I remember my grandmother in tweed.
A skirt, straight and pencil like, and she wore it with a plain sweater and a string of pearls for best. Classic.
From memory, she dolled it up with a pair of brogue style shoes and a cloche hat.
Granny, I loved you but I am not wearing my tweed like this. I adore a tweed pattern whether it’s English style or Chanel style. And then there is Sherlock Holmes? I’d wear the cape in a heartbeat but I would leave the hat to the intrepid investigator.
I love a check, I love a plaid and I love a houndstooth. The more we become adept at wearing tweed, the more we mix and match and the better tweed looks. I see why it suits life in the English countryside but it’s the sort of fabric that resonates in the city too. A tweed pair of trousers, a Chanel style blouse and a cropped tweed jacket; different print if possible. Too much? Add in the leather jacket and work both looks together.
Tweed fashion has a comfort about it.
Women who wore tweed traditionally had the reputation of being a “good sort”, a headmistress-of-an-all-girl’s-boarding-school kind of vibe. Think Enid Blyton and The Famous Five or the St Clare stories. I read and re-read those stories as a child. Maybe that is why I am such a fan.
Tweed does not have to look like it has made a come back from the schoolroom or the moors. A walking stick or briefcase does not need to be the accessory of choice. Tweed can be as easily “rocker chic” as “elegant classic”. It comes down to the pieces we choose and how we combine them. Coco Chanel revolutionised how women thought of the tweed jacket, so much so that there are very few of us who wouldn’t be delighted to add one of hers to our jacket collection.
Which tweed? What pieces?
Tweed is like leopard print and maybe for starters, one item is enough.
I would start with a tweed jacket. Pick your style – is it cropped, blazer length or 3/4. My preferences are the cropped and the longer length. A tweed jacket is pretty with a more intricate style blouse and often in a softer fabric to contrast the roughness of one against the silkiness of the other. Tie neck or ruffle styles work for blouses, as do contrasting trims. Like this one.
A tweed dress is one to wear pretty much anywhere and the best travelling companion. Heels or flats, it’s a no-brainer dress and I like those. It’s so refreshing to have a dress you know looks good and can take you out the door in 5.
Then there are the pants and skirts.
Wear with or without the jacket. I am coming around to contrasting tweeds but accept it is not for everyone. Do ‘Granny’ style and wear them with a beautiful cashmere sweater; say farewell to Granny and wear them with sneakers.
Halsbrook is an online destination we love at VA and this season their edit is so spectacular. I started with tweed and couldn’t stop. It is a site I love both for their curation and their choice of brands.
Tweed is one of those fabrics and fashions we can all wear; there is a shape, a colour and a piece for everyone. Felling “dowdy” in tweed is no longer an option. Quite the reverse. xv
Definitely Not Your Granny’s Tweed
jackets
sara roka purple || helene berman beige || ports international navy || amina rubinacci red || saint james green || edward anchour beige
weill blue dress || sail to sable navy dress || sail to sable green dress || sail to sable sky blue skirt || edward anchour white blouse
Thank you Halsbrook for partnering with, “Not Your Granny’s Tweed”.
images, carl bengtsson, elle germany 2014, max papendieck, ruush magazine 2016, venetia scott
