What accessories can be combined with tweed suit?
If you want to know all about England, read The Forsyte Saga by Galsworthy. Life of several generations of English families with their traditions, hopes and strivings is reflected in this immortal piece of work. A lot of pages of the novel are dedicated of course to the description of evening clothes, hunting, races, and strolls in park, anything and everything that is important for the British, including traditional men’s accessories for the English tweed.
Thus, a British tweed suit is associated with occasional accessories. A smoking pipe takes a pride of place among them. At once we think about a spacious living room or a library, where gentlemen in checked tweed suits discuss news about politics or social life of the city and the room is scented with smoke and heather. The English have never inhaled the smoke, they have always enjoyed the spicy bouquet. A formal tweed suit is worn with silk neckerchief which according to the English etiquette should have been two colours lighter than a suit.
White shirts and pocket watches
White shirts with turn-down collars and grey two-piece suits were worn by clerks, and bankers preferred clothes in dark colours. A rich business man wore a jacket and a silk shirt which had cuffs with cuff-links.
Cuff-links could be seen by other people because the cuffs (according to the common decencies) should have been seen under the sleeves of the jacket. Pocket watch and pince-nez were worn to give the image some solidity and significance. Can a person with a golden watch in a pocket and with pince-nez be unsuccessful? It is incredible!
Accessories for hunting clothes
Surprisingly, the English loving their pets so much and adoring cats and dogs have always been avid hunters. Hunting was a significant event which demanded a lot of preparations. Horses (there was special equipment for every kind of hunting) and hounds should have been prepared, outfits, guns and of course accessories should have been chosen carefully.
A hunting outfit usually consists of:
- a short tweed jacket with patch pockets;
- tight-leg trousers which are tucked into high leather boots.
The key accessory is a leather waist bag with a strap. It contains all what a hunter can need: ammunition, a flask with water, warm clothes and other things.
A permanent headwear is tweed cap (a checked one or in traditional colour which is called houndstooth). Hunters wear under the jacket neckerchiefs (woollen in cold weather and silk in warm weather). Ladies often go hunting, for that reason men try to look elegant and glamorous. Suits are made by the best tailors, and bags, flasks, pipes and other important handmade little things are sometimes more expensive than the clothes.
Tea ceremonies
The English drink tea slowly while discussing the weather and beloved animals. During the gentlemen’s feast in male company men can take off their jackets and stay in snow-white shirts and trousers with braces. The braces are of course stylish and fashionable accessories. These are, for example, thin straps made of calfskin which give a suit completeness and elegance.
Today suits and accessories of English gentlemen from the previous era can be seen at the historical exhibitions in museums. Things are in perfect condition what is another proof of the high quality of the British products.