Thirty years of "nothing to wear" and I never wrote a word about a blazer. This is the exception
Six things the Rebecca blazer gets right that most blazers get wrong, from a woman who does not review clothes.
Let me be clear about who is writing this. I am Nancy, I am 52, I live in Stamford, and I have never before sat down to write about a blazer. What I have done is stand in front of a full wardrobe most mornings for thirty years and decide I have nothing to wear: blazers too boxy, blazers too stiff to lift my arms in, and one bargain that went shiny at the elbows by Easter. So this is not a review. It is a woman who was wrong about blazers, owning up to it.
The one I am writing about is the Rebecca, from Mavira London, a small British boutique that has been quietly making everyday things a little nicer. I first noticed it on a friend at her birthday lunch, thrown over a plain white shirt and jeans, and when the boutique later asked whether they could share my letter, I agreed, as long as I could be completely honest in it.
A warm brown blazer with soft shoulders and a nipped-in waist that made jeans look like a decision. At a pub lunch. Bear with me.
Here is what thirty years of getting dressed taught me. Blazers come in two piles. The office pile: stiff, boxy, shoulder-padded things that make you look like you are about to chair a meeting, even at the weekend. And the cheap pile: thin, shapeless jackets that look tired after three wears and crease the moment you sit down.
Stiff and boxy, or cheap and tired. Those were the choices, and I had done my time in both.
The Rebecca is the first blazer I have owned that is neither, and having worn it to work, to a long lunch in Burghley Park and on the train to London for a show, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The day it came. I opened the parcel expecting another blazer for the back of the wardrobe. I owed it an apology by the weekend.
It gives you a waist without squeezing you
The shoulders are softly structured rather than padded, and the waist is gently shaped, so it follows your figure instead of hiding it. I look pulled together, not boxed in. It goes over a shirt and jeans, a simple dress or my work trousers, and it looks right with all three.
Having a proper look at the lapels and stitching at the kitchen table. Neat all the way round.
My seventeen-year-old daughter, who thinks everything I own is "a bit much", asked if she could borrow it. I said no.
Dressed up or down in a minute
It is the most versatile thing in my wardrobe. Over a T-shirt for a Saturday coffee, over a silk blouse for dinner, over a knitted dress for a birthday lunch. I have stopped changing my whole outfit when plans change. I just put the blazer on.
I went from the office to a dinner in town without going home. Swapped my flats for heels in the car and that was that.
Light enough to actually move in
It is lightweight and easy to wear, with a relaxed feel that lasts all day. I can reach across the desk, drive, or carry the shopping in without feeling like I am in a suit of armour. By the end of a long day I have not once wanted to take it off.
I wore it for a full day at work and a parents' evening afterwards, and forgot I had it on.
Proper pockets you can use
The front pockets are real, not sewn shut for show. My phone and keys go in, and on a chilly walk back to the car my hands do too. These are small things, until you have owned a blazer where you cannot put anything anywhere.
A classic shape that will not date
It is a timeless tailored cut in a warm brown that goes with denim, black, cream and navy. Nothing about it shouts "this season", which is exactly why I can see it looking just as right in five years as it does now.
It comes in sizes XS to 3XL. Check the size guide on the page before you order, and think about whether you want room for a jumper underneath. I did.
It earns its keep every day
This is the part I did not expect. It does the office on Mondays, the farmers' market on Saturdays, lunch with my sister in Peterborough and dinner out with my husband. My old blazers each had one job. This one has all of them, and it hardly ever makes it back onto the hanger.
The Rebecca, against the blazers you have been buying
You can find a blazer for twenty-odd pounds anywhere. I know, because I own the evidence. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Boxy, padded shoulders that add bulk
Only works for the office
Stiff fabric you cannot lift your arms in
Fake pockets sewn shut
Looks tired after a season
Soft shoulders and a gently shaped waist
Dresses up or down with anything
Lightweight and easy to move in
Real front pockets
A timeless tailored cut that stays right
About the price
The Rebecca is £59.95, down from £172.00.
I will be honest and say I do not know how the original price was arrived at, and I did not lose any sleep over it. What I can tell you is that a sale price this low is usually where I start wondering what is wrong with something, and a month of wearing it most days, I have not found it.
And I do not like being hurried into things, so I read the small print before I ordered. Delivery is free and tracked anywhere in the UK, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee, and if you buy more than one piece you save up to 20%. If it had turned out to be another blazer for the back of the wardrobe, I could simply have sent it back. I did not need to.
In the hallway, ready for Saturday in town. It lives on that hook now, not in the wardrobe.
If you have a work week, a birthday lunch, a dinner out or just a Saturday in town in your diary, and you keep standing in front of a full wardrobe with nothing to wear, this is the blazer I would hand you myself. Stop changing your whole outfit and go and have a look.
Nancy
Rebecca | Tailored Everyday Blazer
- Softly structured shoulders, gently shaped waist
- Dresses up for dinner or down for daytime
- Lightweight and comfortable all day
- Real front pockets
- Timeless tailored cut in warm brown
- Sizes XS to 3XL
- Bundle & save up to 20%
- Free tracked UK delivery
30-day money-back guarantee · Free tracked UK delivery