Houndstooth Blazers: How to Wear the Check Now

A houndstooth blazer is a tailored jacket woven in houndstooth, a two-colour check of small broken squares with pointed corners that look like a dog’s tooth, and it is one of the easiest patterns to wear because from a distance it reads almost as a solid. Browse our designer blazers as you read, then use this guide to choose the scale, the cut and the colour.

Our reference piece is the new ME+EM Heritage Crop Slim Blazer in Pecan Brown Multi. ME+EM, the London label Clare Hornby founded in 2009, cuts it from an Italian melange puppytooth, a heritage tailoring cloth with a refined texture and a soft hand. It is single-breasted and cropped, shaped with darted seams, and a hidden button under the lapel closes it to a high neck. The underside of the collar is black, to match the buttons. It sits within our edit of ME+EM coats, jackets and blazers.

Houndstooth, dogtooth and puppytooth

Houndstooth began as a woollen check in the Scottish Borders and became a staple of British country tailoring before moving to town. The names describe scale. Dogtooth is the usual British term and often means a bold, large check. Houndstooth is the general name, used most in the United States. Puppytooth is the smallest scale, fine enough to blur into a textured solid, which is what ME+EM uses. A Prince of Wales check layers small houndstooth blocks into a larger plaid, as on the Saint Laurent Double-Breasted Jacket in Prince of Wales Puppytooth Wool.

How to choose a houndstooth blazer

The scale. A fine puppytooth works like a neutral and pairs with almost anything. A large dogtooth is a statement and wants plain pieces around it.

The colours. Black and white is graphic and sharp. Brown, camel and tobacco are softer and sit naturally with denim, cream knitwear and brown leather. Charcoal is the most formal.

The cut. A cropped, darted blazer like the ME+EM suits high-waisted trousers and midi skirts; our guide to cropped blazers explains the proportion. An oversized cut, like The Frankie Shop Lyra Oversized Houndstooth Blazer in Camel, is easier over knitwear and with straight jeans.

The cloth. Pure wool tailors crisply and breathes. Wool and silk, as on the Gabriela Hearst Leiva Blazer in Charcoal Multi Wool Silk Houndstooth, adds lustre. A jersey houndstooth, as on the Max Mara Aguzze Slim Houndstooth Jersey Jacket in Tobacco, is softer and travels well.

The Coveti houndstooth blazer matrix

We compared the new ME+EM blazer with houndstooth jackets already on Coveti, using only published composition, fit and size facts.

How we measured: The ME+EM row comes from the ME+EM product page and centimetre size chart on meandem.com. Across the size run, front length goes from 51 cm at UK 4 to 61 cm at UK 18, bust from 84 cm to 118 cm, and across shoulder from 36.9 cm to 43.3 cm. Every other row comes from each jacket’s Coveti product record, read through our public Store API on 31 October 2026, with sizes as listed on Coveti.

Build a suit from the Heritage pieces

The ME+EM blazer belongs to a wider Heritage group in the same Pecan Brown Multi colour. On Coveti, the Heritage Barrel Trouser and the Heritage Very Wide Trouser list the same main fabric composition as the blazer, 62% recycled polyester, 27% viscose, 10% wool and 1% elastane, so they read as one suit. The cropped blazer over a barrel leg is the newer proportion; over the very wide trouser it is longer and leaner. The Heritage Bomber Jacket uses the same main fabric again for weekends.

How to wear a houndstooth blazer now

With denim. A brown puppytooth blazer, a white shirt and straight mid-blue jeans is the easiest everyday look. Add brown loafers.

As a suit. Wear the blazer buttoned to the high neck over the matching trouser, with a fine black knit underneath to pick up the black under-collar.

With a plain skirt. A chocolate midi skirt and knee-high boots keep the check as the only pattern. Our guide to chocolate brown outfits shows the palette.

Pattern on pattern. A houndstooth trouser with a plain blazer works too; see our guide to houndstooth skirts and trousers. Under the blazer, choose from our guide to what to wear under a blazer.

Houndstooth blazers around the world

United States. The biggest market, with search demand around 3,600 a month, rising to about 6,600 from October to December. Americans say houndstooth for every scale of the check.

United Kingdom. About 1,300 searches a month. British shoppers also search for dogtooth, and the pattern carries a country tailoring association that suits tweed-season dressing.

European Union. In France the check is called pied-de-poule, a hen’s foot. Sizing shifts too: on Coveti, Max Mara converts Italian 40 to UK 8 and Saint Laurent converts French 36 to UK 8.

GCC. Lighter blends with viscose and elastane are comfortable in air-conditioned offices from November to March. A cropped blazer over a long skirt suits modest office dressing.

How to care for a houndstooth blazer

ME+EM marks the Heritage Crop Slim Blazer dry clean. Between cleans, brush the cloth with a soft clothes brush to lift dust from the weave, and steam out creases rather than pressing hard, which can leave a shine on the check. Hang the blazer on a broad, shaped hanger to support the shoulders, and empty the pockets so they keep their line. If you own the matching trouser, clean the two pieces together so the colour stays even.

Frequently asked questions

Is houndstooth in style?

Yes. This season houndstooth blazers and jackets on Coveti come from ME+EM, Max Mara, Gabriela Hearst, Saint Laurent and The Frankie Shop, from fine puppytooth to bold oversized checks.

What is the difference between houndstooth and dogtooth?

They are the same check. Dogtooth is the usual British name and often describes a larger scale; puppytooth is the smallest.

What colour goes with a brown houndstooth blazer?

Cream, ecru, camel, chocolate, black and mid-blue denim all work. Pick one colour from the check and repeat it.

Can I wear a houndstooth blazer to the office?

Yes. A fine puppytooth reads almost as a solid, so it is as easy to wear as a plain grey jacket.

Can I wear houndstooth with other patterns?

Yes, with care. Keep the second pattern much larger, such as a wide stripe, and hold to a shared colour.

How should a cropped blazer fit?

It should finish at the natural waist and close without pulling across the bust. The ME+EM blazer measures 54 cm in front length and 92 cm at the bust at UK 8.

Curated by the Coveti Studio. Read our editorial policy.