Facts & Stories

Tweed emerged among the small farmers and land labourers of the damp climate of Scotland and Ireland sometime in ages now lost in mist; but surely many centuries before the English aristocracy eventually came upon it on their hunting trips, and brought it back to their London tailors. Originally it was very rough, thick and felted, hand woven according to local traditions in dull and earthy colours. It was a working man’s cloth, but ready to make a journey through the history and social classes of the British Empire.

Summer footwear is certainly much more than deck shoes and sneakers. I do wear deck shoes, when sailing or visiting friends in the archipelago. The waxy leather withstands an occasional dip or two, and the soles keep you from involuntarily leaving a wet deck. At the lawn tennis club, I wear my whites, including, of course, a pair of white tennis shoes. For most other matters, however, I prefer slightly dressier shoes. And those are, many times, more comfortable.

The fashion industry has an everlasting demand for renewal. It wants, of course, to sell you new garments every season. Although once and a while an innovation can become part of permanent style, the push to "make it new" often leads to amusing results. The very short and excessively slim jacket that has been in vogue the last couple of years most certainly belongs to the latter category.

Firmly placed in the centre of the ever growing field of casual wear stands the blazerA usually dark navy single or double breasted jacket with brass or horn buttons., and the popularity of this individual jacket seems to be eternal. Not too formal, not too casual, hardly ever out of place, almost never wrong. Dressed in a dark blue blazer with grey flannel trousers, brown brogues and a sharp white shirt and colourful tie, one may confidently think oneself dressed for whatever the day will bring.

In the olden days, a gentleman would never wear brown shoes in the city. The city was where he went for business or legal matters, which required a black, plain shoe. Today, it's another matter altogether.