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Spoiler alert: The best black blazers for men are about to replace every other piece of outerwear in your rotation. Once the exclusive domain of weddings and funerals, they’ve quietly emerged as a shadow contender for the tailoring crown, a dark horse challenger that offers all the versatility of their lighter counterparts with a little cinematic edge. (A quick point of etiquette: if you’re the type of menswear blowhard that still insists a “blazer” should technically be navy blue and come with brass buttons, you’re playing yourself. And definitely a huge downer at parties.)
The right black blazer should combine the gothic panache of an Addams family member with the effortless cool of Marcello Mastroianni—or, for that matter, John Wick himself. And when it comes to wearing one, all those antiquated rules you used to swear by need not apply. Instead, think of it as a foolproof leather jacket alternative, and then sommelier your way to an ideal pairing. (We’d recommend starting with a taste of slim jeans and Chelsea boots and then giving slouchy trousers and slip-ons a swirl.)
To help you ditch the blues for good, we tracked down the best black blazers for men on the market right now. Whether you’re looking for one that’s cut big and boxy, like Jerry Lorenzo’s genre-smashing take on ’80s power suiting, or slim and razor-sharp, like Hedi Slimane’s spin on classically French tailoring, there’s one here for you. Welcome to the dark side.
The Best All-Around Black Blazer
When it comes to tailoring, Italy isn’t famous for its sense of restraint. If English suiting tends towards the strong-shouldered and austere and French suiting skews minimal and hopelessly chic, Italian suiting is often brash and in-your-face, widely cherished (and/or reviled) for its Pitti-ready flourishes. Often, but not always. Because Boglioli’s signature K-jacket, a lightweight wool hopsack number outfitted with simple notch lapels, is about as classic as it gets. It might not get you snapped loitering outside the Palazzo, but if you’re looking for a blazer that’ll help you look effortlessly put-together no matter the occasion it’s the only one you’ll need.
The Best Black Blazer That Doesn’t Feel Like a Blazer
The Japanese heritage whizzes at Beams know a thing or two about yanking once stodgy wardrobe staples firmly into the here and now. The brand’s casual interpretation of the classic black blazer—cut to fit like a cozy house cardigan—is specifically designed with suiting skeptics in mind. The patch pockets and sleek silver-tone hardware means it’ll look just as comfortable thrown over a t-shirt on an early-morning coffee run as it will paired with a rumpled button-down on a late-night Zoom.
The Best Black Blazer for Hitting the Outdoors
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Veilance’s supremely functional blazer a miracle of modern textile engineering. How else to explain the laundry list of product specs—the wind and water resistant construction, the micro-seam allowances—tucked beneath its sleek nylon exterior? You probably wouldn’t expect a blazer to come with the high-powered capability of your most practical rain jacket, but that’s exactly what Arc’teryx’s luxury diffusion line promises. And if you can’t kick your techwear habit (or just want to level-up your Runyon Canyon fit pics) this is the only piece of tailoring to do it in.
The Best Black Blazer with Serious Fashion Cred
Like Bane, Yohji Yamamoto was molded by the dark. (Or at least, we’d believe it if he was.) There isn’t a designer on the planet who understands the textural nuances of the color black more intuitively than the legendary Japanese avant-gardist, who’s been churning out dark, deceptively rigorous tailoring since the late ’70s. Waxing poetic on the color for the Times, Yohji once described black as a color that says “I don’t bother you—don’t bother me!” His precisely-cut blazer combines an inky shade of the color he’s famous for with a zen master’s appreciation for aesthetic detail. You might not be bothered wearing it, but you will be approached by an endless barrage of curious onlookers desperate to know where you got it—and how they can get their own.
The Best Budget Black Blazer
At this point, our love for Chrisophe Lemaire’s ongoing collaboration with Uniqlo is no secret. We can’t help it: There’s few better places to score the kind of high-quality not-so-basics you’d have to shell out top dollar to get your hands on at a luxury counterpart. The jacket included in the duo’s latest drop comes with the requisite design chops, sure, but it also refuses to compromise on the comfort factor. Cut from a super-soft double-faced wool that’s just a little bit boxy and a whole lot relaxed, it’ll sync up seamlessly with chunky loafers or sturdy boots—and look dynamite under an equally beefy topcoat.
