Get the Italian Wool Blazer, Skip the Ponte: Banana Republic at 40% Off

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A sale only saves money on the clothes you end up wearing, so I like the ones at the start of a season. I can wear the piece the week it arrives. The shopping experience is low-pressure because I'm not racing for the last piece in my size. They have the entire size and color run in stock, mostly.

Banana Republic's Friends & Family sale is on now, and I'll note what I've seen/purchased in person plus how it compares to previous years.

The sale

• 40% off full-price purchases
• September 18 – 27
• Free express shipping on $175+ with code BRSHIP
• Cashmere is included for cardholders, and I highly recommend it. My sweater in the medium weight barely pilled. The lightweight is more delicate but still performs well.

Start with the waxed jacket

Banana sold a men's weatherproof jacket in 1983 and 1984 for $139, about $448 in today's dollars. This year, they reissued it at $348, which comes to $209 with the sale.

The original was made by James Calder in Staffordshire, England, in waxed cotton claimed to be waterproof and thornproof – for tending your rose garden in the rain, I imagine. The reissue brought back the waxed cotton, corduroy collar, and plaid lining. The wax makes the cotton water-resistant, and it softens and develops a patina as you wear it.

Three features from the original are gone: the throat latch, the waist cinch, and the vents under the arms. The reissue includes two deep chest pockets instead of one, and they fit my iPhone Pro Max. And the liner is removable in the 2026 version; it was stitched on the 80s original.

The cut is roomy. I sized down to the XS. If you plan to layer oversized, chunky sweaters, stick with your usual size. An original from the 80s is on eBay as I write this, and I put it in my ShopMy with the rest.

Tailoring that overachieves

I'd narrow the blazers down to the Italian lightweight wool. The shell is 98% wool and 2% elastane, the cloth comes from Italy's Marzotto mill, and the lining is viscose with a little spandex. I praised Banana's breathable viscose linings in 2024, and I still find polyester linings at twice the price.

There's no point in optimizing for stats on garments that collect dust. I'm looking for pieces that show a design vision beyond a checklist of specs. Banana's lapel shape and proportions are close to a blazer Brunello Cucinelli carries over from year to year – not a trend piece. The Brunello is cashmere jersey and costs $6,600, so the comparison is about design, not materials. Brunello opted for a straight silhouette, and Banana darts the bodice to skim the body subtly. Size up if you're between sizes. At lower prices, we often see pieces that are stripped of the originals' functionality. I'm pleased that Banana stitches real buttonholes at the cuffs. The collar flips to show a layer of felt for more body. I rarely find this level of detail with these fabrics under $500.

If you want to build a suit, Banana makes pants in the same fabric in three cuts (straight, slim ankle, and flare). Curvy? The pants have a Hollywood waistband, which makes taking in the waist much more feasible. The Hollywood waistband continues the pant fabric from waist to hem rather than attaching a separate band at the waist.

With a separate waistband, the tailor has to take it off, take in the waist, shorten the band, and sew it back. In these, the alteration is simpler. The tailor has to open one seam, take in the pants, and re-sew that horizontal seam. It's tricky to reduce a pre-made waistband to taper at the waist, and Banana's pants avoid this challenge.

Two blazers to skip: The Relaxed Wool-Blend Blazer is 53% wool and 43% polyester, and at $348 it costs more than the one that's 98% wool. I cap wool-blend coats at about 30% synthetics, and I hold blazers to the same limit. The ponte blazer has a blobby mess where the lapel points should be.

Lightweight Wool Blazer $298 $179	Ultra High-Rise Slim Pant $198 $119
Ultra High-Rise Straight Pant $198 $119	Ultra High-Rise Flare Pant $198 $119

The satin got better

I'm skeptical of satin that isn't silk. Polyester satin looks plasticky to me, with its glittery gleam and perfectly rounded folds. Banana's stretch satin improved a lot this year. The sheen is soft, and the fabric is heavy enough that a skirt swings instead of clinging. My cowl-neck maxi dress is 99% viscose and 1% elastane, and it steamed easily. Size down if you're between sizes. I'm wearing size 2.

It comes as a lace-trim midi skirt ($160 $96), a knee-length skirt ($98 $59), lace-trim shorts ($98 $59), and the dress ($220 $132). The lace is equivalent to what you'd find at J.Crew and Aritzia, but Aritzia's Henrietta skirt satin is mostly triacetate and looks downmarket. From J.Crew, I'd recommend lace-trimmed satin as shorts as shorts but not as a skirt. I also love J.Crew's viscose satin. Size down; I'm size 26 in jeans and wear XS in J.Crew's Cosmo pants.

Cowl-Neck Maxi Dress $220 $132	Lace-Trim Short $98 $59
Lace-Trim Midi Skirt $160 $96	Knee-Length Skirt $98 $59

Shirts at $100 or less

Banana's button-ups are my favorite under $100, in cotton and in linen. The collars are well shaped, the armholes are high, the buttons are shell, and the fabric drapes instead of bulking.

If you're buying plaid, check alignment:

1. Around the chest pocket: the pocket should continue the plaid of the front or have a diagonal alignment
2. Down the center front: the buttons should be centered on the plaid, or the plaid should continue left to right, encompassing the piece of fabric that holds the buttonholes (aka the button placket), or the button placket should have a diagonal alignment (rare)
3. The collar points should be symmetric
4. The side seam: the pattern should continue across from front to back