Jacket Reviews – Helmut Lang

I am always on the lookout for an excellent black jacket, since over time I’ve realized that they are by far the outerwear item I wear the most. Like a little black dress, I like to have a variety of styles for every which occasion. I recently found two that I both love and which I anticipate will get a ton of wear in my wardrobe.

The first is one that I am very happy about: a Helmut Lang tux jacket. I have quite a few black blazers in my wardrobe that I’ve accumulated over the years, but I have always had a hard time making use of them – both during the day and night. While I do have some more formal work dress occasions, the traditional blazer + trousers in a suiting fabric has always looked a little too formal for my needs.

I have the same issue for night – I love the black blazer over little dress/top and pants look, but for some reason just throwing on my Theory suiting jacket has always looked a little off to me, especially while wearing little dresses. It just looks too “office” in my mind.

Enter my new Helmut Lang jacket. I never thought I’d consider a blazer with a funkier cut like this one, but as soon as I slipped this jacket over my shoulders in Barney’s, I knew that I would be adding it to my closet. The parabola back not only adds a unique cut and a lovely angle, but it also makes the whole jacket more comfortable and flexible. It moves with you much more than a traditional blazer.

Helmut Lang Tux Blazer (also here, here, and here)

Overall I am extremely happy with this jacket – yahoo! It can truly go from day to evening and I have quite a few ways that I’m already planning on wearing it. The fabric is also very nice, seems to be quite good quality, and has a bit more stretch to it than my Theory items. The sleeves were also the perfect slightly cropped length (which looks great with long sleeve blouses – outfit post to come).

Now, while I do like my sleek and structured jackets, I must admit that many mornings there’s nothing more I’d like to throw on than my old oversized Cal Bears (GO BEARS!) sweatshirt. This is a habit that has been hard to break, especially in Silicon Valley where dress codes have been stretched to encompass sweatpants and Teva sandals. Still I would like to look halfway presentable on those lazy mornings, which is why I was happy to also find a sweatshirt that was stylish enough to wear to work made by the Helmut Lang basics brand, Helmut.

The jacket is very soft and stretchy and has a very nice asymmetrical cut which makes it more interesting than your standard zip up hoodie sweatshirt. It looks good zipped up (and is still comfortable)…

But my favorite way is wear it is unzipped!

Helmut sweatshirt

Even though I love this little sweatshirt and I’ve worn it quite a few times already, I had to say that it is quite expensive compared to your typical college alumni priced piece. I bit the bullet and thought of it as the modern day Juicy velour hoodie (but hopefully more subtle and more staying power).

These were the first pieces I’ve purchased from Helmut Lang in many years (the only other item I have is a black coat from when its namesake was still designing it). I have to say that I am quite happy with both. I can totally see the appeal to wear the entire “Helmut” look much like you might with a designer like Rick Owens. To be honest I don’t think I’m cool enough to pull off entire looks from either brand, but I’m happy to have found a few pieces that will fit in well with my wardrobe as a whole.

If there are any other  perfect black jackets out there that you all would recommend – please share!