Style Icon: Miranda Kerr (Or, The Quest for the Perfect Blazer)

When I was in Italy and France I saw this picture of model Miranda Kerr in pretty much all the fashion magazines. It is true that this look is perfection, it looks uber-cool and perfectly put together at the same time:

Miss Kerr knows is officially my new style icon. It is all about the blazer: a good, perfectly tailored blazer can really anchor an outfit and give it that polished look that many of us struggle to achieve.
After my vacation and especially after Paris (where everybody was wearing a blazer) I decided that I would look for a blazer that would do for me what that blazer is doing for Miss Kerr.
I have been on a perennial quest for the perfect blazer since my junior years. My problem is, I am petite and I can't pull off the boyfriend look. I love the boyfriend blazer on others but any blazer that hits me below the hips and covers part of my legs is going to cut my figure. Shorter, one-button jackets look often too professional for my taste (or, on the other end, too frilly) and that leaves me pretty much with the schoolboy. However, as you have probably noticed, I have been growing more and more annoyed at the schoolboy. I have the pearl gray one and I never wear it, I find it too boxy and I am annoyed at the golden buttons because I can't wear silver accessories with them. In my quest I have recently tried the high-end version of the schoolboy, the Collection schoolboy blazer in Italian cashmere. The only reason why I tried this is that it comes in a beautiful camel that is not offered in the regular version. The other reason is that it is priced much cheaper in store (in fact at first I wasn't even sure that it was the same blazer because it doesn't have the handfeel of cashmere and it was priced at $598 in store. Apparently it was a mistake and they will fix it in the next batch or they will re-ticket it if they haven't already). It is still a lot of money and if it drapes a little bit better than the flannel one, I don't think it justifies the price (I am almost pretty sure that it isn't 100% cashmere):

I also tried the tipped hacking jacket in double-serge wool and if I liked it, it reads more like outwear to me and it is also too preppy for my taste. That's when I realized that I wasn't going to find the perfect blazer at JCrew.

As you probably know I used to shop at Theory much more before JCrew became a black hole that sucked in all my money. Theory prices can scare off at first but when you do the math if you wait for a sale or a promo, a blazer that will last you many many years and make you look great, will cost you as three JCrew sweaters (or less) that will probably last you a season.
So I started to look at Theory again in my quest for the perfect blazer. One day I was in a store and I laid my eyes on the most gorgeous navy blazer. Actually gorgeous in not the right word because it was very minimalist, as Theory blazers usually are, I could have easily missed it on the racks because it didn't have any bling-y buttons and the fabric was the typical Theory blend that Theory uses for summer suiting. What was really striking was that it was a double-breasted blazer but managed to look very cool. I always pined for a double breasted blazer because they solve that annoying issue that shorter blazers tend to have, to show a portion of the shirt above the belt (the perfect blazer shouldn't show your belt and shirt/top, unless you leave it open). On the other side double-breasted blazers don't look good when left open, but then when I close them they look invariably matrony on me and add weight to my top.
Not this one. The trick is that it only has one row of buttons so it stays quite open even if the style is double-breasted. Now, I don't know what happened but I can't find it anywhere online (I am pretty sure it was on the Theory website because I looked at it a couple of times, hoping that it would go on sale). It is called Bastian Pax and I only found this picture that shows it in a different color (that I tried as well):

I kept thinking about it but as I said the prices at Theory can be quite shocking and this one was $425. I decided that I would wait at least for their family and friends, which is usually 25% off. This year instead of a F&F (unless I missed it) they are having a different promo: if you are in a store they will give you a coupon with a "secret" discount (you have to scratch to find out what the discount is). The first time I got a 15% but that wasn't going to make it. I went in another day and a different SA give me another coupon that revealed a 25% off. Still, I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to spend $300 on a pretty lightweight blazer but when I asked for my size they didn't have it. Luckily they called around and found one for me and I decided that couldn't miss on the perfect blazer, even if the Theory sample sale is coming up. The perfect blazer doesn't come around very often, especially the perfect double-breasted one and I cannot risk to let it go away (if I find the other colorway at the sample sale I will get it as well, I love it that much).
Of course perfection here is relative to one's figure and style, what works for me won't necessarely work for you. I am just saying that this is the perfect blazer for my figure, style and also budget, I am not trying to convince any of you that you need this.

So here it is on me, in a size 2 (my size). These pictures are dark and don't do it justice but I don't have the time to take them again:

When buttoned, it is nicely nipped at the waist and figure flattering:

So yesterday night I decided to have some fun (cuz I really have nothing to do) and tried to recreate the look of lovely Miranda now that I have a blazer that can compete.
I don't have a pair of Ikat pants (those that she is wearing are by Joie) but I have a similar pair of beach pants from Tory from eons ago. These could actually be considered a collector item because I think they were from her first collection. In any case they are lighteweigth like the pants that Miranda is wearing and have more or less the same shape, in a geo print if not ikat (I always kicked myself for not buying the blue colorway as well, they were like $20 at the sample sale). The scoopneck is from the Gap (best scoopneck ever in a fabric similar to the JCrew tissue cotton, less the holes. Bonus!):

Of course the difference is also that I am not carrying an IT bag (although I have mulled it over for some time and I think I am going to ask Santa to bring me a Chyc bag for Xmas, probably in a netral hue like the taupe) and I don't have the legs of miss Kerr but I was pretty satisfied with the result. What do you think?

What are your criteria for the perfect blazer and have you found it? Have you shopped at Theory recently?