A light to medium blue sport coat has long been a wardrobe staple for many men during the warmer months of the year. So just for fun, I've gone back to the HTJ Archives in an attempt to find various interpretations of this type of jacket over the decades. The images below are a representative collection of this type of jacket from various traditional clothiers over an almost sixty year span. Image above from Brooks Brothers Spring 1983 catalog.
J. Press, 1954 Spring & Summer. The choice of center or side vents is unique during this early postwar period. However, denim blazers in contrast trimmed University Colors have, again, left me speechless. If only these were still offered - I would brass up for one in dark blue with red trim in a heartbeat.
Brooks Brothers, 1962 Spring & Summer. These items are from Brooks Brothers' University Shop collection. The odd jacket offered in an oxford weave (item #653) is something that Brooks Brothers has consistently continued to offer over the years, though not always in a pure 3/2 sack configuration. Brooks Brothers always seemed to be on the cutting edge of natural and synthetic fiber blends. This, I feel, was the correct vein to mine, rather than the synthetically treated "all-cotton" fabrics of today. I'm probably swimming against the current here, though.
J. Press, 1979 Spring & Summer. All three of these winsome jackets are still being offered today by J. Press. That one can still purchase classic items like these today is is one thing that I greatly admire about J. Press. Sure, some items aren't offered now and then, but J. Press has remained pretty consistent about offering many classic items in the trad canon. Say what you like about Press, at least they remain a bearer of the Trad Standard. Skipper blue lined with navy/white gingham check? I mean, where does the queue form? Yet another reason to like 1979. As if I needed one.
Brooks Brothers, 1981 Summer. Again, Brooks Brothers can be seen offering blends that were no doubt cool and easy to care for. A word of caution here: resist the urge to wear the jacket with the matching trousers in the catalog. They were made from the same cloth and offered in the same catalog - but not as a suit.
Cable Car Clothiers, 1983 Summer. This is a great looking poplin blend jacket, in a color that one doesn't often see in poplin. Same rule as above with the Brooks Brothers 1981 catalog, resist wearing the light blue trousers and jacket together. Just don't go there. The tan and navy could most likely be worn together, as tan and navy poplin suits are pretty classic fare.
J. Press, 1997 Spring & Summer. 1997 is just far enough in the past to offer some perspective. Evocative of the 1990s, "casual" is a word that many traditional clothiers might not use so easily today. I like to think of myself as optimistic, but I remain a bit more pessimistic that men's clothing will ever fully recover from the casual trend that so thoroughly marked the decade of the 1990s. That said, J. Press offered a tremendously wide array of warm weather sport coats in this little catalog, perhaps more so than even today.
"That's What Love Will Make You Do" Jerry Garcia Band 3/18/78 Marin County Veteran's Auditorium, San Rafael, CA. Soundboard.
