My New(-ish) Sport Coat

I've been working for a custom tailoring shop for a year now, so I'm almost ashamed to admit that one of my favorite articles of clothing is actually a sport coat I got off the rack. Not only is it ready-to-wear, I got it way on sale back when Daffy's was liquidating their inventory before they closed their Chestnut Street store. I had my tailor do some minimal work on it and it has since become my favorite coat, despite being so bold as to lack the versatility of this one. Check this baby out:

That's right, folks. It's a mega-bold brown/tan/orange plaid that looks, ahem, good'n'a mug with dark jeans or my stone-colored corduroys. Sure, it fit me very well right off the hanger and was priced to move, but it had so many rarely seen details that I couldn't have passed it up even if it were pricier. Here's why:

It's got a 3X2 Roll

This means that the lapel rolls to the second (middle) button, which makes the top buttonhole purely for show and is visible with the middle button fastened. It's not an uncommon detail, but I think it's very smart when worn with a sport coat.

It Has Elbow Patches AND Surgeon's Cuffs

I used to hate elbow patches. I was in my early 20's and thought I knew everything about getting dressed, and I'd decided that elbow patches just made things look messy and unkempt. That opinion changed in the past few years and I was pumped to see grey flannel patches on this jacket.

The functional sleeve buttons were fun to see on a ready-to-wear coat, but I knew from experience that shortening the sleeves as much as I needed would compromise their functionality. My tailor Jay very pleasantly surprised me when he showed me the finished product: I ended up with two two-button sleeves (a very Northeastern preppy detail) and he maintained the functionality of both. I damn near did backflips.

It's Got A Wind Tab

That extra bit of fabric at the gorge is called a windtab; there's a button on the other side of the collar (on its underside) to which the windtab is fastened. These are pretty rare and look great on sportswear like this. Too bad this one doesn't even come close to buttoning for some reason.

Finally, The Breast Welt Pocket 

Another very sporty look, and I'm not sure that I'd ever seen one in real life before the day I bought this. It's strange for me to wear a blazer without some kind of pocket square, but the flap tucks in nicely if I ever want to throw some linen in there. It's a fall-weight wool, but I can't wait until it warms up just a bit and I can show it off instead of wearing it under an overcoat. The Internet will have to suffice for now.