 I'm Brian Sakawa, you're watching He Spoke Style and today I'm showing you how to wear a blazer with jeans. This video is sponsored by Blinkist, we'll hear more about that later on, but first I think it would be helpful to start with the definition and that is what is the difference between a suit jacket, a blazer, and a sport coat. Now I'm going to do a deeper dive into those differences in a separate video very soon, but for now let's just go over some super basic definitions. A suit jacket is a jacket that has pants in the same fabric as the jacket. Matching jacket and pants makes a suit, that's why it's called a suit jacket. Typically, we're talking in very broad generalities here, a suit jacket is classified as the most formal. Next we have a blazer. A blazer is often seen as a bit less formal than a suit jacket, primarily because it might be in a more versatile fabric, like a flannel for example, or that it's in a solid color or has some sort of more muted pattern. Now can you have pants that match a blazer? Yes, you can, so a blazer can be a suit jacket as well. Finally, we have the sport coat or sports jacket. This is typically the most casual of the three, both in pattern and construction. You're generally not going to have a matching pair of pants with a sport coat. So there are a few rules I think that are important to follow when you are wearing a blazer with jeans. Number one is the fabric, because of the qualities of denim, including the weight, the bit of texture that it can have, and the casualness of it. It's important that the fabric of your blazer complements that. You want to choose fabrics that are hearty, like flannel or tweed, that have a texture to them, like a linen or a hopsack. Basically, you want it to look like the jacket goes with the jeans, simple as that. That's why fabrics that have a bit of sheen to them, like a quote unquote standard suit jacket, will not look good when paired with denim. Second, do not wear a tie when you are wearing a blazer with jeans. I've tried this in the past and I've tried to justify it in the past, but it just doesn't look good. Pairing a blazer with jeans is an interesting sort of mashup between something more dressy and something more casual. And beyond a button-up shirt, I really think that's where the juxtaposition between dressy and casual needs to stop. When you add the tie in, you're bringing in another dressy element, and that to my eye really throws off the balance. Up top, you've got one thing, but then it just doesn't make sense when you throw in the denim jeans. If you're going to wear a tie, a regular pair of dress pants will look better 100% of the time, in my opinion. Third, I'm going to throw this out there. I think if you're wearing a blazer with jeans that you should forego the pocket square as well. Like a tie, I think a pocket square has the effect of kind of dressing up the outfit, not to the level of a tie, but still kind of gives it a little more dressier feel. More so, however, visually, it's distracting to me. I tried it with a few of the looks that you'll see shortly, but it really just kind of focused my attention in the wrong place. With a blazer and jeans look, it needs to be simple. Your eye should focus towards the center, and ultimately, up to framing your face. A pocket square draws your attention off center, which is why I'm saying to leave it out of the equation. Before we get into the outfits, I do want to tell you about our sponsor for this video, Blinkist. You know, we're all busy these days. I know that's definitely true for me. I put a lot of time and effort into the channel, which I love doing, of course, but prioritizing that really takes time away from other things, including reading. I really, really wish I had more time to read. 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Blinkist has a special offer for he spoke style viewers. The first 100 people to go down to the link in the description will get unlimited access for one week to try out the platform. After that you'll also get 25% off if you opt for a full membership. That one week trial period is completely free and you can cancel it at any time. Definitely recommend checking it out. Now let's check out five ways to wear a blazer with jeans. As I mentioned in the beginning of the video, a blazer with jeans look needs to be simple and that is exactly what we're doing here. By definition the jacket I'm wearing is a blazer. It's from the HSS Michael Andrews collection. It does have matching trousers so it is part of a suit, but there are certain details that make it work with denim. First, the fabric. It's a flannel from Scabal. Second, the styling. It's got patched pockets which gives it a more casual feel. Now I want to highlight the shirt that I'm wearing. It's just a plain white button up from the HSS Michael Andrews collection, but it's the fabric that I want to point out. It's an Apoplin fabric which has a much dressier feel as opposed to say an Oxford cloth for example. I chose it very intentionally. I think it helps bridge that gap between the dressy element, the blazer, and the more casual element of the jeans which are by double RL. A couple more details to point out here. First, my watch. This is the Cartier Tank Americane which I think is the perfect choice for this outfit. And then anchoring the whole look with these lace up leather dress boots by Scaroso. We're getting closer to spring now so I thought I'd throw in something for spring. Similar to the last look in that it's quite simple but different in other ways. First, we're going to talk about the blazer which is from the HSS Michael Andrews collection. Also part of a suit but we've got the Hopsack fabric which has some texture to it as well as being a great choice for the spring and summer and patch pockets which makes it more casual and perfect for pairing with jeans. Let's talk about the jeans actually. They're white from J Crew 484 Fit. White denim is incredibly easy to style with the blazer. White denim is more sporty to begin with which makes it a really great option for jeans to pair with the blazer. Simple shirt here. It's an ice blue Oxford cloth shirt from HSS Michael Andrews collection. Unbuttoning one extra button for a more casual feel. On my wrist is the IWC Anjanor and finishing off the look with these horse bit loafers by Allen Edmonds. With this look here I'm treating the blazer more as a piece of outerwear than a blazer per se. I think this is something you can do especially when you're dealing with fabrics like flannel and tweed. They're heartier, they're warmer and for those reasons I think it's just really easy to throw a blazer on for an outfit like this. When I'm wearing a blazer in this way I do like to pop the collar. Practically keeps your neck a little warmer and aesthetically I think it helps distinguish that you're wearing it as a piece of outerwear rather than styling it as a standard blazer. Underneath just have some simple layering going on. The brown gingham shirt from HSS Michael Andrews collection and the cashmere long sleeve polo is by Luca Filoni. Jeans here, dark denim bespoke from Michael Andrews bespoke. On my wrist is the Alanga and Zuna datagraph and then finishing the look off with some brown suede captoes by Todd's. So I guess technically if we're going by the definitions I gave at the beginning of the video this look shouldn't be here because this is a sport coat not actually a blazer. I'm not going to get into semantics here because this is a jacket that looks really good paired with denim. It's from the HSS Michael Andrews collection and it fits the bill for being paired with denim in so many ways. The fabric it's a beautiful flannel fabric by Fox Flannel. It's got patch pockets for a more casual feel and the color along with the glen plaid pattern really just works so perfectly with the dark denim. The denim here is the same pair from the last look that bespoke from Michael Andrews. Gave them a little bit of a roll here for a different vibe. Turtle neck is by Ted Baker. Dark brown color really pulls everything together. Up top we have a felt fedora by Stofa. It's actually a crushable hat, very easy to travel with. On my wrist again I have the Alanga and Zuna datagraph and then anchoring this look with a great pair of leather Chelsea boots from Scaroso. I'd say the last four looks were more sort of like daytime looks so here I'm throwing in one that I would consider to be more of an evening look. I think it's one that you're either going to love or hate and that's because of the double breasted jacket being worn not only with jeans and without a tie but also unbuttoned. It's a look that I like to do from time to time. I realize it's not for everyone. Very same principle here as the first look though. We're keeping everything simple. White pop on shirt again from the HSS Michael Andrews collection. Jeans are Levi's 511's. I think the black denim pairs really well with the charcoal gray of the jacket. On my wrist we have the IWC Anjanur and then finished off with some white leather sneakers by Coyo. You know when you look at this look as a whole I think it's really balanced. The sneakers and the shirt complement each other and the blazer gives the denim a vibe that's sort of sartorial rockstar chic. So five different ways to wear a blazer with jeans. Remember that there are some rules that you need to follow to pull this look off correctly. Number one use a blazer in a fabric that will pair well with and complement your denim. Something hardier, something with a bit of texture, something with a pattern, no fabrics with any kind of sheen to them. Number two do not wear a tie and number three do not wear a pocket square. A blazer with jeans outfit really threads the needle in terms of balancing dressy and casual. If you add a tie or pocket square I think it pushes it too far in different direction. It makes it a little confusing and in my opinion it just doesn't work. Big thanks once again to our sponsor for this video Blinkist. Be one of the first 100 people to sign up with the link down below in the description and get free unlimited access for an entire week. Be sure to leave a comment. Let me know which outfit you liked best and what your thoughts are about pairing a blazer with jeans. Complete outfit details down below in the description as well. Please give a thumbs up, subscribe and hit the bell for notifications every time we publish a new video. Until next time everyone thanks for watching and stay tailored.