Jacket required: Inspired by the ‘80s, these pieces will transform fall

The jacket — be it long, loose and boyfriend-style by Stella McCartney, shrunken into a schoolboy silhouette at J.Crew, sequin-dusted at Zara, cropped and rendered in crisp white from 3.1 Phillip Lim or studded and shoulder-padded at Balmain -- is the key to fall’s strong mood.

Left: 3.1 Phillip Lim blazer, $675, at 3.1 Phillip Lim, West Hollywood; Diesel pants, $195 at diesel.com; Kova & T shirt, $125 at www.shopbop.com; Flutter earrings $185 at flutternyc.com; Calvin Klein sunglasses, $360, visit www.marchon.com for store locations; Mawi ring, $400 at Barneys New York, Beverly Hills. Right: Theory dress, $295 at Theory, West Hollywood; Iro jacket $522 at Hillary Rush, Los Angeles; Zara shoes, $129 at Zara, Hollywood; Flutter earrings, $185 at flutternyc.com; Mawi ring, $295 at Barneys New York, Beverly Hills; Calvin Klein sunglasses, $360, www.marchon.com for store locations.

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And for good reason. No other piece of clothing, except perhaps a pair of heels, is as transformative. A jacket is an instant confidence-builder in uncertain times. It’s a kind of body armor that makes you sit straight and walk tall, and it covers a multitude of imperfections.

Product details with picture No. 2.  (Kirk McKoy /Los Angeles Times)

This season, the jacket is at the center of the 1980s trend, the motorcycle trend, the aviator trend and the return-to-professional-dressing trend. A jacket need not be expensive to command respect.

H&M blazer dress, $69.95 at H&M, Beverly Center; Mawi bracelet, $460 at Barneys New York, Beverly Hills; Jimmy Choo bag, $1,065, and shoes, $1,395, at Jimmy Choo, Beverly Hills; Flutter earrings, $185 at flutternyc.com.  (Kirk McKoy /Los Angeles Times)

But there is nothing like a jacket to make you appreciate good design — the elegant drape of a shawl collar, the gentle embrace of a shaped waist, the perfect peak of a shoulder.

Left, H&M dress, $34.95 at H&M, Beverly Center; Aldo shoes, $65 at www.aldoshoes.com; Flutter earrings, $185 at flutternyc.com; Hayden-Harnett necklace, $98 at haydenharnett.com. Right, Theory pants, $235, and jacket, $455, at Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills; Zara blouse, $39.90 at Zara, Hollywood; Aldo shoes, $125 at www.aldoshoes.com; H&M earrings, $12.95, and belt, $19.95, at H&M, Beverly Center.  (Kirk McKoy /Los Angeles Times)

If all this talk about jackets sets off a wave of nostalgia for Pat Riley, “Miami Vice” and Melanie Griffith in “Working Girl,” remember: There is a difference in how jackets are being worn this fall and how they were worn in the Armani heyday of the ‘80s and ‘90s with pleated, full-legged trousers and corporate-looking, matchy-matchy pencil skirts.

Chloe blazer, $1,795, and pants, $795, at Chloe, Los Angeles; Helmut Lang shirt, $275 at Helmut Lang, Los Angeles; Zara belt, $59.90 at Zara, Hollywood; Diesel watch, $170 at diesel.com; Flutter earrings, $185 at flutternyc.com; Proenza Schouler sunglasses, $320 at www.iloristyle.com; Aldo shoes, $120 at www.aldoshoes.com.  (Kirk McKoy /Los Angeles Times)

The trick now is to balance a strong jacket with some leg. That could mean a bandage skirt (if you’re 22), leggings, skinny jeans or even just a strappy shoe. Because this time around, women aren’t just dressing like the boys, they’re making jackets their own.

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Zara blazer, $159, and vest, $59.90, at Zara, Hollywood; Theory top, $170 at Theory, West Hollywood, and Theory pants, $695, at Neiman Marcus, Beverly Hills; Jimmy Choo bag, $750, and shoes, $815, at Jimmy Choo, Beverly Hills; Flutter earrings, $185 at flutternyc.com. H&M ring, $7.95 at H&M, Beverly Center.  (Kirk McKoy /Los Angeles Times)