The Grey Herringbone Tweed Sport Coat
The Ivy style legend.
A grey herringbone tweed sport coat is considered to be one of the Ivy look staples, along with OCBDs (oxford cloth button-down shirts), khakis, and penny loafers. Yet, it took me quite some time to dig up enough inspirational pictures to justify this article. This says more about the current order of things on the internet than the lack of relevance of a grey herringbone tweed sport coat.
While it’s hard to beat the versatility of a navy blazer, I find two major benefits of a grey sport coat. The first one is practical. I love wearing jeans. But I find it hard to match the dark indigo denim to a navy blazer. They look too uniform together; there is not enough contrast between the two. You have to wear your jeans so that the denim fades to a lighter shade of blue until you will be able to pair them well with a navy blazer. By contrast, a grey sport coat has plenty of contrast (no pun intended) to a new pair of jeans but goes just as well with lighter denims.
The second reason is more of an emotional one. Grey herringbone tweed has a thicker, more substantial appearance which makes it ideal for the colder time of the year. Yes, it does go well with denim. But it also feels at home with corduroys, shetland sweaters, and chunky scarves. It blends naturally with the earthy tones of autumn. It has that university professor or bookstore regular kind of vibe. Not to mention beige chinos, black jeans, and even grey flannel trousers as long as you keep track of the difference in the shades.
So what exactly makes the Ivy sport coat (sometimes called “Sack Jacket“ after its straight hanging fit)? Well, historically there were a bunch of key elements to it:
undarted front that makes the waist look less pronounced;
shoulders without padding for a more natural appearance;
three-roll-two closure meaning that the lapel roll covers the top button;
narrow notch lapels;
patch pockets with flaps;
hook center vent (with no particular function);
mostly two- but sometimes three-button cuffs.
Here is a period-correct illustration and photo of how it’s supposed to look:
While all these details make the original look, at the end of the day nobody cares whether the cuffs on your sport coat have two buttons or four. Way more important is how the jacket fits you, and overall coordination. That’s why it’s worth it to venture beyond the historical accuracy and explore broader options while preserving that same intelligent, yet casual vibe.
The hardcore route would be to source a vintage sport coat on eBay. Although much more affordable, it takes a lot of trial and error before you find the right fit. Besides, you have to deal with proportions of different eras that might not be relevant today.
So here is my list of readily available options. Oh, and I curated made a HUGE Pinterest board to find inspiration as well. Let me know your thoughts on the grey herringbone tweed sport coat and what alternatives did I miss. Enjoy!
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John Simons Ivy Jacket
John Simons has been pioneering the Ivy style in the UK since the 1960s (seriously, the man is a legend). Described as a London-made modern adaptation of the classic American Sack Jacket, it’s surely an adaptation you can trust. Available for £495 at John Simons.
Kamakura Unstructured Ivy Jacket
I have been buying OCBD shirts from Kamakura’s Vintage Ivy collection for years. Although the brand has recently raised the prices, at $120 they are still a bargain. The Unstructured Ivy Jacket, priced at $490 must hold an awesome bang for the buck as well. Also available for £399 at the Leeds-based Ivy style store All Blues Co (read my interview with the founder Mano Dridi).
Beams Plus 3B Jacket Harris Tweed
While it’s not the exact replica, the Japanese ametora (which stands for “American traditional“) purveyors at Beams have kept all the original details: little to no structure, natural shoulders, narrow lapels with three-roll-two button closure, patch pockets, hook vent, and two-button cuffs. Available for ¥60,500 (≈€400) at Beams web store, €690 at Jinji, or $788 (yikes!) at Canoe Club.
Engineered Garments Poly Wool jackets
Full disclosure: I purchased the Lawrence jacket in Poly Wool Herringbone from Engineered Garments a few years back and I absolutely love it. Still, I am a bit reluctant to advocate for it because it’s made of polyester/wool blend. It gets even more complicated when you discover the abundance of different fits that the brand carries.
In an interview, the Engineered Garments’ founder and creative director Daiki Suzuki admitted he prefers natural fabrics. But he also acknowledges the advantages of synthetic materials such as lightness and ease of care.
I have a long history of relationships with Engineered Garments, including this Field Parka, and I’d love to devote a separate article to the brand one day. For now, I just say it’s worth digging into it.
It seems like the brand passed on the Poly Wool herringbone fabric this season anyway (it is only available in the Japanese store) but the jackets often appear on resale platforms such as eBay, Grailed, and Vinted.
J.Press Harris Tweed Sport Coat
One of the OG Ivy outfitters and the originator of three-button cuffs, J.Press has been prepping students with swagger since the 1910s. Well, they are still producing sack jackets in the USA. Available for $895 at J.Press.
J.Press & Son’s Tweed Jacket
J.Press was the first American clothing company to sell the rights to license the brand in Japan. And Japanese have been immaculate in preserving the American style. I love that the joints from the Japanese J.Press & Son’s collection feature leather buttons. They seem to produce a few slightly different versions of the jacket, including China-made one at ¥59,400 (≈$410), and Japanese-made one at ¥99,000 (≈$685). The latter is also available for $648 one at Canoe Club.
The Anthology Sport Jacket
We are entering the grey zone (pun intended) with this ready-to-wear sport coat produced by the Taiwanese bespoke wizards at the Anthology. While giving an overall impression of a traditional grey herringbone jacket, it strays away from Ivy canons with its generous lapels and two side vents instead of one center vent. This proves the argument from the beginning of this article: it’s less about historical precision and more about fit and coordination. Available for $1,080 at the Anthology.
Drake’s Games Blazer
Over the last 10 years Drake’s has been the single ready-to-wear brand to move classic tailoring forward. How do I classify this? The brand took the formality and pretentiousness out of it and replaced them with playfulness. It’s this very idea of dressing up not because you have to but because it’s fun. Their Games Blazer is priced at €1,200.
Tailor Caid
If there is a God among grey herringbone tweed sport coats it must be Tailor Caid. Quite possibly the single best Ivy Style tailoring house in the world. You can feel the taste of mid-century trad just by visiting the website. It’s almost too period-correct in a way it preserves the silhouette seen in historical photographs. I suggest checking out these two features from the Armoury and this one by Ethan Wong to get the idea. And no, it’s not available online or in a ready-made format whatsoever. Made-to-measure suit starts at $3,560 and bespoke suit starts at $4,260.
What are your thoughts on the grey herringbone tweed sport coat? What other options are available out there? Feel free to share in the comments section below. And don’t forget to check out the HUGE Pinterest board I made for inspiration.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could share the article with your friends or on your social media to help others discover it too.
And if you would like further reading, here is a selection of some of my favorite articles:
This was a lovely read Konsta! Always nice to see modern Ivy discourse