How to Easily Tell the Difference Between a Suit Jacket, Blazer, and Sport Coat

Hello, friends.

The other day, I posed a question to my Instagram followers: Do you know the difference between a sport coat, a suit jacket, and a blazer? The responses were split evenly, with half of my respondents saying they knew the difference and the other half saying they had no idea.

However, thinking you know the difference between two items and actually understanding it are two separate things. Many people will confidently point to a sport coat and call it a blazer because they aren’t aware of the minor things that distinguish them.

In this article, I will point out the defining features of these three jacket styles, and I will also point out some of the subtler details that you may be unaware of. After reading this, you will be able to tell the difference with little to no effort, and you’ll also become the go-to resource for your friends (or maybe not, but hey, at least you’ll know for yourself).

Suit Jackets

Let’s start with the suit jacket since it’s often the easiest to tell apart.

To put it simply, a suit jacket is the jacket portion of a suit (pretty self-explanatory, no?), which is a jacket and trousers that are cut from the same cloth. That means they have the same fabric, weave, and pattern. You can easily tell if something is a suit jacket since it will often be quite formal and structured. Many suits (especially British-style ones) emphasize the chest and shoulders, and they’ll add padding to those areas to make them look more impressive.

Black two piece suit, with a silver and black basketweave tie by Fort Belvedere and a white pocket square.

Most suits are made from worsted wool, which is the flat, untextured material that you see all the time, and what the suit I’m wearing in the above picture is made of. Another popular fabric is flannel, which is also usually made from wool but has a fuzzier and softer appearance due to a unique process used during the production cycle. I’ll discuss the differences between these two fabrics more in-depth in another article.

How to wear:

Of course, you can wear your suit jacket as it was intended, that being with its matching pair of pants. Since suit jackets are, by design, the most formal of these three jacket types, you shouldn’t combine a suit jacket with a separate pair of pants unless they’re of equal formality, and certainly don’t wear them with jeans. It will just look downright odd. Wearing a suit jacket with chinos is debatable. If your chinos have dressy elements, like a pronounced center crease, and the suit jacket has a more casual weave or color, then the combination can look quite nice. As always, err on the side of caution.

Many suits are made to sit quite close to the body, so if you’re layering while wearing a suit, make sure that your base layers are thin, so you have enough room to be comfortable. At most, I would say to layer with a light, v-neck sweater if you’re wearing a dress shirt, or you can skip the shirt and layer with a thin turtleneck.

Blazers

While many people use the terms “blazer” and “sport coat” interchangeably, what defines a blazer is surprisingly quite restrictive.

A blazer is a jacket that is sold separately, without a matching pair of pants, and it can either be solid in color or have a striped pattern. Therefore, any other design, such as a glen check or houndstooth, would automatically disqualify it from being a blazer. Blazers usually have the same features as suit jackets, meaning they’re more structured and padded, as opposed to the less structured sport coat.

Blazers usually come in bright or commanding colors, as they’re meant to grab attention and attract the eye. Additionally, the buttons typically come in eye-catching materials, such as brass or mother of pearl.

The most common blazer configuration comes in a navy blue color with brass buttons and flap pockets, as seen in the picture below.

Single-breasted navy blazer with brass buttons, gray shawl collar sweater, and burgundy grenadine tie.

Many people associate blazers with “preppy” style, meaning the style commonly found in Ivy League schools of New England. Many clubs, such as rowing clubs, commonly give out blazers to their members, with crests on both the buttons and the jacket that identify them as members of their clubs.

Additionally, the large companies that make blazers for the mass market will also include insignia or a crest on the buttons, which is another easy way to tell if something is a blazer.

How to wear:

In terms of formality, blazers sit between suits and sport coats, meaning they’re easy to combine with various items, both more and less formal. One of the most popular ways of wearing a blazer is the so-called Ivy “uniform,” consisting of a navy blazer, tan chinos (khakis), and a striped tie. You can also wear blazers with regular worsted wool or flannel pants, as I’m wearing in the picture above, or even a pair of jeans if they’re dark enough.

Once again, when it comes to layering, you want to make sure that your base layers are thin, as blazers aren’t that roomy. A thin sweater beneath a blazer looks fantastic, as does a dress shirt and tie.

In terms of footwear, I’m going to be a stickler and say you should avoid wearing sneakers with a blazer. It’s a look that I see far too often, but the formality clash between sneakers and a blazer is too much for me. A much better choice would be to opt for a pair of loafers, double monks, derbies, or oxfords. (I will go in-depth about these different shoe types in another post.) You can also opt for a pair of chukka boots (like my awesome pair from Meermin) or Chelsea boots.

Sport Coats

Finally, we come to sport coats, also known as sport jackets or odd jackets (not odd like strange, but meaning by itself). Like the blazer, sport coats do not come with a matching pair of pants and are sold as standalone jackets.

Sport coats come in the widest variety of colors, patterns, and fabrics out of all these jacket types. You can find them in fabrics like flannel, tweed, and fresco, and they come in various patterns like windowpanes, checks, herringbones, and much more. In terms of color, you can find them in typical colors, like blues and grays, but you can also find them in tans, browns, greens, and even more daring colors like purple.

Blue sport coat with white windowpane pattern, navy tie, and blue and white check shirt by Twillory.

A sport coat is the least formal of all these garments - it’s designed to fit looser and is less structured and padded. You’ll commonly find completely unlined sport coats, unlike suit jackets and blazers, which usually have a lining. This is aptly demonstrated in the picture above. The sport coat I’m wearing is far less structured than my suit jacket and blazer, with more natural shoulders and an unpadded chest.

How to wear:

When it comes to styling a sport coat, the sky is the limit. You can create a more formal look by pairing it with flannel pants/chinos, a dress shirt, and a tie. Alternatively, you can go super casual by wearing it with a t-shirt, light-wash jeans, and sneakers. I advocate for the more formal look since I find sport coats incongruous with t-shirts, but that choice is up to you. Of course, you can find and experiment with many other looks in the middle ground between formal and casual.

Since, by nature, sport coats are looser fitting, they’re perfect for layering with sweaters like v-necks, turtlenecks, and cardigans. I would suggest going with a pair of double monks, derbies, or loafers for the shoes, but you can experiment with the texture and maybe opt for suede. Any of the boots that I mentioned above would pair great as well.

The verdict is still out for me regarding sneakers with sport coats. I strongly suggest that you don’t wear any form of athletic sneakers with them, but a pair of all-white minimalist sneakers with a sport coat can look quite nice.

Conclusion

By focusing on the defining details, it’s easy to distinguish between these three jacket types. I hope that this post will prove to be a valuable resource for you and that in the future, you can point out the differences between them with confidence.

As always, if you have any questions or suggestions for future blog posts, please leave them in the comments below. You may even see yourself featured in future posts if you give suggestions!

Farewell for now.