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For all the modern advances in airfare, traveling has gotten immensely, almost unbearably stressful. Outrageous luggage fees, last-minute gate changes, minor technical issues like losing a door midflight — it’s a far cry from the martini-and-cigarette-fueled aerial romps that Mad Men promised (this is perhaps for the best) or even the glammed-up days of ’90s celebrities and Jamba Juice at LAX.
Perhaps most egregious of all, shrinking seats and overhead storage means that not even your outwear is safe from plane-induced peril. With the chances of you making it to your economy deluxe plus seat unscathed slim, two options seemingly lay before you: deplaning with whatever wrinkled shell of the blazer you made the mistake flying in (read: stuffing into the overhead compartment), or an intimate tete-a-tete with Cincinnati’s shadiest dry cleaner.
It doesn’t have to be this binary. There’s a better way to travel, and it’s not a pair of sweat-wicking underwear or Delta One, although both are equally as important. There’s a breed of stylish, comfy jackets out there there, designed to stand up to bumpy, toddler-filled flights and landing gear failure without so much as a creased lapel. The best travel blazers won’t just survive your red-eye — they’ll help you win the day.
These Travel Pants Are Perfect for Long Days and Bumpy Flights
It’s 2024. No more flying in sweats.What Are Travel Blazers?
A travel blazer is just that — a blazer designed specifically for the unique challenges of long hours on a plane and sweaty taxi commutes. Given the particular demands surrounding jet-setting, most travel blazers differ from traditional suiting in a variety of ways.
Travel blazers often utilize special technical or natural fabrics designed to better retain their shape, keep out wrinkles and provide sweat-resistant relief. Similarly, these jackets typically feature a more relaxed, often unstructured fit that allows for increase mobility and ventilation. These garments, regardless of their exact specifications, project a more casual fit without sacrificing anything in the way of looks. They fold easy, allow for the inevitable second or third use, and work with a variety of outfits.
What Are Travel Blazers Made From?
Retails historically turned to hopsack — a material constructed using a basket-weave technique that can be applied to a blazer made of wool, or a wool and cotton blend, and one that refuses to wrinkle — to imbue travel blazers with their distinctive properties. The pattern also resists stains, and thanks to its construction, breathes better than most suits. (Think of the performance you’d expect from a waffle-weave towel compared to standard terry-cloth cotton.)
However, hopsack isn’t the only fabric keeping suits fresh for travel. In the past decade, a bevy of suit suppliers have taken it upon themselves to release “jetsetter” lines, which often feature “unstructured” or “unconstructed” blazers with innovations focused on breathability and stretch. These jackets feature unpadded shoulders, little or no lining, and a lightweight technical blend, which can range from wool or cotton to nylon. Much like athleticwear, these jackets often feature a minuscule percentage of a stretching agent, like elastane, to help better retain shape and extend the range of motion.
With the 411 on everything TB — short for travel blazers, keep up — all that’s left is to check into your long haul and express ship one of the many superior coats that we’ve neatly rounded up for you. From a classic Brooks Brothers hopsack coat to a pleated Japanese layer that’s so bold it just might close the deal, find the best travel blazers for men below. Happy shopping and safe travels.
The Best Travel Blazers, According to InsideHook
- The Hopped-Up Hopsack: Brooks Brother Classic Fit Checked Hopsack Wool Sport Coat, $598
- The Affordable Airfare: Uniqlo Comfort Jacket, $80
- The Travel Suit: J.Crew Kenmare Relaxed-Fit Italian Cotton Blend Suit Jacket, $398
- The “Twice the Buttons” Blazer: Bonobos Jetsetter Unconstructed Double Breasted Blazer,
$450$299 - The Knit Fix: Faherty Inlet Knit Blazer, $198
- The JSX Joint: Loro Piana Spagna Unstructured Cashmere-Blend Jersey Suit Jacket, $4,450
- More Travel Blazers We Love
The Best Travel Blazers For Frequent Flyers
A hopsack option from the most famous name in suits, woven in Italy and cut to relaxed perfection. A handsome multi-check pattern goes a long way in establishing your ethos as a grizzled frequent flyer.
At just $80, we could care less if Uniqlo’s poly-blend shell is a touch less sophisticated than other options on this list, especially considering the Japanese-designed jacket’s ability to fight off wrinkles and fold down neatly. Wear with your favorite tee or polo and ride the economy seat.
According to a recent New York Times survey, J.Crew’s trusty suiting remains the most popular off-the-rack style in America, and it’s easy to see why. The new fall iteration of the Kenmare Suit, woven from a breathable cotton, fits like a glove, but its unstructured finish endows it with more give than your traditional two-piece. If a full suit, not just a sleek sports coat, is required for your journeys, J.Crew has you covered.
Unlined, unconstructed and spun from a luxe cotton-linen blend. We can only describe the vibe of Bonobos’ double-breasted knockout as Georgio Armani circa 1989 meets performance pants…and we’re not mad at it.
Not a fan of stiff shoulders? Faherty’s Inlet Blazer looks to solve the restrictive issue that most jackets face with a soft, stretch-knit blazer that’ll put even your favorite tee to shame. As much sweater as it is a sports coat, this cotton layer dodges many of the issues traditional blazers are plagued with, making it a perfect option for long travel days and casual trips.
If your concerns skew deciding which jet to charter over worrying about wrinkling your blazer in the middle seat, then Loro Piana’s luxe cashmere blazer is right up your alley. Tailored to perfection by Italian masters, the cashmere-blend jersey blazer has soft lapels and an unstructured finish befitting of a certain Roy.
More Travel Blazers We Love
Eddie Bauer is famous for their travel clothes, so it’s no surprise that their Voyager Blazer is something special. It’s made from a versatile polyester fabric that has a beautiful texture and drape. The blazer is half-back and sleeve lined, making it easy to get in and out of. Two spacious front pockets and two internal pockets make this blazer ideal for work or travel. A DWR finish protects the fabric against moisture and light rain.
“Travel blazer” and “fashion” are two words that you typically hear together, but that doesn’t mean that ultra-stylish joints that actually travel well don’t exist. Case and point: this pleat-pilled blazer from Japanese legend Issey Miyake’s Homme Plissé can scrunch, fold and bundle in virtually any manner thanks to its unique garment-pleated polyester twill blend.
Designed without this stuff padding and stuffy tailoring tidbits, Relwen’s Flyweight Flex Blazer is as much chore coat as it is sports coat. Crafted from slightly stretch cotton, this sateen-lined jacket has all the functional elements of a more rugged layer — welted chest pocket, tape-backed reinforcements, stitched zipper storage — with a sharper-than-average cut.
We’re not encouraging you to run a couple of miles in Lululemon’s performance-informed New Venture Blazer…but then again, we’re not not?
Brooks Brothers may have the hopsack title on lock, but Banana Republic is a close second, with fabric straight from Italy’s famed Reda mill and a streamlined cut for minimal wrinkles and maximum breathability.
Aptly named, the Buck Mason Carry-On Jacket is crafted with a pre-washed 5.5 oz. cotton poplin, meaning an instant lived-in feel and advanced durability, an perhaps most importantly, an ultra-light, ultra-breezy fit, even in the most cramped conditions.
Somewhere between a travel blazer and a supercomputer, the Ministry of Supply Kinetic Blazer is teched out to the max: its specialized warp-knit fabric offers virtually uninhibited movement, and with a DWR water-repellant coating, it’ll stay dry and clean when you need it most. MOS has even updated the fit to run close to TTS than its small-running predecessor.
Ready to join the mile-high club? No, not that one — we’re talking about the literal country club you’ll surely get invited to after pulling up in Todd’s Italian Knit Sports Coat.
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