Before working at J.Crew, I wasn’t very familiar with the lady jacket. Although I loved the brand, I wasn’t really dressing like an adult per se. And when COVID hit, I exclusively wore Lou & Grey. All of the companies I worked for didn’t include a lady jacket in their brand DNA (Perry Ellis, Free People, and Lou & Grey), so my personal style was a reflection of the type of products I was surrounded by every day.
What is a lady jacket?
Okay so you might be wondering, “Dana, what the hell is a lady jacket?!” A lady jacket is a jacket that is super versatile because it can be worn as your top, a third piece, or an outerwear piece! It’s feminine and timeless. I think many people would associate them with a tweed fabrication, but luckily the insanely talented designers at J.Crew have helped me see them differently. I own so many lady jackets at this point, and I truly love them all. They really just keep getting better and better.
I love the structure of these jackets. And I don’t mean like a structured garment in the rigid sense – I mean in terms of the make up of the garment. The shorter, almost cropped length, allows you to wear SO many different pieces with the jacket. I also love that (at least for me), lady jacket sleeves always hit around my wrist. I think that’s such a sleek and feminine touch!
Ways to wear it
At first, I wasn’t totally sure how I was going to style one. My first lady jacket was this sweater version (since it’s from fall, it’s pretty sold through, but here’s a great update) – it felt like it was the easiest iteration. I love the classic silhouette with the gold buttons, it felt very Parisian (I feel like my recent pins are v. Parisian too). J.Crew has really expanded the selection of lady jackets, so they’re much more than just a cute sweater.
I’ve now had a full year of lady jackets, and I can’t get enough! The Emilie sweater is 100000% my current favorite. It’s THE best sweater I’ve ever purchased – I wear it more often than not. And this one is sitting in my cart haunting me until the temps drop.
I love seeing all of the takes on the lady jacket. Here are a few ways we’re styling them:
- Dressed down with jeans and a tee
- Worn closed (as a top) with jeans
- Layering a white button down under a collarless lady jacket with leggings
- Third piece, opened, with shorts and sandals
Here are some posts featuring lady jackets:
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