Shawl Collar Kimono Blazer 'Wakadanna'

Longer than a jacket, softer than a blazer, with a collar that folds back

Somewhere between a haori and a blazer there is a gap, and this jacket fills it. The front opens flat like a kimono, but the edge is wider and folds back on itself into something close to a shawl collar. The body is longer than the short jackets, falling past the hip. The sleeves are long, full length, and finish plain, so they can be pushed up or left down. There is no button and no tie, just a pocket at each hip to put your hands in. It hangs open and stays open, which is what makes it feel dressed rather than dressed up.

It is the piece for the evening when a tee and a short jacket feels too casual and a real jacket feels like a costume. Over a plain tee and tailored trousers it looks like you have thought about it. Over a fine knit in autumn it looks like a coat you found somewhere better than a shop.

The name, Wakadanna, is the young master of a merchant house, the son who has not yet inherited and dresses a little better than he needs to. It is a name for a jacket that is smarter than the rest of your clothes and knows it.

It comes in four solid colours: black, which is the one in the photograph and the one most people should start with, a deep blue, a mid grey, and a red. All four are matte, in a polyester weave with a dry, slightly textured hand, chosen because a longer jacket needs cloth that falls straight rather than cloth that stands, and because a solid colour needs to stay even at the seams.

The cut is relaxed through the body and squared at the shoulder, so it drapes rather than clings, and the length means it moves when you walk. Wear it with black trousers for the full monochrome, with grey flannel when the weather turns, with white linen in July. Plain shoes, always.

Because there is nothing to fasten, the fit comes from the drape. The collar lies flat when the jacket hangs open and rolls slightly when you move, so the front line changes as you walk. In a still photograph it looks plain. On a person it looks cut, which is the difference between this and a cardigan.

Sizes run from M to 4XL. It is cut to Asian sizing and runs small, so take one size up from your usual. Between two sizes, take the larger, especially at this length, so the hem swings clear of the hip.