LIVE A DOUBLE LIFE

Girlfriends, boyfriends get off my back - a double life as in 'Double Breasted'...okay now I have you back on side I'll start this blog post! I have been a fan of the double-breasted jacket for some time now and it's time to share why  and what to look out for when buying double-breasted suits. 

Single breasted suits and blazers still dominate the worlds suit market but in the UK more and more designers and high-street stores are upping their double breasted offerings which gives us a great opportunity to choose a style, material and colour that suits you best.

What is the difference between a single and double breasted jacket? The first thing you will notice is that the double breasted suit jacket has extra fabric that folds one lapel over the front of the other lapel, creating an overlapped style. With a single breasted jacket you will have a number of buttons vertically along the front of the suit (the total number of buttons will depends on the style of the suit). With the double breasted style, you'll have two columns of buttons, usually either 4 or 6 in total.

How should you wear a double breasted suit jacket? The most important thing to remember when choosing this type of suit jacket is that it should be tailored slightly shorter than the single breasted cousins. You should not button all of the buttons up, usually it will  be the middle row in a 6-buttoned scenario.

One of the main reasons why many people avoid this style is they can be quite hard to 'pull off' and considered not very versatile. Which is why in this style post, I have used a double breasted suit jacket and styled it without the matching trousers and opted for a light grey slate coloured chino.

Wearing double breasted will invite comments, applause and a hell of a lot of jealousy...but get it right! In my style for this post, I have worn a classic pin collar shirt from London's best shirtmakers Hawkins & Shepherd as they work extremly well with this classic style.

SHOP THE LOOK

Photo Credit Sophie Milner