Up for sale here is a blazer from Yohji Yamamoto’s Y’s for Men label. The Y’s for Men label was a long-running companion to the Yohji Yamamoto Pour Homme flagship label. Where Pour Homme was Yohji’s Paris runway collection, Y’s for Men was the somewhat paired-down “basics” line. That’s not to say that anything Yohji puts out is in any way basic, nor was the quality compromised really in any way with Y’s for Men, but design was a bit simplified and prices were a bit cheaper than the mainline. The Y’s for Men line ended around 2009 when Yohji declared bankruptcy (although they recently re-launched), making these pieces increasingly hard to come by.
This jacket comes from one of the last Y’s collections before their more recent re-start. It is seemingly simple, but a great encapsulation of what Yohji is about. Material is Yohji’s signature 100% wool gabardine fabric. This is a lighter weight wool, definitely not one of his heavy duty winter pieces, but suitable for year-round wear. Front has a three button closure with a slightly relaxed silhouette – it is not the balloon proportions the Pour Homme label sometimes reaches, but maintains Yohji’s signature drape with a relaxed and unrestricted feeling.
The jacket is partially lined in the body and lined in the sleeves in a striped cupro fabric. The jacket appears to have gone through some kind of garment dye process, where the body fabric and logo patch have a sort of light purple sheen to them and the materials tag is a darker shade of purple. The striped sleeve lining makes for a nice contrast as well, where the sleeves are intentionally a bit long and can be worn cuffed to let the sleeve fabric poke through.
Every point of design is very well considered here, from the fabrics to the tailoring to the details. Design is classic, timeless and will go with pretty much everything, but at the same time has a number of hallmarks setting it apart. This is some of the highest quality available and increasingly difficult to come across these days.
Size is labeled a 4 – normally this is on the larger side for Yohji, although his sizing can be somewhat inconsistent. This piece works well for a standard medium in my opinion. I measure the chest at 21.5”, shoulders at 18.5”, length at 32” in front and 28” in back, and sleeves at 26” from the shoulder. The jacket comes in lightly used, very good shape. There is a bit of wear on the neckline, but otherwise no holes, tears or stains. Made in Japan.
Shipping from Japan to anywhere will be $30.