If you’re not wearing a blazer on a night out, what are you doing?

James Laver once described clothing as “the furniture of the mind”, and he wasn’t wrong. University is synonymous with a number of things, but the idea of “lazy students” is one so engrossed within our culture we find ourselves committing to it without even realising.

A “lazy student” is everything your parents are terrified you’ve become. Their concerns are confirmed every time you rock up to your lecture in the same t-shirt you wore in bed and those trousers you refuse to wash in case they lose their softness. This is not a good look and, as Laver knows, it reflects more than just your fashion sense. Everyone should adopt a blazer for each and every occasion; trust me – you’ll thank me for it later.

They look nice

Blazers are iconic, you simply can’t go wrong. Whether you’re wearing a shirt or you’re lucky enough to pull one off with a t-shirt, they look sick. If anyone tells you otherwise, they’re either lying or jealous. There’s something about the symmetry of a nice blazer which simply can’t be replicated with any other item of clothing.

Best dressed on campus

They’re practical

Inside pockets are an absolute god-send at university. There’s somewhere to put your wallet, your phone, your hopes and your dreams and you don’t get that awkward bulge in your trousers as a result. It’s also safer because you’re less likely to be pick-pocketed, so it’s really an investment too.

They make you work harder

It’s commonly agreed school uniforms exist because they made us work hard. When you pulled that little shirt on you knew it was time to focus, and the same applies with suits at work. Yes they obviously serve the simple purpose of being smart, but they offer more than that: they possess the ability to change your state of mind, to focus your energy and make you more productive. They’re pretty much just a much more accessible version of the pill in Limitless.

You look fit

Girls love them

In a well fitted blazer, everyone is attractive. They’re designed to be flattering to your body shape so even if you’ve got shoulders barely wider than your head like me, they can add half a stone of muscle to your upper body and push you way up the rig-ter scale. Sadly they can’t help your legs, but it’s to look like you’ve skipped leg day than look like you’ve skipped every day.

They sustain optimum warmth levels

It’s February, it’s cold, it’s shit. Lecture theatres are uncomfortable at the best of times, but no more so than when they’re slightly too cold to don just your t-shirt, but slightly too warm to justify keeping your coat on. A blazer solves this issue seamlessly, whether you’ve gone for a thick woolen tweed or a nice light wool, any blazer will send you straight to thermoregulatory bliss.

Just happy to be warm

People take you more seriously

If you’ve got to go to office hours because you were on your phone the whole lecture and you don’t get anything, your lecturer will be far more empathetic if you look like someone who gives a shit. If you’ve got a meeting with a staff member about getting reimbursed for sports travel or something equally boring, they’ll take you more seriously, too. A man in a blazer is an operator, a man who will get the job done, a man you can trust in. Or at least that’s what it makes you look like.

Post uni drinks are easy

NICE

Sometimes if you’ve had a long day at uni you just want to go out. You’ve had a long week and you’ve drowned your sorrows in the same minging pub every night for the past four days, but now it’s Friday and you’re going to reward yourself with a porn star martini. You rock up at the cocktail bar and the bouncer takes one look at your Stan Smiths, tight jeans and tattered hoodie and sends you to the pub from whence you came. Wearing a blazer? He’ll probably offer you a free drink.

I think the case is clear: change your wardrobe, change your life.