A Jacket as a Friend: My Tailored Blazer

Like a true friend, you might not go out with her for ages, but the moment you open the wardrobe and take her off the hanger, it feels like you only parted ways last night.

For a while, I got lost in carefree flings: the chunky sweater, the snug top, the breezy blouse, until one day I realized I couldn’t live without her. No question about it: in the harem of fleeting passions that is my wardrobe, the jacket is my one true love, the kind of eternal romance I’ll never tire of.

Flowing dresses, shirt-and-skirt combos, T-shirts and jeans. There’s no look a blazer can’t match, no matter your age or the season, as long as you’ve got the right one. It’s not about the color or the shape; a great jacket is one you don’t even notice you’re wearing.

I still remember the first top-of-the-line jacket I bought for myself, it was a true rite of passage into style. As a proud Biella native, from a land of skilled weavers where people offer you a handshake and place their other hand on your arm to feel the fabric, I held a piece of it in my hands (the “real deal” has a way of stretching so effortlessly). Then came the inspection: the seams: straight, tight, and perfectly aligned like a well-behaved group of chic schoolgirls; the slits, falling just right; the hand-finished stitching, a signature of high-end tailoring; and the collar flap at the back, because if the seam isn’t properly covered, the jacket doesn’t fit the body as it should.

And when I finally put it on… oh, the thrill of feeling it embrace my shoulders without weighing them down!