Bradley Wiggins, Royalty and the double-breasted jacket - recreating the look

Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner of the Tour de France and winner of 2012 Olympic Gold in the Men's Time Trial, won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012 award with typical double-breasted mod swagger, set off by a large gold pocket square.

Wiggins's suit was made by Mark Powell, tailor to the stars. But isn't the double-breasted jacket the preserve of the older man, the every-day wear of the Establishment and Royalty? Grey Fox investigates.

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The two grainy images below must have been taken many years apart, but they show the timelessness of the classic double-breasted blazer, and how it has been loved by the British Royal Family for over 70 years. The naval origins of the blazer are obvious, as would be expected of a nation with salt running in its veins, and whose Royals have a strong naval link.

Many of the Royal males wear them, in particular for less-formal events. 

So how does Bradley Wiggins fit into this very traditional, Establishment look? Well, it's often said but true, it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it. Royalty make the DB blazer look elegant, Wiggo makes it look young, mod and, again very elegant - helped by the slim cut, an athletic frame and the daring use of velvet.

How can we recreate the look for the man of style, suiting any age? All images below from Mr Porter.

Michael Bastian wool/cashmere blazer

Slowear Incotex straight leg wool trousers

Canali

Etro

Gucci

John Lobb Becketts classic Oxofords

Dressing well in middle age - Paul Weller

A few weeks ago I was looking for a double-breasted jacket on-line (see here). These photos of Paul Weller show how such jackets can suit the older man, classic, yet smart or casual as needed. Of course, Weller looks good in his older years. The hair is slightly Rod Stewart, but he's clearly a man comfortable with his own style, one of the secrets of dressing well.

I like the top jacket, with the contrasting white buttons giving it a jaunty nautical feel. It's by Beams Plus at Mr Porter where you can see more about Weller's sartorial tastes.

Looking to buy a double-breasted jacket on-line - how easy is it?

I want to look at double-breasted jackets again (see my post of a few days ago salivating over Cabourn's tweed DB jacket). I also like the look of these double-breasted jackets shown in The Sartorialist's photos below (worn by the same gentleman, I think).

The Sartorialist

Firstly, look how well they are worn in these photos. They fit well and are made from quality materials. What makes it for me, however, is the lived-in look he brings to the jackets; has he slept in them? He's totally comfortable and shows no self-consciousness at all - that's how to wear clothes successfully (cigarette aside!). I also like the use of layers, scarves and the collared waistcoat or cardigan works well and provides extra insulation on a cold day.

The Sartorialist

What a versatile garment the double breasted blazer can be, worn indoors or out, appropriately layered with waistcoat, sweater or cardigan according to the temperature. They look good with denims, tailored trousers or chinos which, if the jacket is dark grey, black or navy blue, can be almost any colour. 

I thought I'd see if I could find something similar using on-line retailers. I didn't want to spend too much time on the task and probably looked at seven or eight stores - to my disappointment I didn't find much. I came across many pea coats in my search - they are common at the moment - but are for outdoors, so don't have the versatility of a blazer-type jacket which is lighter and has a more tailored fit.

This exercise highlights for me some shortcomings of shopping on-line -
1. the difficulties of firstly finding sellers who may have what you want,
2. finding what you want on the sometimes extensive sites,
3. knowing if the style and fit will suit you. For example, many jackets are now made of satin-finish cotton which I think looks horribly cheap, but it's hard to tell this from the nature of the fabric finish from some sites' pictures.

These problems are usually mitigated by stress-free return policies and pre-paid postage return packets, so you have to take a slight gamble whenever you buy on-line and be prepared for the additional time and frustration if items don't suit you.

Of the sites I looked at, by far the most user-friendly, and the one I wanted to stay on and browse (because of excellent general interest comment and videos) was Mr Porter. This site is welcoming whatever the age of the shopper - as are Hackett, Paul Smith, Ralph Lauren and J.Crew. Sites like Oi Polloi and Topman are geared more to a younger market if you're after something reasonably classic (I really like Topman's Harris Tweed collection, but know from bitter experience that the clothes are generally skinny cut and more suitable for the younger man).

These jackets looked promising and the next step would be to order and try them on! But is it as satisfying an experience as pounding the pavements on a real, as opposed to a virtual, shopping trip?

J.Crew

Paul Smith from Mr Porter