What Is an Hourglass Blazer? How to Choose and Wear One

The short answer: an hourglass blazer is a tailored jacket cut close through the waist, with shoulders and hips left a little fuller, so it draws the body into an hourglass shape without a belt. It is usually double-breasted with peak lapels. Choose one in your usual size, because the shaping only works when the waist sits at your natural waist. The best known example is the Blazé Milano Charmer Blazer, the cut the Princess of Wales wears.

Most blazers are made to hang from the shoulder. The hourglass blazer does the opposite: it is built around the waist. That makes it the most flattering jacket in women’s tailoring for many figures, and the least forgiving if you buy the wrong size. Here is how to get it right.

How an hourglass blazer is constructed

Three things create the shape. Darts and seams through the front and back take fabric out at the waist. Structured shoulders, slightly padded, make the waist look smaller by contrast. And the button stance, the height of the fastening, is placed at the natural waist, sometimes a fraction above it, so the jacket closes exactly where it is narrowest. Peak lapels add width at the top and finish the silhouette.

The Blazé Milano Charmer Blazer shows the formula clearly. The brand describes it as double-breasted with an hourglass shape and a slim fit, slightly padded shoulders, peak lapels and black loden-effect buttons, and cuts it to a regular fit in your usual size.

Hourglass, regular and oversized compared

Who suits an hourglass blazer?

Straight and athletic frames gain a waist. Hourglass figures get a jacket that follows their shape rather than boxing it out. Pear shapes benefit from the structured shoulder, which balances the hip. Petite women look taller, because a defined waist and a hip-length hem lengthen the leg line. The only frame that should go carefully is a very full bust, where a nipped waist can pull; choose a cut with a little more room in the chest and try it buttoned.

How an hourglass blazer should fit

The waist sits at your waist. If the narrowest point of the jacket falls above your natural waist, it is too short in the body; below it, too long.

It buttons without strain. The fabric should lie flat around the buttons. Small horizontal pulls at the waist mean you need the next size up.

The shoulders are your shoulders. Unlike an oversized jacket, the seam should end exactly at the shoulder.

The sleeve ends at the wrist bone.

Blazé Milano sizes 00, 0, I, II, III and IV convert to UK 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14. The brand advises your usual size in the Charmer. Our Blazé Milano size guide has the full conversion.

The best hourglass blazers to buy now

The Charmer comes in more cloths than any other Blazé Milano style, so you can choose the shape first and the fabric second.

• Charmer Blazer in Corinthian Grey: a light grey check in virgin wool, silk and cashmere, the most refined of the line.
• Charmer Blazer in Mystere Night Blue: midnight wool and cashmere, the navy suit made feminine.
• Charmer Blazer in Bravado Grey: grey check virgin wool with tortoiseshell-effect buttons, for the office.
• Charmer Blazer in Kasif Multicolor: grey herringbone in wool and alpaca.
• Charmer Blazer in Moat Multicolor: a warm brown check.
• Charmer Blazer in Classy Carbon Black: black virgin wool, the evening option.
• Charmer Blazer in Novalis Dijon: mustard, for colour.

Beyond Blazé Milano, the Alex Perry Double Breasted Fitted Blazer in Wool Suiting, Sage and the Max Mara Neutro Fitted-Waist Blazer take a similarly shaped approach.

How to wear an hourglass blazer

Button it. The shape only shows when the jacket is closed.

Keep the layer underneath thin. A fine roll neck, a fitted T-shirt, a silk camisole. Anything bulky fights the waist.

Choose a lean trouser. A straight leg keeps the hourglass line; a slight flare, like the Blazé Milano Lundy Pant, exaggerates it beautifully. The brand pairs the Aramis Navy Charmer with the matching Lundy for what it calls a contemporary power-dressing look.

Try it with a mini. The Coci Mini Skirt in Kasif Multicolor matches the herringbone Charmer and turns it into a short suit.

Wear it as a top. Buttoned with nothing but a camisole underneath, an hourglass blazer works as eveningwear.

Which fabric to choose

An hourglass blazer depends on the cloth holding its shape. A firm wool, a wool and cashmere blend, a tweed: these keep the waist crisp all day. The Blazé Milano Charmer comes in exactly these, from virgin wool checks to the herringbone Kasif in wool and alpaca. Fluid fabrics such as viscose make a softer version; the Charmer Blazer in Luna Night is cut in midnight viscose sablé, and it drapes rather than sculpts, which suits evening. If you want one hourglass jacket for every season, choose a mid-weight wool in grey, navy, black: it will carry a summer dress as easily as a winter knit.

Pattern matters too. Small checks and herringbones read as texture from a distance and keep the focus on the shape. Large, high-contrast checks draw the eye across the body, so wear them where you want width, and pair them with a plain trouser.

The Princess of Wales and the hourglass blazer

The Princess of Wales has worn the hourglass cut for years. In July 2023 she wore a beige pinstriped double-breasted blazer, identified by royal style trackers as the Blazé Milano Wind Hunter Charmer, at the Royal International Air Tattoo. We have tracked every appearance in Kate Middleton and Blazé Milano.

Frequently asked questions

What is an hourglass blazer?

A tailored jacket cut close through the waist with structured shoulders, so it shapes the body into an hourglass silhouette. It is usually double-breasted with peak lapels.

Who should wear an hourglass blazer?

Most figures. It adds a waist to straight frames, follows an hourglass figure, balances the hips on a pear shape and lengthens a petite frame. Very full busts should look for a little extra room in the chest.

Should an hourglass blazer be tight?

Fitted, not tight. It should button without pulling and the narrowest point should sit at your natural waist.

Do you size up in an hourglass blazer?

Usually not. Take your usual size; the Blazé Milano Charmer, for example, is cut to a regular fit in your usual size. Size up only if it pulls across the waist when buttoned.

Can you wear an hourglass blazer open?

You can, but the shaping shows best when it is buttoned.

What trousers go with an hourglass blazer?

A straight leg to keep the line, a slight flare to exaggerate it. Matching trousers in the same cloth turn it into a suit.

Keep reading

How to wear a double-breasted blazer. How should a blazer fit? Every Blazé Milano matching set. Browse the Blazé Milano edit.