Most people buy a blazer to look smart for one specific thing, a meeting or an interview, and then wonder why it sits at the back of the rail looking faintly resentful for the next two years. A blazer bought for one day out only ever gets worn on days like that one, which is a waste of a perfectly good jacket.
Colour does a lot of this work. Navy and a soft grey will take you further than black, which can look like you're trying too hard for a Tuesday, and black also shows every mark and crease in a way that catches you out under office lighting. A camel or stone blazer is lovely but it's a second or third purchase, not a first, because it needs more thought about what goes underneath. On fit, the shoulder seam is the one thing you cannot alter later, so that has to sit right on the first try, exactly at the point where your shoulder ends. Sleeves should stop at the wrist bone, not halfway up your forearm like you've borrowed it from someone taller, and you want enough room across the back to lift your arms without the whole thing pulling tight like a seatbelt. A blazer that's slightly too big can be taken in. A blazer that's too small is just a very expensive waistcoat with sleeves.
If you own none, start with a single breasted navy in a mid weight fabric, something that isn't so thin it creases if you look at it and isn't so heavy it becomes a winter coat substitute by October. That one blazer goes over a plain top and jeans on a weekend, over a dress for anything that needs a bit more structure, and under a coat in the colder months when you need an extra layer without the bulk of knitwear underneath. It pairs easily with trousers you already own, works over a jumper when the heating hasn't kicked in yet, and takes you from a cool morning to an unexpectedly warm afternoon without you having to think about it twice, which is more than most jackets manage. Spring and autumn are where it's happiest. In the depths of winter it's a layer, not a coat, and treating it as one will leave you cold on the walk to the bus stop, however good it looks doing it.
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