How to Dress Like a Grown-Up at the Airport

In 2024, a blazer might not be an office essential, but traveling with one never fails to be a headache. The best travel blazers, though, are specifically designed to be stuffed into a carry-on amid sundry chargers and toiletries, and emerge fresh, wrinkle-free, and ready to rock wherever you land. A great travel blazer also makes every second of your journey—from safely stashing passports to adding and removing layers—a total breeze.

Each of the selections below embodies a slightly different take on the travel blazer concept. They also offer something that few other tailored wardrobe pieces do: approachability. Simple to care for, as comfy as your favorite shirt jacket, and easy to pair with everything from polos and chinos to button-downs and shorts, a great men’s travel blazer can easily prove itself to be one of the hardest-working pieces in your travel wardrobe. Just don’t be surprised if it starts to make an appearance in your regular rotation, too.

The Best Men’s Travel Blazers, According to GQ

Best Travel Blazer Overall: Buck Mason Poplin Carry-On Jacket

Buck Mason’s highly packable jacket isn’t going to be the dressiest unit in your lineup, but that only makes it easier to pair with khakis, jeans, and chinos. Plus, thanks to a three-roll-two button configuration, notch lapels, and patch pockets, it’s still going to add a bit of grown-up refinement to whatever you match it with. In keeping with the brand’s rugged mid-century aesthetic, the small-batch dyeing process lends a satisfying worn-in look to the lightweight cotton fabric, and the color options of khaki or olive drab make a nice alternative to standard navy blue. It might be closer to a chore coat than a suit jacket, but you can still buy the matching trousers (or shorts!) and rock them together for maximum points.

Best Travel Blazer for Performance: Norse Projects Emil Travel Light Blazer

This Scandi streetwear brand has proven itself a specialist in the realm of ultra-light outerwear, and its take on the travel blazer perfectly walks the line between technical and traditional. Using the same formula applied to its versatile basics, the Emil blazer combines a lightweight and quick-drying cotton-poly blend fabric with a classic notch-lapel silhouette to create something that can play both sporty and serious. At a glance, it’ll do the trick for dressy occasions with a pair of dark trousers and a white button-down, but subtle details like snap buttons and a front zipper pocket speak to its true identity as a cleverly disguised piece of technical outerwear.

Best Travel Blazer for Tailoring Nerds: Drake’s MK-VIII Games Cotton-Ripstop Blazer

There’s a real art to looking turned-out without resorting to a fully tailored outfit, and London-based Drake’s has been demonstrating how it’s done since 1977. For anyone looking to emulate its brand of laid-back Euro sophistication, a piece from the workwear-inspired Games line is an ideal place to start. This notch-lapel three-roll-two blazer keeps things refined with luxe details like buffalo horn buttons and a lightweight military-inspired fabric with a subtle ripstop grid, but like everything in the Games lineup, the jacket’s roomy and relaxed cut makes it easy to layer over anything from an OCBD to a rugby jersey to a fair isle sweater—all of which are perennial moves in the Drake’s playbook.

Best Travel Blazer for Stormy Skies: Veilance Convex Wool Blazer

It may feel like a reach to entrust the folks behind streetwear’s favorite commuter raincoats with a tailored jacket, but it actually makes a lot of sense. After all, if there’s one thing we know about this Vancouver-born mountaineering-turned-fashion brand, it’s that when they do something, they do it superbly—and generously include all kinds of new technical advances.  Of course, the narrow notch lapels establish its blazer cred at a glance, but the Convex’s hidden slider snap closure, invisible side pockets, and straight, boxy cut speak to its many technical bona fides—including taped seams, zippered internal pockets and an air permeable four-way stretch blend of Merino wool and recycled polyester that’s water-repellent, moisture-wicking and naturally odor-resistant. In short, it’s a typical Veilance joint, in all of the right ways.

Best Travel Blazer for Summer Shindigs: Todd Snyder Italian Knit Sport Coat

No one does breezy summer elegance quite like the Italians, which is precisely who Todd Snyder turned to to source the fabric for this sport coat. Its two-button cut comes in a breathable , wrinkle-resistant cotton pique, with patch pockets (for easier access) and a distinctively soft-shouldered silhouette (or spalla comica, as they say in Naples). It’s the sartorial equivalent of sipping Aperol Spritzes overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the perfect addition to your weekend bag. As with any piece of high-quality Italian tailoring, it’s as comfortable as it is versatile, matching as easily with tees and denim as a button-down shirt, knit tie, and chinos.

Best Travel Blazer for Fashion Guys: Homme Plissé Issey Miyake Basics Blazer

Among Issey Miyake’s significant contributions to the menswear canon is the black mock neck adopted by Steve Jobs (along with Levi’s 501s and New Balance 992s) as part of his daily uniform. This blazer delivers the same level of easy-wearing versatility as that now-iconic pullover, along with the designer’s unmatched attention to detail. Made from a 100% polyester fabric that’s been heat-pressed to create a pleated texture (another Miyake signature), it balances this quirky flourish with traditional details like a two-button front, single-button surgeon’s cuffs, and a single vent in the back. All of this makes it great for travel, but like that iconic mock neck, don’t be surprised if it edges its way into your work uniform, too.

More Travel-Ready Blazers We Love

Reiss Modern Fit Travel Blazer

Some travel blazers lean casual, while others are just slightly tweaked suit jackets. This is the latter kind, with broad, notch lapels, and a fully lined interior for a more structured look. Thanks to a blend of wool, polyester and elastane, though, it’ll spring back to life after spending the day in your carry-on. Take a beat to consider picking up the matching trousers, too.

Mfpen Setup Unstructured Upcycled Cotton-Twill Blazer

One of the great things about life in 2024 is the abundance of jacket options that combine the refinement of a blazer with the easy wearability of a chore coat. This specimen, made from deadstock cotton twill in typically versatile Mfpen fashion, has a roomy and relaxed fit that’s as suited to hot summer days as it is to fall layering.

Stòffa Single-Breasted Shirt Jacket

The line between travel blazer and shirt jacket is a fuzzy one, so don’t put too much stock in the nomenclature here. What you should pay attention to is the uncompromising quality that makes this (and every other piece coming out of Stòffa’s Italian workshop) worthy of your wardrobe. From the superb drape and slight shimmer of its navy tropical wool to the patch pockets and unfinished sleeves (making them easier to alter to your exact specs), the entire package is an ever-tailorable piece that will quickly become part of your daily summer uniform.

Brunello Cucinelli Water-Resistant Blazer

There’s nothing worse than boarding your yacht for a pleasure cruise, only to have your breeziest summer blazer drenched by a rogue wave. That’s why Brunello Cucinelli, in his infinite wisdom, created the perfect garment for such occasions (and any others where you want to look like a globe-trotting Italian industrialist). This swashbuckling number boasts patch pockets, notch lapels, a jaunty three-button front, and is cut from a water-resistant ivory-white poly-blend fabric. Grazie, signore.

Banana Republic Traveler Linen-Cotton Blazer

It’s tough to beat the appeal of a crisp, navy linen blazer on a hot summer day (especially if your plans include strolling aimlessly, dining al fresco, or any manner of summer-vacation activities). Like most things the brand touches these days, Banana Republic nails the look, thanks to a cotton-linen blend with just a hint of stretch, a relaxed cut, and an incredibly reasonable price.

The Anthology Lazyman Jacket

Wearing tailored clothing when it’s sweltering is an advanced style move that can easily result in you looking as uncomfortable as you feel. But you don’t want to risk feeling underdressed, either. This jacket, with its cardigan-like cut and Japanese cotton-linen fabric, is designed to offer an elegant third way. Throw it on over a tee or a linen button-down, roll up the sleeves, and prepare to look (and feel) as relaxed as its ‘Lazyman’ name sounds.

Orslow Unstructured Cotton Blazer

A relaxed straight cut, a three-button front, and connotations of French guys smoking unfiltered cigs and drinking wine on their lunch breaks make the bleu de travail one of the hardest-working pieces in the workwear canon. This take on that immortal genre, remixed in crisp black cotton by one of Japan’s most committed and patient workwear specialists, is just polished enough to double as a blazer in a pinch.

What’s the different between a travel blazer, a suit jacket, and a sport coat?

Travel blazers come in more flavors than Jelly Bellys—from traditional three-roll-twos to chore coat-adjacent riffs to futuristic technical jackets—but they all share a few key commonalities. The main quality that separates them from your roster of regular suit jackets and sport coats is how they’re built. Typically, a travel blazer will be an unlined and unstructured, giving it a more casual look and increased breathability (an all-important factor on summer vacations).

What makes a good travel blazer?

In addition to perennial go-tos like tropical wool, cotton pique, and linen, travel blazers also come in an array of stretchy, moisture-wicking and water-repellent technical fabrics. And while we’d normally advise against anything but an all-natural fiber when it comes to tailoring, the wrinkle-resistance and easy-cleaning performance these fabrics offer can be a huge benefit on the move—and somewhat compensates for the ick factor of their petrochemical content.