Tweed might be country’s most traditional fabric, but there are new ways to wear it…
Tweed is both a countryside staple (large estate owners would commission their own unique tweeds to be made to suit out their staff in if they were not entitled to family clan tartans) and a fabric that’s been embraced by high fashion brands such as Chanel. Don’t restrict wearing tweed to winter months of game sports, either. For me the best way to wear tweed all year round is to mix it in with some sassier pieces and maybe in summer months only have hints of it in an outfit. I have teamed this tweed cap with a Nadya Shah cape and Laura Ashley jumpsuit, but complemented the tweed with a subtle green polo neck and Le Chameau wellies.
Sir Michael Leighton is one of Shropshire’s finest eccentrics – his family home Loton Park straddles the Shropshire/Wales border and holds his 300-strong deer park. Sir Michael takes great care when it comes to dressing and, as Patron of the Welsh Kilt Society knows a thing or two about designing a good tweed. He has mastered the art of making tweed work all year round with this lightweight, bright green, checked tweed cape teamed with the electric corduroy trousers a matching cap and a well worn pair of brogues. A good stick is also a historic and staple piece for true countryside ramblers. Sir Michael is a skilled crafts man who makes walking sticks from the wood on the estate and fits the deer antlers as handles, managing to turn this hobby into a business selling these handcrafted pieces.
Trevor Pickett – founder of the luxury leather goods brand Pickett London has an acute eye for style and design and is perfectly placed to give us some tips on how he makes tweed work all year round. “Choose lighter jackets and softer tones. Wear open for a casual look,” he says. As such, Trevor has opted for a Dashing Tweeds jacket, Zara Men jumper and grey well-worn pair of Hardy Aimes trousers – the perfect combination for a city-to-country take on tweed.