Very often, the formal costume, the one that one will wear out of professional obligation, is frowned upon. Unfairly relayed to the simple work uniform, he refrains from all kinds of fantasies and only stops at three shades: navy blue, gray and brown. However, it is quite possible to combine pleasure and professional outfit, the key is knowing how to choose the pieces that make up said outfit. The one where our attention must begin is without a doubt the jacket (or the blazer). Personally, I have a weakness for double-breasted jackets, which bring that elegant / relaxed side that I particularly appreciate. For 15 years now, Anthony Boyspecializes in the production of costumes and designs, of course, crossed blazers. I was able to test one of his models, named Lamartine, here is what I thought:
Technical sheet
- Model: Lamartine
- Style: crossover jacket
- Canvas: 100% virgin wool (Marzotto house)
- Colors: navy blue
- Reverse: points 12 centimeters
- Pockets: 2, patch
- Lining: navy 100% viscose
- Assembly: semi-canvas
- Manufacturing: European
Design
Once the blazer is out of its packaging, I can take full notice of it. And I must say that what I have in front of my eyes speaks to me! This blazer is therefore a double-breasted jacket made using a 100% navy blue merino wool canvas. Its peaked lapels and two rows of contrasting buttons (they are gray) give it a successful English style. On the front, the pockets are patched, which breaks the sometimes too formal side of this type of piece. At the back, the brand has made two slits for maximum comfort.
Design
I go into details by concentrating first on the canvas used by Anthony Boy for the making of this Lamartine. And it was a 100% merino wool sheet that caught his attention. For the record, the latter comes from Marzotto, an Italian house renowned since 1836 in the making of fabrics and costumes. Navy blue, however, this canvas has a certain pattern due to the way it was woven. It’s pretty cool and it works really well in this period!
After the fabric, I naturally turned to the lapels of the jacket. These are exactly 12 cm at their widest point and can be called peak lapels due to their point shape. I looked through them to stop on the locking system. Here, Anthony Boy has chosen a 3 × 2, that is to say 2 columns of 3 buttons. Obviously, only the right one (the wearer’s right) is functional and only two buttons are used to close the jacket. Inside, there is a button, invisible, which is used to keep the two sides in place.
I stop for a while on the assembly of the shoulders and the plastron of the jacket. Here, the brand has chosen a Neapolitan shoulder, that is to say with a very thin or even almost non-existent shoulder pad. Unlike the English shoulder, this principle allows for a more natural fall of the shoulder, which is ideal for a chic / casual style, but also for builds with strong shoulders. The assembly is a semi-canvas.
For the interior, Anthony Boy has chosen “simple but effective”. It is therefore natural that the brand turned to a navy blue viscose fabric. On the sides, there is a first wallet pocket with a double piping opening (on the left) and, below, two other small pockets. On the right, another wallet pocket, closed with a button this time, completes the right side. Only an orange label with the name of the brand embroidered disrupts this set.
Fitting
Although it’s been a while since I last had a piece of the brand in my hands, I am quite familiar with how Anthony Boy cuts his pieces. So I went with my current jacket size, which is a 54. Traditionally, I’m more used to wearing jackets with a certain padding., so it is with a little excitement that I test this jacket with Neapolitan shoulders. Once on the back, I don’t have much to complain about: the middle is exactly as I like it, namely close to the body, without compressing. Normally, the sleeves are the main weak point of the blazers that I have bought in ready-to-wear. Here, and although they are not perfect, they are surprisingly correct and stop at the birth of the hand. As for the cut (called “Venezia” by the brand), we are on something approaching a fitted cut, and that’s ideal! Finally, the length of the jacket makes it stop just below the buttocks, the minimum union.
