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The Hunt: Shrunken Blazers and Sweater Blazers

Business Casual· Fashion· The Hunt· Wear to Work | · · ·

sweater blazers

Sure, we all know what basics professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

2020 Update: It’s fun to see what shrunken blazers looked like in 2010, but you may want to check out our more recent roundup of the best sweater jackets for the office!

Pictured above, great sweater jackets for the office as of Nov. 2021: navy / black / gray / cropped black / beige (not pictured but also)

Hunting for the best sweater jackets for plus sizes? Some of our favorites include: gray / navy (also) / gray / black / green (not pictured but also also)

One of my favorite wardrobe staples is the shrunken blazer.  It can be a great way to keep an outfit sleek (such as by adding it to a sheath dress) or to make a more casual outfit, more professional (by adding it on top of, say, a hip-length tunic blouse) — it’s also a great look with most jeans. 

Expensive ones are easy to find (such as, say, the one pictured above (Elizabeth and James ‘Elizabeth’ Shrunken Ponte Knit Blazer, available at Nordstrom for $395) — but for today’s “Hunt,” I thought I’d look for ones under $150… If you’ve recently purchased a shrunken blazer, please let us know in comments!

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The below content concerns products that are probably out of stock now…

Urban Renewal Vintage Wool Blazer The cheapest item on the list is this “vintage” wool blazer from Urban Outfitters.  Love the blue for the pop of color, but there’s also a more sedate army green.  At $48 it’s not a bad way to try the trend, but because it’s wool it probably won’t be as comfortable or as stretchy as many of the other ones featured here.   Urban Renewal Vintage Wool Blazer
Next up, this ponte knit peplum jacket from Spiegel.  While I love the houndstooth pattern, I wish it came in solids.  It’s $59 at Spiegel (sizes 2-18). Fitted Ponté-Knit Houndstooth Peplum Jacket
Jones New York Signature Jacket, Three Button BlazerThis sweater blazer from Jones New York also fits the bill, particularly if you prefer a more relaxed fit to your “shrunken” sweater.  The seam at the waist is a nice touch, also.  It’s $69.98 at Macy’s (sizes S-XL). Jones New York Signature Jacket, Three Button Blazer
Aqua Ponte BlazerThis ponte blazer from Aqua brings comes with some interesting details reminiscent of menswear, most notably the shawl collar.  I’m also a fan of the interesting paneling on the back.  It’s $98 at Bloomingdale’s (sizes S-L). Aqua Ponte Blazer
Sun Spiral Jacket LOVE the unusual details on this “Sun Spiral Jacket” from Anthropologie — the pleats on the neckline and pocket, as well as the ornamental sun spiral on the front — gorgeous.  Also love that it’s a very wearable ivory — perhaps it’s just me, but I’d wear it January through August (and then stop, lest people think you’re still wearing summer clothes).  It’s $148 at Anthropologie (sizes 0-12). Sun Spiral Jacket

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments!

About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

    • Lawgirl

      I can’t pass up this opportunity to bad-mouth Spiegel. Horrible, horrible company. Evil. I bought a leather jacket back in February, cute, unique. I get it after a few days and it looks like craptastic. Cheap, ugly, hideous, you name it. I ship it back (and wisely kept my tracking code). A month passes, no confirmation that my return had been received, no credit to my charge card, no nothing. I email Spiegel. Get generic, boilerplate response. I call their call center (somewhere in Canada). Nice gal on the line tells me that they have indeed received my return merch, but won’t “process” my return for another 6-8 weeks. I’m like: “What, you’re in receipt of the returned merch and you’re holding my refund hostage?! WTF!!!!!!” I was livid. She calmly repeated the 6-8 week “rule,” and ignored my questions about why/how could it take that long to “process” something that they had in their warehouse. I told her it was theft and conversion. I reported them to the BBB and did a chargeback on my credit card, citing fraud. The credit card co sided with me and then Spiegel had the audacity to back-charge me for free shipping and return shipping. I HATE SPIEGELLLLLLLL. Ahh. rant over. All better. Off to have a drink now. LOL.

        • Lawgirl

          Yeah, @zee: I’m normally a calm, nonchalant consumer when it comes to poor customer service from online retailers, but the cRaZy snuck out of me when I saw the word SPIEGEL. Ugh….Makes me mad all over again… (self-talk, Lawgirl: deep, cleansing breaths…. ). LOL.

      • anon

        Ugh, the charging you for the free shipping alone would have been enough to turn me off from them forever in my book. A lot of the time that is what motivates me to actually order something, because it reduces the risk to the cost of the return shipping if I don’t like it.

        • Lawgirl

          Yes, they take my money for 6 weeks, interest free, without any business purpose beyond floating their bank account with other people’s money, and then “charge” me for the free shipping after the credit card company deemed their failure to issue a refund fraudulent. I read online about various SEC investigations and suits regarding their shady accounting and business dealings. Spiegel is a bad bad company…. http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/comp18020.htm

          • E Anon

            Wow, I did some googling and they are pretty awful. Sounds like a bunch of people with very questionable ethics ran the company into bankruptcy. Spun off Eddie Bauer but saddled it with too much debt & it too had to file (again). I wouldn’t mind terribly if a more reputable retailer took 6-8 weeks to process something but if I felt like I was actually taking significant credit risk in letting them hold my money, that would be a HUGE problem!

          • jcb

            No reputable retailer would hold your funds for 6-8 weeks after the receipt of merchandise. That is just blatant abuse of customers. Good to know!

    • fresh jd

      I ordered from Spiegel once and never again. I got a beach tote to use for my vacation and it fell apart during the vacation. So cheap, horrible, and craptastic.

  2. Forestgirl

    What makes all of these blazers shrunken? I’m not seeing the common thread (but maybe I’m dense).

    • AIMS

      They’re shorter & closer cut, sometimes with 3/4 length sleeves.
      Think of them as the anti-boyfriend blazer.

      • Beyond My Means...

        AIMS,

        Thank you for the clarification! I’ve wondered for awhile.

  3. Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler

    If anyone is interested, it’s my birthday month but I am on a spending freeze until the end of the year so, feel free to take.

    Spiegel: $15 Gift Card #: 6006496701754561764 PIN #: 1629

      • E Anon

        For anyone else looking to order on Spiegel, I was somewhat offput by the following: a shipping charge appeared early on in the checkout process, but it wasn’t until near the end of checkout that an additional $2 for “handling” showed up! Just fyi. There are also coupon codes floating around online – a lot are expired but I found a 15% off that wasn’t (239, I think).

  4. Lyssa

    Threadjack: I’m going to a “Victory Celebration” for a Congressional candidate who’s a local attorney who’s campaign I’ve worked on tomorrow night. (It’s pretty much a sure win for him- we’re a one party town.)

    What does one wear to this sort of thing? I was thinking cocktail dress w/ blazer at first, but then I was worred about being over dressed (people tend to dress pretty casually in my area.) I’d like to look very nice, because there will probably be pictures and I’m pretty superficial like that, but don’t want to stick out. I thought about going in a suit and acting like I just left work, but I work from home. Plus, I’d like to wear something somewhat fun.

    I’m an attorney, and I do hope to do some networking/handing out of business cards while I’m there. The event is at a local mid-priced hotel, and invites were sent by email.

    TIA!

    • Anon for this

      I think your outfit sounds fine. For me, I’d probably wear a nice sheath dress with a blazer; you aren’t quite as formal as an interview suit, but you look polished. If you feel very overdressed, just take off the jacket. Have fun celebrating!

      • Bonnie

        I think a cocktail dress may be a little too much. Most of the people at campaign celebration events I’ve been to have been pretty casually dressed. A sheath with a nice necklace would be a good middle ground.

      • JAS

        I have worked on campaigns, and if a lot of the campaign staff will be there, those people will count themselves lucky to have time to change into clothes that aren’t sweaty or stained after toiling all day. ; )

        That said, I think a simple sheath with a blazer or maybe a belted sweater and boots would look lovely. However, I have noticed that to some people any black dress automatically= formal so if you are worried about looking overdressed, color is something to consider.

    • N

      Despite being a girly girl – do NOT wear a dress unless you’re fairly elderly (like 65+). I’ve been a field director, I’ve been a volunteer, and if you show up not looking like you were in the trenches today, you will send the wrong message. And you never know what jeans and sweatshirt clad person is a CEO of a major company, a partner at a big firm, etc. (right now, in my area I can think of at least 5-10 “big” name networking persons will be at the local victory party who will look like they were at the polls or driving coffee around 7 am to 8 pm – because they were).

      Nice pants, sweater set or blazer. Campaign t shirt over long sleeved T always perfect here.

  5. Victoria

    I LOVE these “The Hunt” features… but any chance you could try to incorporate plus sizes (beyond size 18)? It’s so dispiriting to see all these awesome pieces, none of which fit me.

    • Anonymous

      Second this – hunting for nice business attire over a size 18 is the ultimate hunt challenge! So hard to find.

    • Mella

      Thirded. Actually for me it’s shape more than size – neither the shrunken blazer nor last week’s Talbots green fitted sweater would work with my 34-inch bust/40-inch waist. I tend to wear a lot of A-line tunics under my jackets.

    • AS

      I agree. But be forewarned: in the past, when people have asked for plus-size recs, the trolls come out and advise us to just lose weight.

  7. Gem

    I’m UK based, so use Debenhams a fair bit. Like any department store it does carry a range of brands so the quality varies between them, however in general I’m usually happy with my purchases. While I can’t speak for the online customer service the instore service is fine (example: a couple of years back the red dye from my debenhams carrier bag ran onto a cream coat. Debenhams covered the dry clean cost and made a goodwill gesture in case the dye didn’t lift). If there’s a specific brand or two you’re looking at I might well be able to offer a more in depth opinion on the quality, styling or sizing.

  8. Bridget

    What do we think of the “shrunken blazer” look on busty ladies? They seem to be more often styled to be worn open, which is a look I like and which would allow me to put off/avoid expensive alterations to avoid the buttons pulling. But I don’t want to look even more like I’m “busting out” than necessary.

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