How to Wear a Summer Blazer

Make your blazer work overtime this summer with these helpful suggestions

By Dan Ahwa

Monday Oct. 31, 2016

1/7

High and Low: Nothing like denim to balance out looking too formal. A double-breasted blazer with a denim miniskirt is an easy way to play with versatile separates. Camilla & Marc blazer $870. Juliette Hogan shirt $179. Workshop skirt $229. Pictures / Guy Coombes

Artistic License: Get creative with the paintbrushes and customise a blazer and suit... or try this set from young label Backwater Clothing. Backwater Clothing blazer, $299, and pants $229. Liam T-shirt $89.

Sorbet Delight: A pastel blazer teamed with summer linen, a dainty floral print and crisp white is the perfect way to look positively fresh. Topshop blazer $155. Workshop shirt $298. Glassons jeans $60. Miss Crabb belt $180.

Garden Estate: Enjoy formal outdoor functions - race day or a garden wedding - in an all-white ensemble and hit of colour. Twenty-seven Names blazer $430. Camilla & Marc skirt, $600, and shirt $440. Barkers x Liberty pocket square $20.

Short Stories: Team a tidy blazer with a pair of double-pleated shorts and some sandals. It’s a polished way to stay cool as the temperature climbs. Armani Collezioni blazer, $1297, from Smith & Caughey’s. Wynn Hamlyn shorts $265. Deadly Ponies scarf $230.

Evening Standard: Be so Frenchy, so chic in a lace camisole under power pinstripes and a classic grey blazer. Zambesi blazer $1260. H&M camisole, $50, and pants $80.

New Wave: Channel artist Jean Michel Basquiat in the 80s with a pair of outré pants and a broad shouldered double-breasted power blazer. H&M blazer $99. Kenzo x H&M jumper $80. Backwater Clothing pants $229.

There's something about a blazer that makes you stand taller in the ultimate power pose: shoulders back, with hands placed firmly on hips. The ultimate versatile transeasonal item, the perfect blazer can work for all occasions - for after five functions when thrown over your favourite cocktail dress, or more casually when teamed with your favourite pair of jeans and sneakers. Think of it as an easy way to look polished and prepared, whatever the dress code.

Photographer / Guy Coombes. Fashion editor / Dan Ahwa. Hair and makeup / Paige Best. Model / Kendell Tobin from Clyne.

STOCKISTS: Backwater Clothing, Camilla & Marc, Deadly Ponies, Glassons, H&M, Liam, Miss Crabb, Smith & Caughey's, Topshop, Twenty-Seven Names, Wynn Hamlyn, Zambesi.