The Sleeveless Blazer!!!

Remember in the late 80s and 90s how blazers were so darn popular? You just HAD to have one to wear and one that matched everything. Black was a typical color, but red and red plaid were also huge. Speaking of huge, most all came with giganto huge shoulder pads and some sort of gold emblem on the   chest pocket. Sadly, as time passed and trends changed, (thank goodness for no more shoulder pads!) the jackets were moved to the back of the closet and eventually, the thrift stores.

Fast forward until now when blazers are back baby! With a few minor changes, of course. The fall issue of In-Style magazine talked about the trend of sleeveless blazers. They are versatile pieces, that can be worn for casual or for work. I loved the look of both and set off to find myself some cast off, lonely blazers. I found two great blazers that were just begging to be cut up and worn again.

One army green linen blazer and one black double breasted blazer with the coolest buttons. They were also sporting giganto shoulder pads!

To make my sleeveless blazer, I cut off the sleeve very carefully from the jacket. If the jacket is lined, cut the lining just as close as you can to the outside of the jacket. From there, I used double fold seam binding in a coordinating color to make my arm opening look neat.

Once the seam binding was sewn in place, I ironed the armholes for a finished look. I then went to search for items in my closet to wear in both a work and casual setting. In other words, I want to wear these when I hang out and have a good time and also when I have to clock in at 8 am for 8 hours of office work. If this were a magazine spread, I could say 'A great day-to-night look!' 

The blazer can be worn with your favorite rock band t-shirt or any kind of graphic tee.

For a work outfit, I thought I would wear it with a sheer white blouse, giving a bit more warmth to the blouse for the upcoming cold, frosty, winter months. In North Dakota, we typically wear 3 or 4 layers during the winter. Sometimes more.

All could be worn with skinny jeans, skinny dress pants, skirts and boots. Very funky. The whole process took about 30 minutes from cut to last stitch. So run, grab yourself some blazers and start cutting those sleeves off!!!

Happy thrifting from your layered friend of the north!!!