For warm weather, unstructured blazers are ideal. Sometimes half-lined with canvas, sometimes completely unlined, with no shoulder pads or fusing, they’re airier and allow for greater freedom of movement and easier layering. The right one should fit your shape naturally, much like your favorite denim jacket or chore coat. “The key to a blazer is versatility. The right one can be worn in almost every situation and can hide a multitude of sins,” says Tom Broughton, the well-dressed founder of British eyewear brand Cubitts.
To find some good options, I spoke with 13 stylish men about their favorites. Navy remains the classic choice, but I’ve also included other colors and some subtle patterns that a few recommended. The soft, natural shoulder commonly found in Neapolitan tailoring features heavily here, and the guys I spoke to recommend sizing up for a roomier fit. Many of them noted that a good blazer should go equally well with a button-down or a vintage tee and be easy to travel with and care for. Warm-weather fabrics such as cotton and linen are great, but lightweight wool is the unsung hero for keeping you cool and sharp.
On a whim, I recently ordered a cotton-linen blazer for an upcoming wedding. But I’ve also found it perfect for working at coffee shops and even wearing on date nights. Knowing my measurements (I’ve got a 36-inch chest), I checked the size guide and opted for an extra-small. It still fits slightly oversize in just the right ways — it’s not too tight in the chest, the sleeves reach my wrists, and the hem ends just below my pants pockets. The jacket is incredibly lightweight, and with its flowy, breathable linen-blend fabric, it’s ideal for outdoor weddings. My only minor complaint is the absence of interior pockets, but that’s a small trade-off for a summer blazer that costs well under $100.
Buck Mason’s cotton sports coat is designer Colin Shields’s pick. “It’s light, soft, well-proportioned, and a great price,” he says. The 5.5-ounce woven fabric is smooth and crisp and has the breeziness of an anorak without the synthetic feel of actual technical outerwear. The previous iteration of this jacket was boxier and straighter and came in a stretch fabric, but the current, more tailored version works even better dressed up, the cotton poplin giving it structure without feeling stiff. Shields loves how it’s still casual enough to throw over a vintage T-shirt, and how the olive color pairs well with everything. And “as its name suggests, it’s a great jacket for throwing in a carry-on and putting on once you reach your destination,” he says.
For a more nontraditional option, there’s this knit blazer — all the others on this list are woven — which comes recommended by David Grivette, the managing editor of Huckberry’s journal. He likes how relaxed it is: “It’s something closer to a cardigan than a blazer while maintaining a tailored fit.” Even when it’s scorching hot in Austin, he’ll wear this with a simple white T-shirt and linen pants. “It’ll play a range too,” Grivette says. “If I need to throw an Oxford on underneath and slip on a pair of chinos and loafers, this blazer will still hang.”
I picked up this blazer earlier in the spring and have been wearing it everywhere. It’s a blend of cotton and linen, making it substantial enough for three seasons. On cooler days, I pair it with an Oxford cloth button-down, and on other days, I switch to a pocket T-shirt. Come fall, it will still be in my rotation, layered over a cashmere sweater. I appreciate this jacket’s functional design. It has two waist pockets and one chest pocket on the outside and two more on the inside. The cut is slightly boxy, which I find more comfortable than a more fitted one.
Broughton’s preferred blazer has a clean, modern shape with raglan seams, which creates an even softer shoulder and sportier look than what you’ll find with the other jackets here, which all have set-in sleeves. The extra button at the top lets you convert the blazer into a different kind of jacket altogether, while the wool-blend material keeps it from looking too much like a track jacket. The blocky, boxy, oversize fit gives it a casual feel. Like me, Broughton likes a jacket with ample storage: “They are important: lots and lots of pockets — ideally at least one hidden internal pocket, imperceptible when worn.” This Sillage blazer has plenty.
Natalino’s blazers, made in Naples, Italy, are widely popular among stylish British men — like Nicholas Walter, the co-founder of the London shoe label Horatio. “It’s a classic blazer, super-lightweight, and is perfect for going to the pubs around London day or night,” Walter says. He opted for the standard size 48 with no tweaks or adjustments. “I wanted this to be my throw-on for every day. It’s close on the chest but fuller through the waist and back, which I prefer when paired with denim,” he says. Along with the denim, Walter might wear the jacket with a white or vintage tee or a fine-gauge merino crewneck. The jacket can be dressed up too: “Since it’s a three-roll-two” — a three-button jacket pressed so that only the middle button is meant to be used — “with a slightly wider lapel, it sits quite well with a poplin shirt and a silk tie for wedding attire or fancier settings,” he says.
It has a soft shoulder and barely any canvas, so it folds in half easily, which makes it great for travel. And, Walter says, “The cloth has a slightly open weave, which tends not to crease too much. If it’s been stuffed in a carry-on bag with a pair of loafers on top, creases tend to fall out once it’s on your back.”
“This blazer feels like butter,” says Roderick Hunt, founder and creative director of the fashion publication and lifestyle brand Uniform Journal. “The linen is light but a great weight for the spring and summer; honestly, any season in Los Angeles.” The Crosby style is long enough and not too roomy to fit Hunt’s slender, six-foot-three frame, and he says the sleeve length is just right.
While at Pitti Uomo a few summers ago, Chris Olberding, the president of Gitman Vintage, found the perfect blazer at Eredi Chiarini in Florence. Made by Tagliatore, the two-button, single-breasted design with “zero lining makes it wonderfully deconstructed, yet it performs structured when paired with a shirt and tie,” he says. It’s cut on the trimmer side, so he sized up, and he says it feels like a loose long-sleeve merino-wool T-shirt. Olberding also appreciates the hidden details that make this blazer special, like “the navy suede inner pockets, internal side straps for shape, and a name tag I’ve yet to fill out.”
Joel Jeffery, co-founder of loungewear brand Desmond & Dempsey, had been looking for a double-breasted deconstructed jacket for a while and found this half-lined option from Italian brand Velasca. “I tend to wear it to dress up jeans or pants for when a suit is an overkill, but you need more than just a shirt,” he says. “I go a bit larger on the fit as I think it makes it easier to wear casually compared to what I’d usually want from a suit.” Instead of dry-cleaning, “I spray with a bit of lavender water and hang to dry, or steam,” Jeffery says. “The creases drop out quite well, so it’s not something I’d be trying to wash or dry-clean all the time.”
[Editor’s note: Velasca lists all prices in pounds sterling, so the price shown is an approximate conversion in U.S. dollars.]
For another linen option, there’s Todd Snyder’s jacket, recommended by Aaron Seymour-Anderson, head of brand and creative at Red Wing Shoe Co. Although it’s black, the airy fabric keeps it light and breathable, Seymour-Anderson says. It’s got all the hallmarks of classic Neapolitan tailoring: natural shoulder, double vents, and a chest pocket known as a barchetta (Italian for “little boat”). Seymour-Anderson goes for a full-tonal look with this jacket: “I usually wear it with a black T-shirt and black denim and, of course, my black Red Wing Heritage Shop Moc Oxfords.”
According to Michael Williams, founder of the blog and newsletter A Continuous Lean, Sid Mashburn’s Ghost Blazer is so lightweight that it feels like you’re not even wearing a jacket. He says, “There’s really nothing like this blazer; it looks like a typical blue blazer when you wear it, but when you hold it up to the light, you can virtually see through it.” It works well for a taller person, but Williams, who is five-foot-ten, loves the fit on himself too. He finds that the jacket travels well because the high-twist wool resists wrinkling.
“In 2021, I picked up the Drake’s Games Suit, and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever bought,” says Patagonia merchandising leader Luke Allen. Since the blazer is unlined and a cotton-linen blend, “it feels light and roomy whenever I wear it,” Allen says. “It feels more like a light jacket than anything remotely tailored.” He finds that the rich tobacco color of this jacket goes nicely with denim and loves wearing it over a denim western shirt with roper boots, but he’ll also put on a plain tee underneath and wear it with some New Balance trainers. “I also love styling it with beat-up double-knee Carhartts,” he says. Unlike the other blazers on this list, this one is machine washable.
WM Brown founding editor Matt Hranek’s favorite summer blazer comes in this navy hopsack, “a lovely summer-weight wool cloth,” which he says would work as a three-season jacket for temperate climates. Made in the J.Mueser atelier in Naples, Italy, it’s a blazer Hranek travels with frequently: “It has been worn on planes and trains, and I had it folded up in a bag,” Hranek says. “It is bulletproof in terms of wrinkles. It never comes out creased. I just shake it out, hang it up, and roll. In short, it is a killer travel jacket.” All he does to keep it clean is to go over it as needed with a garment brush. Hranek wears it with white denim and linen mostly, but he also says it “looks terrific with blue jeans and a light cotton roll neck for cool nights,” or with a polo with a stand-up collar. “I have even worn it with shorts.”
“New York–based Stòffa makes pretty much all the tailored clothing (and tailored-adjacent clothing) that I wear these days,” says fashion veteran and entrepreneur Josh Peskowitz. He has the brand’s single-breasted jacket in navy and brown and the double-breasted in charcoal grey. “The jacket almost feels like nothing and is completely unlined — even the sleeves,” he says. This would normally be a problem when wearing a long-sleeved shirt under it, but the smooth fabric doesn’t cause bunching. Peskowitz says the wool works well for summer: “It’s very light and dry feeling.” The fit on his jacket is slightly oversize and has a bit of a dropped shoulder. “I’ll typically wear it with its matching pants as a suit, but I’ve also worn it with jeans, army fatigues, white trousers, or whatever else,” says Peskowitz.
Henrik Berg of Swedish footwear brand Morjas believes in investing in shoes and tailoring. He likes his blazers long because he’s six-foot-three, and because they elongate his silhouette. Also, he says, “for an unstructured summer blazer, I prefer the fit to be generous, allowing the occasional cool breeze to seep through.” He styles this blazer with flared denim and a silk T-shirt and likes to elevate the look with an accessory. “I usually like to combine it with a belt of strong personality, like something from silver ostrich,” he says.
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