you need others to do the talking. A true, saturated red reads as command, not costume.
Which blazer color works with gray or silver hair?
Navy and midnight blue flatter gray and silver hair where flat black can drain the face. The Alexa in navy and the Lucy jacquard in midnight blue are the two to try first. White near the face, in the Lola, also lifts silver hair well. Keep red saturated rather than orange.
How should a tailored blazer fit over a larger bust?
The buttons should fasten at the waist and the lapel should open above them, so the jacket never pulls across the chest. The Alexa and the Barbara are built this way. Size for the bust and let the shaped waist do the rest; on a cropped jacket like the Lola, take the larger size if you are between.
Are these blazers machine washable?
Yes. The Alexa, Barbara, Lola, and Lucy blazers are machine washable on a gentle cycle, then air dried on a hanger and steamed or ironed on low. Only our coats are dry clean only. Turn the blazer inside out to wash so the buttons and the lapel edge are protected.
Pick the room you are dressing for first, then the color, then the size from the fit note. The rest of the blazers are there when the second room arrives.
