Suit Jackets, Sport Coats, & Blazers: What's the Difference? - Menswear Definitions

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When you shop at a department store or large clothing retailer, you’ll often see any sort of tailored jacket for sale listed as a “blazer.” But not every jacket with lapels and buttons can accurately bear this name!
What is a Suit Jacket?
A suit jacket is precisely that: the jacket belonging to a two- or three-part outfit including matching pants and/or waistcoat, which together make up a complete suit. Thus, a suit jacket always originates from a pairing that uses the same exact fabric for both (or all) pieces. In other words, being made as part of an ensemble is the essential defining feature of a suit jacket.
What is a Sport Coat?
A sport coat is also known as an “odd jacket,” odd not in the sense of being weird-even though some sport coat patterns can be quite strange-but in the sense of being different from the pants (which can also be called “odd trousers”). Confusion can arise here, as well; look no further than someone who isn’t up to speed on the technicalities of menswear seeing your sport coat and saying, “nice suit!” This isn’t right, but accept the compliment graciously without correcting the mistake.
What is a Blazer?
Technically, a blazer is the most specific of the three jacket types-and also the rarest-because it has to fulfill certain criteria to be defined strictly as such. For example, a blazer can come in a solid color (most often navy blue), or incorporate features like a contrast piping or a striped pattern. All other patterns, speaking most technically, disqualify a jacket from being a blazer.
Everyday language often fails to recognize the differences when defining suit jackets, blazers, and sport coats. And while there are certain distinctions among these three forms of jacket, the endless options offered for sale today feature a great many hybrids, as well. There are casual suits with unstructured jackets that fit like sport coats, and blazers that fit the same way too. These reflect the prevailing trend for more relaxed and less formal cuts, blurring the lines in the process. Even so, those who appreciate precision will want to ensure that they’re using the proper terminology.
12:43 Outfit Rundown

[@coltsavage4490]

Great video Preston. I get tired of people calling my suit jackets Blazers, and now all I have to do is show them this video.

[@krunoslavkovacec1842]

Preston's face in the thumbnail is priceless.

[@NetoXVI]

bubbles trailer park boys

[@harrymacdonald2672]

He looks cute with those massive eyes!

[@injusticeanywherethreatens4810]

Mmmmhmm... giggity...

[@blackbeard9545]

I like the little liquor table in the background.

[@Michael_R1957]

I would love to know where you can find a liquor table like that one. Thank you.

[@westfieldartworks8188]

I froze the video at the 10 second mark. This should be good. This subject confuses SO MANY people, including me. I think Preston with his very articulate manner and attention to very specific detail, is exactly the person needed for this type of subject. Thanks.

[@paulfuente87]

I just met you at a whataburger in San Antonio! True gentleman!

[@WalksandSuch]

Is that where he is based?

[@ihavekalashnikovyoudomath9275]

The Italians call it "Spezzato." I call it "saving money on clothes"

[@LEO19495]

I like it

[@karenrich9092]

This is EXTREMELY informative! I almost couldn't handle it all, but I can always watch it again. Now I need to check out more of your channel.

[@liem11]

I have basically been wearing a sports coat for a while now and most people think its a suit. They have no idea.

[@rosssmith9870]

Too many rules. As a blue collar truck driver in the US it's pretty simple. Wear a goodwill suit jacket with jcpenny black slacks and a jcpenny shirt European cut slim fit. Affordable Italian Spezzato style and your better dressed than 98% of the men around you. I do it occasionally and the difference between wearing T shirt and jeans is amazing. The women notice and start conversations and the service I get in establishments is stellar.

[@DHIX33333]

I get a lot of sport coats from thrift shops. My office wardrobe is quite elaborate but I haven't spent a lot of money on it.

[@frantzcelestin9322]

@@DHIX33333 Same here too.

[@WhimsicalEloquence]

Great video. Just to be clear when you refer to British field sports the term is "shooting" (e.g. pheasant shooting) or "stalking" for deer. Hunting refers to hunting on horseback for fox, deer etc. with hounds.

[@crazyjoeshorts5256]

In America, its all hunting. Unless its alligator, then they call it fishing, because you catch them on a line and then shoot.

[@Xitaychin]

Thank you tho, for non english-speaking such info is very useful!

[@nikkingman]

Just to be clear, who cares.

[@txkevin3467]

I must say, I will be very glad when the current trend of "high water" pants (ie too short) with no socks is GONE. It just looks horrible.

[@Griffden]

It does not IMO. Personally I’m not a fan of dress socks and think a break looks too baggy.

[@Lorenzodial]

I like the new socks look and the socks look. Not bad either way to me.

[@NorseBlade]

I agree. It looks particularly bad with an overly slim cut and gives the effect that something is missing. Seeing that looks like one wore their younger brother's pants and forgot socks.

[@maxalaintwo3578]

Current trend? This style has been around before your grandparents 😂

[@ParisLawLess]

It's never going away

[@rastrats]

This is the best video I have seen on this topic. Sports jackets are frequently more expensive to buy than full suits, despite being 'casual' or informal. Is there another term we could use then, as 'casual' is normally equated with inexpensive? Suits are for the city and therefore an indoor environment (the office). They therefore require a coat to cover outdoors. Sports jackets on the other hand are for the countryside and therefore contain elements of both, as they are required to offer protection from the elements. That's why they are three buttoned, slightly raised, worn with longer sleeves to cover the shirt sleeve completely. You can also wear more hardwearing trousers with a sports. That covers men. Unfortunately, women's business attire is all over the place, which suggests that gender should just stay at home or occupy themselves in traditional female roles such as nursing, childrearing or teaching.

[@seikibrian8641]

"... 'casual' is normally equated with inexpensive..." I've never used it that way. "Casual" means "relaxed" or "informal," but not "inexpensive."

[@rastrats]

@@seikibrian8641 Thanks for that clarification. Casual, informal or relaxed, nevertheless, have connotations of inferiority to formal. I suggest use of the term 'loungewear'.

[@seikibrian8641]

@@rastrats Confusingly, a suit jacket is also known as a lounge jacket. When I first heard the latter, I pictured a velvet smoking jacket, but nope, it was a suit jacket. (And in eastern Europe, "smoking jacket" or its equivalent refers to a tuxedo.)

[@jamesR1990]

I picked up a deep green blazer with rich brown buttons not too long ago. Absolutely love it. It is probably my most worn jacket now

[@aravioli4203]

In old French, and archaic English, the word “Blazon” meant “crest”. Thus the Blazer, traditionally meant any jacket with a crest on it. And then the popularity of the blazer springing from academia, brought it into the mass market.

[@Camrographer]

I have a hypothesis regarding the blanket usage of the word blazer. I think that sport jacket/coat are commonly understood as casual jackets. Essentially denoting an active lifestyle type of garment. On the other hand a blazer will denote a type of structured garment similar in style to a suit jacket. It's utility to convey an idea (even as a misnomer) is helpful. If I wanted to thoroughly search for a suit jacket style of garment I would use Suit jacket/separates, sport coat/jacket and blazer. I think this is particularly useful for finding second hand garments.

[@thestarkknightreturns]

Preston's diction is classy and perfect.

[@stepchildofsoul]

I'd like to hear him recite the lyrics to "Stagger Lee"...

[@SlimRhyno]

Thank you for creating this fantastic guide for the modern man.

[@garmtpug]

Another very interesting video! I love hearing where some terms/words come from and "blazer" is one I won't forget. Very informative and succinct! Well done again, Preston! My favorite teacher!! :-)

[@truthreigns7]

Thank you!!! I have been very curious about this topic.

[@tomevans6582]

With the UK in a lockdown I'm dusting off the informal smoking jacket! The content on this channel is brilliant. Keep up the good work chaps.

[@TheBinklemNetwork]

You shall emerge like a dapper Phoenix. Smoke and all eh?

[@ThunderRazorYT]

I certainly learned something, but didn't expect to. Great video!

[@validbutatwhatcost8754]

A blazer and and a matching color pair of pants or contrasting color, if you choose to go with a contrasting color of pants, go with shoes that match the pants and a shirt that compliments or is an opposite of the jacket/blazer.

[@JohnRay1969]

I love this channel. It's nice to know not only WHAT we wear but WHY and HOW.

[@fokkelman64231]

Learned a lot today. Thank you!

[@jdsheleg8332]

Great video. I have a wedding to attend and it will be informal at noon time. I am planning to wear white pants and a blazer ( which I still have to buy).

[@MartinParnham]

Thanks for the video. I have a sports jacket, which I've always referred to as such, so it's good to know I wasn't getting it wrong all this time! By the way, I love that Austin Reed poster and I have bought a vintage AR suit off eBay off the back of seeing it. Traditional British brand!

[@shanewright2772]

That pocket square is spectacular.

[@angelofrevengeable]

Preston is the man

[@redscale82]

That bow tie looks like an advertisement from a wafer we have here in Sweden. The pattern looks identical and are called kexchoklad.

[@Bjeddul]

Haha märkte inte det tills jag läste din kommentar skrämmande likt ju hahaha.

[@johanjohansen7572]

Haha jag tyckte också det.

[@redscale82]

Är kanske baserad på det

[@moobcars6490]

Sjukt likt!

[@902d]

Men är det kex eller "shex"?

[@inregionecaecorum]

For some time I have worn a blazer with matching trousers for formal events where others would wear a suit. In a sense it is a suit because the fabric of the trousers and jacket mix, but it doesn't half stand out with the gold buttons, amongst the boring conventional suit wearers.

[@tonytran07]

Hey!!! I remember you! You're the one who taught me about watches! Fancy as always sir!

[@RizwanKler]

Cheers for this informative vid Preston 👍

[@JuniorExecutive1987]

A deep dive on sport coats and where to find them would be good to watch

[@ColombianLNP]

The video i never knew i needed ! Thank you so much. Cheers from Colombia amigo!

[@williamarthur4801]

Thank you for confirming what I knew by upbringing / intuition without being sure why.

[@arx3516]

So, the elegant uniforms with the club's emblem on the chest pocket worn by football players are blazers, right?

[@jhh162]

Great info, thanks guys! 👍🏾

[@SanicTheHidgehag]

Thank goodness you made this video 😅I trust you to lay down the facts!

[@jeremyt2212]

Great video as always, guys. I've always admired tweed jackets, though I've never owned one. I'm going have a browse through your older videos to see if you've done one on different ways to wear a tweed jacket today.

[@-RONNIE]

Great video 👏👏👏 I can appreciate the history behind the items. Personally I only wear suits for some reason sport coats & blazers does not appeal to my sense of style.

[@Jayjee762]

Very interesting video! I’ve wondered about this for a while, so I found this very helpful :)

[@sciavash]

Well, on EBay you can easily determine the type of the jacket when they're being listed.

[@inthezone4123]

And now I know! Thanks, Preston.

[@frankgyori2740]

Instead of plain or otherwise stamped brass buttons on a blazer, I am wondering if brass buttons with ones own monogram deeply etched into them would be an appropriate addition to the look of the garment?

[@GrangerGangster]

Of course, to further confuse the issue, are uses of terms like “sports jacket” and “suit coat.” I think it would be good to standardize terms for garments based on clear reference points from physiology. Like coat vs. jacket is really based on where the bottom hem falls in relation to the waist, correct? Jackets fall just to the waist and coats fall (any of various amounts, depending on particular style) below the waist.

[@seikibrian8641]

It's not that simple. For example, waistcoats stop at the waist and military field jackets fall below the waist. And the top-most garment in a suit has typically been called a jacket, not a coat.

[@GrangerGangster]

SeikiBrian they do now, but waistcoats in centuries past used to go well below the waist with large pocketed skirts. When you talk about “field jackets” I’m not sure where the term was first coined, but for the U.S. Army, the M1938 and later M1941 field jackets were only waist-length. So, the later evolution of field jackets in the U.S. parlance only seems to suggest that the term “field jacket” was kept in use despite how the garments changed (falling below the waist as you suggest). I would be interested in that term’s use with other countries to see how it matches with hem lengths. And perhaps the top part of a suit is now usually called a jacket, but when the suit we know today came about (more or less the 1860s - yes, I mean the decade of the Civil War, not the Civil Rights movement) the terms for the top piece in the ensemble were “lounge coat” in British English and “sack coat” in American English. Yikes! That’s confusing for sure haha. Also, there is a phrase that I think might still be in common use, “coat and tie,” that to me suggests that it was still being called a coat into more recent times. My entire point of the first comment was (hopefully) to recognize that there IS confusion but to espouse standardization. Maybe it’s all a pipe dream!

[@AnAZPatriot]

I wear a felt leather cowboy hat, caimen boots, cowhide gun leather belt, denim pants, and a oiled duster when the weather turns. How did the algorithm figure to put this in my feed? Thumbed ya up anyhoo.

[@trentpiche4095]

this could very well be the best video on YT! i am really tired of people saying eww youre in a suit for no reason. or why are you wearing a blazer to go out to walk. and im just like umm sport jacket and jeans, look it up sometime. then theyre like um that doesent look athletic and im just like *faceplant*

[@AJMacDonaldJr]

Thanks Preston! 😃

[@gentlemansgazette]

It is our pleasure! :)

[@theactingape6925]

Great info Preston, well done !

[@bengunn1980]

This was an amazingly informative video. Thank you.

[@davidharber6790]

Frasier Crane would be proud :-)

[@JohnstasBACK]

i just got a ralph lauren Herringbone sport coat & i'm SO fucken excited‼️😁😁😁

[@alexk3948]

6:58 nice to see John from 40 Over Fashion

[@hpottstock]

Excellent as usual! I liked Preston posing in a very classic gentlemanly way... chin up, hand nonchalantly in blazer's pocket, almost like Michael Cane does in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" ;)

[@DrNetz-nf4bn]

Where do they find these old paintings of Gentlemans? I Love them!

[@DrNetz-nf4bn]

realmakebelieve thanks! And i had found another way a few minutes ago: search for „Gentleman‘s Gazette Paintings“ by Google 😊

[@joshuas2601]

I’ve got a half sport coat; it’s not patterned but it’s got patch pockets.

[@Kuriousape]

Thank you. Interesting and informative. I was saddened by the closure of Austin Reed, and the poster in the background is a nice touch.

[@gagal3332]

Is it possible to do a video about how to wear a suit like james bond

[@ikhanarendra8913]

On point educational video as usual... Great job you guys !!!

[@adrian_9951]

Great information, especially the blazer part

[@drspaseebo410]

Excellent ! Many thanks for clarifying all points so well !

[@ravisriram6746]

As someone who has spent many years in the retail menswear industry, it annoys me to no end to hear people calling sport coats "blazers", among other misnomers

[@baongocnguyenpham1600]

rather a long video to me, but an informed one as well

[@QPRTokyo]

Thank you.

[@hawktalon7890]

I honestly didn't know that there was an official term for putting a suit jacket on with something else. Good to know; although I doubt I'll ever use spezzato in a casual conversation.

[@sprezzatura2296]

Wonderful work as usual, Gentleman's Gazette team.

[@johncrichton7461]

Christ! Preston is offensively handsome. I feel like Gollum every time he's on screen.

[@thewamp9306]

First time seeing something from this channel. Good stuff but the guys sounds likes he's gonna cry at any minute. 10/10

[@Vandernick]

Great video and super helpful content!

[@a.selling3247]

In 2017 Rafael said in a video (Worth every penny) that they were curently working on pinky rings. Is that some thing that's gonna happen?

[@krunoslavkovacec1842]

He also said they are working on a collection of odd vests (waistcoats). I asked them in a comment on one of their videos and Sven said that they are still working on them.

[@lawden210]

Sven in a video focusing on overcoats, said they were working on their own line of overcoats

[@papagen00]

I once saw, at LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall, a young chap wearing a suit jacket, suit pants, and sandals with his toes sticking out.

[@lilianaprina5991]

I am stuck with the collar. I am trying to understand this collar for a blazer. I have never sew a coat, blazer or jacket, this is my first one and I am confused...

[@davidfernandes1608]

Great video but hasn't this already been covered?

[@akmaru]

Just in time!

[@douweschilstra3231]

What's your opinion on popover shirts? When would they be appropriate to wear?

[@fitzgeraldstoner2200]

i love my sport coat

[@ericmatthews7975]

What do you think of a Royal Blue suit coat with jet black trousers, need your advice please

[@Sivil-D]

Austin Reed poster behind you - elegant. I recently stumbled upon a full suit at my local thrift store by Austin Reed. I love it! Are Reed suits vintage and worth alot of money?

[@СтепанЦепной]

Thank you!

[@andrec7440]

Excellent

[@TriPham-sn9jj]

So sport coat either with inner brief or t-shirt golf wear and sport coat with tie only with brief

[@gvetech]

Thanks for sharing. Very informative.

[@simontempleton5548]

Preston: Do you have a video explaining why a casual style is named as "sport"? Specially because in current times the image of an "sport jacket" may be very different for each age group. Even for me, an "sport" garment is that used for the practice of an sport.

[@laurieocathail2441]

As they were originally used for hunting and game shooting.

[@minonuno3041]

I wear a sport coat with my wrangler jeans and my cowboy boots and don't care if people like or not I like it and it's all that matters

[@overclockedgamer1272]

I really want to see them do a Tom Ford video

[@dpledford1]

I need to make a trip to Blakey Mitchell which it the only suit shop we have in the entire area. I wish I did have the money to build my wardrobe the way I would love to.

[@lilianaprina5991]

I am making a blazer on embroidery velvet fabric. I am not sure what to call it and it is for a lady.

[@villegas24]

Thumbs up for using Donald Draper as an example. Probably the best dressed character in a television series.

[@papagen00]

What's the diff between a sport coat and a sports coat.

[@javierdiazsantana]

Can a sports jacket, pants and vest made out of tweed be worn as a full suit in a vintage style?

[@itznoxy7193]

That sport coat is perfect. Any tips on where to find one like that?

[@ElCaminoBILL1]

Is having your family crest on your blazer jacket considered tacky?

[@theobaldlolworth4717]

who made your blazer?

[@playtoy_cardi_7201]

They used a kingsman picture nice 🙂

[@smoothm6539]

I know blazer had 2 buttons.with chest pocket

[@abbyfishman4954]

I have been searching online to find out what type of pocket I found on a Jack wills jacket at a thrift store. Was hoping you could help me! It has a curved snap-closure opening around the second of 3 buttons on the front. I can’t find info on it anywhere! Any ideas?

[@georgevalente4223]

A tux jacket, button long sleeve dress shirt with blue jeans and casual leather dress shoes appears to be casually fashionable to me.

[@MilatovichFamily]

And blazers can be worn with jeans and not formal shoes but also like chukkas or even snickers.

[@yazdan7774]

What? No!

[@ravipeiris4388]

Hey, I learned something today 🤸

[@azraelf.6287]

I work a construction job, so I am not wearing suit and tie every day. One area I have always struggled with is 'business casual' or a bit above that. I want to dress up, but wearing a suit is not always appropriate, and I feel out of place. I am looking for a type of jacket I can pair with slacks or nice jeans and a nicer shirt. I thought what I was after was a 'blazer' but after seeing this video, I'm not sure. My understanding of a sport coat, and the way my father wore his, is more formal then what I am looking for. Am I actually looking for a sport coat, and this is just a style change over the years?

[@ns7023]

Yes