Are boxy jackets the new blazers?

Bored of your blazer? Enter the little boxy jacket. This counterpoint to the more masculine, tailored style has been popping up once again at fashion shows, parties and events. What defines it? The archetypal “LBJ” would be an iconic tweed version from Chanel, with a shorter length, patch pockets and a high round neck without lapels.

“The little jacket has exploded everywhere,” says Clare Richardson, stylist, consultant and founder of preloved fashion site Reluxe, “from Chanel to Celine and Nili Lotan, and on the high street as well. The blazer became a wardrobe staple, and I’ve always worn them, but many fashion brands are giving them a newer update.”

For the past few years the oversized blazer worn with jeans or trousers, and maybe hoop earrings and a baseball cap, has been the most popular uniform in fashion. Sure, they are useful, but such ubiquity can feel overwhelming. Especially when every clone-like influencer (with a bouncy blowout and miniature dog) is wearing them.

It’s not time to list those masculine jackets on eBay just yet, though, more a sign that a fresh alternative is making its presence felt. “Maybe it is a bit of a kickback from the oversized blazer, but I think ‘that girl’ will wear both because they are really versatile,” Richardson says. At the Saint Laurent spring/summer 2025 show, big-shoulder power suits happily coexisted with little brocade jackets in jewel colours.

Similarly, Amy Bannerman, eBay’s preloved style director, tells me that “while I’ll always love oversized blazers for their effortless appeal, I’m starting to source more fitted and ladylike counterparts. The little boxy jacket is steadily becoming a winter essential due to the resurgence of ’80s-inspired fashion. I’ve noticed more people embracing structured, boxy silhouettes, especially at the recent Fashion Awards.”

The little boxy jacket is steadily becoming a winter essential due to the resurgence of ’80s-inspired fashion

Others may breathe a sigh of relief that the more feminine jacket feels edgy again. Leila Kashani, a luxury brand consultant and event curator, has a selection, from designer labels such as Chanel and vintage Moschino (in gold-fringed tweed) to independent brands such as Liberowe, which suit her better because she has “quite a petite frame and the oversized blazer kind of eats me up”.

She considers the style extremely versatile, wearing it for everything from parties to work meetings to lunches. It’s a handy quality in the Christmas party season, when you might go straight out after the office and don’t fancy the slightly awkward process of disappearing from your desk at 5.50pm to get glammed up.

Kashani says she recently wore a black jacket from Liberowe with & Other Stories tailored black trousers and pointed shoes. “I think in the festive season a total black look really works from day to night, and another hack is a kitten heel,” she says. “You can walk in those and it gives you a little bit of an elevated posture for a cocktail event or dinner.” Plus, a smaller jacket will fit under a roomy coat.

Richardson thinks the little boxy jacket can “feel quite special” and that “for the evening they’re the equivalent of the little black dress”. Versions in velvet, sparkly tweed or with a decorative trim, especially with matching trousers, offer an alternative to the ubiquitous tuxedo. Self-Portrait, Maje and Sandro are good mid-priced contemporary brands for these.

Some of the most interesting styles are from smaller independent labels such as La Veste, a Spanish brand set up by stylist Blanca Miro and designer Maria de la Orden. Named after the French word for “jacket”, it has an array of quirky styles with a vintage feel, such as a short aubergine one with gold trim in a scalloped pattern (£335, lavestelaveste.com).

Meanwhile, de la Orden has collaborated with Sézane (via her other namesake label) on a capsule range, which also includes neat crop jackets in velvet and gold brocade with matching trousers (Rebeka jacket, Sézane X MDLO, £175, sezane.com).

Blazé Milano has gone in hard on its Bolero style featuring curved pockets, which comes with matching skirts and trousers, in tweeds, denim, velvet and even sequins (Bolero jacket in brown sequins, £1,290, netaporter.com).

Destree’s puff-sleeve, cinch waist Amoako jacket (£395, destree.com), as worn by Rosé from Blackpink, comes in richly coloured satins with matching trousers: 1960s French party girl meets a courtier from Wolf Hall.

And sometimes the little jacket is actually a cardigan. Dense, felt-like textures or Milano knits give the cardigan the smart structure of a blazer with the comfort of a knit.

This look is also easy to source second-hand. Should you go for the real deal with vintage Chanel, Richardson suggests picking a simpler colour, “be it a navy, a gorgeous cream or chocolate that you’re not going to go off”. There are lots of more affordable jackets on second-hand sites too. I just bought a lovely scoop-neck Carven one with a peplum for £15.

Bannerman says she recently sourced “the most incredible vintage Jaeger velvet skirt suit on eBay, which has these gorgeous oversized gold buttons that give it such an elevated feel . . . When I’m searching, I often use terms like ‘vintage ’80s skirt suit’ or simply ‘skirt suit’ and filter by ‘used’ to discover hidden gems. Unexpected brands like Next, Escada and Jaeger often come up with pieces that are surprisingly close to the Chanel version.”

There is, of course, a valid risk of looking a bit stuffy in a first lady, royal family, tea at the Ritz sort of way, or like Barbie in her pink Chanel. Tactics to avert this include not going too tight or nipped at the waist, and sticking to a straight shape, as well as picking a slightly surprising proportion, such as an overtly cropped length. Plenty of detail, such as gold buttons and pockets, is often more flattering than a plain front with a discreet fastening.

There is always the option to wear with jeans. Straight vintage 501s would evoke ’90s supermodels (in theory at least), flares add a bit of ’70s cool, while horseshoe jeans feel super modern. But on no account team with a pencil dress unless you are about to declare a new building officially open alongside the local mayor.

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