Look. Not gonna pull any punches here.

This is yet another otherwise nice, affordable, casual cotton blazer, rendered almost useless by the dreaded combination of abnormally long sleeves and functional buttons at the sleeve cuffs. WHY… do they (not just Target, but many retailers) keep doing this?

You have to think that it has to cost more to manufacture functional sleeve buttons, as opposed to just sewing a few buttons on there. Sure, the flipping the cuffs back “look” was kinda a thing, maybe, for a little while there. But are these really instigating more purchases than they prevent?

Those sleeves. Size shown is a medium on 5’10” / 185, with average length arms.

Tailoring is a cinch on sleeves with non-functioning buttons at the cuffs. It’s a slice and re-sew job. It’s a total pain on those that do have them, and paying out the wazoo to have the sleeve shortened at the shoulder seems silly for a $39 blazer. It’s also extra odd that the sleeves on many of these blazers are abnormally long.

As your resident Captain Average, I’m 5’10” (that’s 70 total inches) with a 70″ wingspan. Right. Dead-on-average. The sleeves on this Merona blazer are so long that not only can I forget about showing a little bit of shirt cuff… I can’t even show my first row of knuckles. If you’ve got shorter than average arms? Your thumb might go missing.

Functioning cuffs + abnormally long sleeves = Why?

And it’s too bad too, because otherwise, it’s a mighty fine jacket for forty bucks. It’s made from a midweight cotton, the color is a well saturated & rich dark blue, and it’s only half-lined in a breathable chambray. No polyester in their mucking up the works and suffocating your pores (not even in the sleeves, those are unlined).

Sizing is a little goofy on these, but that’s not unexpected when something is this cheap. A medium is a little small on 5’10” 185, but a large was way too big. Seems like there’s a full size and a half difference between Medium and Large. Think, 38R to 41R or 42R instead of 38R to 40R. It’s got a center vent in the rear, and the length is on the short but not chopped side. The armholes are high, and the jacket moves well as a whole, but the taper on the sleeves is skinny-jeans like. If you’ve got popeye forearms, get ready to feel shrink-wrapped.

Only if you could easily tailor the sleeves.

Construction and materials are A+ for the price. But they appear to have used Gumby as a body-type-template for the proportions. And the addition of functional sleeve buttons is going to be an instant deal breaker for most.

If you see it in store? It’s worth trying one on. If it fits, you’re in luck. Meanwhile, the bi-annual (spring/fall) best blazers list is coming up in the not too distant future. Unfortunately, this one won’t be on that list.