Country & Tweeds Style Guide
Formerly the choice of casual outdoor dress for wealthy landowners, shooting club members and pipe-smoking professors, tweed has made its way into the mainstream. Today, it’s as prevalent in the City of London as it is on the moors of Yorkshire.
It should be no surprise really, as tweed clothing has an ability to bear colour and texture in a beautiful manner, while it’s also robust, warm and resilient when cut and styled correctly.
The traditional browns and greens on which tweed is based are inspired by the wild British and Irish countryside. In days of old it would have been more conservative in appearance, but today it’s often uplifted by subtle threads of gold, red, blue and heather, giving it a lighter, more contemporary look.
Essentially, tweed is a resilient workman’s fabric, famed for its warmth and water resistance. It’s made by dying and tightly weaving wool, usually in a plain, twill or herringbone pattern.
Its roots are in 18th century Scotland, where dense woolen cloth was woven by layfolk to keep them warm as they worked outdoors. It spread over the years from the working class — those working the land — to the landowners themselves, who had become taken with its eye-catching colour palette.
Indeed, it’s believed to have inspired the idea of camouflage military uniforms for the way it blended in so smoothly with its surroundings. The tailors of Savile Row meanwhile, who always have their finger on the fashion pulse, became lauded for their ability to cut handsome tweed weekend and adventure wear for their middle – upper class clientele.
Thus, tweed became the unofficial uniform for shooting and hunting trips, fishing excursions and even mountain hikes.
Today however, as we mentioned above, it’s being worn by multitudes for its striking look, superior comfort and smart casual air.
The purpose for which you’re wearing it, as well as your climate will strongly influence the weight of cloth you’ll require.
If it’s for a spring or summer time, smart-casual wedding for example, a more lightweight and brighter coloured garment would be fitting.
If however, you’re intending to wear tweed for outdoor excursions or field sports in the autumn, it’ll have to be more hardwearing, and possibly more muted in colour.
You might be intending to wear your tailored tweed garments in the city, in which case you may want to step away from the traditional brown, green and grey in search of something more urban. Dark blue and navy tweed are popular in the city, while pastels are becoming more trendy, especially when subtly woven into the traditional grey, brown, or even navy.
At Marc Oliver, we’re experts in cutting and tailoring fine tweed suits, jackets, waistcoats, plus twos, plus fours, and trousers. We use the finest pure new wool to give our tweed garments a softer feel, while not compromising on endurance in the outdoors.
When you meet our tailor, he will be able to quickly surmise what your needs are, where you’ll wear your tweed, and what colour and cloth variations will look great on you.
Book an appointment with Marc Oliver, and open the door to Savile Row.
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