Or, for that matter, poacher-ish.Īgain, a softer tweed – Harris or similar – and a more unconstructed form will help you avoid looking too period costume, though that works for Professor Indiana Jones and his three-piece in Raiders of the Lost Ark. If you’re opting for the latter, stay clear of tattersall checked shirts and plaid ties, to avoid looking too gamekeeper-ish. This is partly down to image, partly down to the tactility, density and sheen of the cloths.īut play down the tweed suit’s in-built traditionalism by wearing it with knitwear – a charcoal roll-neck, for example – rather than shirt and tie. But tweed is also one of those cloths – akin to corduroy in some respects – that manages to look smart when properly tailored, but also relaxed at the same time. TailoredĪ tweed suit may well last you a lifetime – and it will certainly pose a challenge to anyone also enjoying that central heating. “Tweed can always work in a more contemporary especially if it’s in the right colours – blues, brown herringbones, lilac shades of heather – and the jacket is constructed in a softer, way,” explains Marie Wiley, co-founder of British workwear specialists Old Town Clothing. Don’t stand on ceremony in tweed: like a pair of jeans, a tweed jacket is one of those garments that looks better the older and more battered it is. These days unstructured tweed jackets and coats – worn perhaps with chinos – look more contemporary, more at ease. The two-button tailored tweed jacket was the definitive smart-casual choice long before the term ‘smart-casual’ was coined: worn with flannels and brogues or loafers, the jacket had an air of academia about it, with pockets stuffed with one’s daily necessities, collar turned against the wind.
Ack tweed Patch#
“It looks right with all the usual more casual details, the likes of patch pockets.” Smart-Casual
Or alternatively, try a pair of tweed trousers in place of jeans – it’s an unexpected move that lends a creative edge to dressed down looks.Įither way, “tweed is an inherently casual, really knock-about fabric – it doesn’t have the stiffness associated with, say, a city pin-stripe,” says Guy Hills, founder of Dashing Tweeds, a cloth weaver focused on giving a more colourful and contemporary spin to tweeds. Teamed with a pair of jeans, a tweed jacket offers protection from the elements – but with a more classic style compared with say, a jacket in nylon or polyester blend – as well as greater textural interest. It’s why it can be used, for example, for looser fitting styles that require a degree of give – whether that be a bomber jacket or a chore jacket. The softer, more flexible Harris tweed – introduced in 1847 and still the go-to tweed today – means the cloth can be worked into all manner of styles, not just bulletproof tailoring. The idea of camouflage was born.Īlthough tweed has come to be inextricably linked with the country set – all that huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ – by the 20th century tweed was being worn for everything from bicycling to golf to climbing Mount Everest, all while being embraced by Savile Row for weekend wear along the way. Only later did those who actually owned the land, and their likewise wealthy holiday-makers and estate buyers from down south, take to wearing it, appreciating tweed as much for its melange of heather and gorse country shades as its utility.īut even these colours had a function: it’s said that one Lord Elcho, founder of the London Scottish Regiment, was inspired by tweed to create a cloth for his soldiers to wear, one that replaced the standard, hugely conspicuous blood red uniform. That’s just as well: tweed originated in 18th century Scotland – ‘tweed’ is said to come from a mis-reading of ‘tweel’ in 1826, Scottish for ‘twill’ – where this dense woollen cloth was woven at home by the peasantry to provide sturdy protection for those who worked the land. Anyone who has ever worn tweed knows how warm it is but it’s also wind- and water-resistant. What Is Tweed?įor all of its aristocratic associations, tweed might well be considered an original workwear fabric, and a highly functional one at that.
And with menswear’s fondness for traditional workwear right now, this hardy material is getting being rediscovered not in shooting jackets or country attire but work jackets, overalls and vests.
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