We began the series on wardrobe essentials with the shirt. Today, we feature that very necessary item — the jacket.

A jacket may be considered by most a corporate item and an essential for persons in related professions. But each wardrobe should have at least one casual jacket. A corporate jacket that is a separate may also be paired with casual clothing, like jeans, to achieve a corporate look.

The construction of the jacket may be the most challenging clothing project. Rather than take on the challenge yourself, you may want to find a tailor or dressmaker with tailoring skills to make your jacket. In identifying someone, we recommend that you ask to see samples of their work, and that you be specific in communicating your design needs. These may include vent (slit at the back of the jacket) position and number, collar style, pockets and their placement, number of buttons, etc. For this, pictures would be useful if there isn’t an existing sample.

If you decide to make your own jacket, we recommend the use of a pattern. The instructions for their construction would therefore be based on the steps in your pattern. Check local fabric stores as well as online sources for patterns.

Tips:

1. Iron the garment after each step in its construction.

2. Make a muslin (sample in a cotton or calico fabric) first to check that it is the right fit before making the jacket in your fashion fabric. If adjustments are made to the sample, you may use this for the pattern or transfer adjustments to patterns.

Looks:

1. A jacket with matching trousers (suit)

2. A casual jacket with style variations – outside flap pocket and shorter sleeves.

Captions:

1. Casual corporate look with this khaki jacket

2. The back view features the single vent slit

3. This grey tweed is for a corporate look