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Ways to Wear: Dashing Trousers

Trousers are without a doubt the most worn item of clothing in the Western world, almost every other piece of clothing can be dispensed with or replaced in public nowadays. Hats, gloves and ties are becoming scarce, socks are often discarded as are jackets and shirts. Wearing vests has become de rigueur in some circles but lose the trousers and you’re in trouble. With this in mind, it’s surprising how little attention is often paid to this single most important item of clothing.

In terms of fit, trousers are much more complicated than first meets the eye. It’s no surprise that jean companies have found ways of pulling wool over your eyes when it comes to selling ill fitting cotton; anti fit twist, pant showing hipsters and shrink to fit are just a few examples.

A pair of well fitting trousers are items of great beauty and can do wonders for your figure and morale. Considering the vagaries of fashion, trousers are one of the most adapted pieces of clothing. Prince Albert had a fondness for a tight pair and with a prowess to match he endowed society with a huge following, setting the scene for decades of swaggering gentlemen.

The Edwardian era was a time for much trouser experimentation with tailors adjusting all the ratios of leg width and waist positioning until a perfect balance was achieved. Ways of helping trousers hang comfortably were also tested and you’ll be surprised at the different types of belts and braces that were produced.

For trousers to look and feel really good I always think they should sit on your natural waist, the area that goes in at the top of your hip bone. However, to achieve this the rise of the trouser from crotch to waist needs to be just right, too long and the bottom will sag, too tight and result will be audible. Once trousers sit well you can decide how tight you like to wear them and work on the silhouette of the leg.

At the moment I’m really enjoying wide legged trousers, they just flow with such a sense of insouciance that you naturally relax into a languid stride and the day seems better, but the choice is yours and with through our made to measureprocess you can choose whatever takes your fancy and run with it.

Dashing Tweeds New Scarf Collection

Scarfs I find are one of the most elusive items of clothing, like bottle openers and sprites they seem to vanish as soon as you look for them. However, there is no need to worry as we are have designed and woven fabulous new scarfs for the season and you can find them easily at Dashing Tweeds.

As well as providing easy warmth a scarf can transform any outfit. Whether you take inspiration from Mad Max or Toulouse Lautrec, a scarf can provide a ruggedness or elegance with a simple swish round the neck.

This season we are offering two qualities of scarfs in an exquisite variety of colours. The first design fits the ‘Road Warrior’ image, a beautifully lightweight blend of Merino lambswool and Cashmere in a gauzy texture which at over six foot long and 2 foot wide you can swathe around your neck with splendid swarthiness.

This design is woven with a graduating warp ranging from black to natural undyed ecru wool, weaving with the coloured horizontal weft threads creates a sophisticated ombré effect, the depth of colour lightening across the width. The current colours available are black, blue, red and green, and the pink has already sold out.

Our classic scarves this year are pure Lambswool of a traditional quality woven in Scotland and featuring hand tassled ends. Huge scale checks are broken up across the two metre length with a varsity theatricality that feels equally at home on the Twickenham sidelines or Cambridge Footlights. We’ve woven these in bold yellows, blues and red to brighten up any lacklustre winter day.

Both our scarf offerings make ideal presents and as sizing is not an issue you can enjoy the process of selecting colours that will complement the aura of your inamorata. Do stop by our flagship shop at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone to see the full collection in person. Alternatively, our online storeis also up and running and we can post them to any location worldwide.

Unlined Jackets for Spring!

You may have noticed that a new form of clothing has been conceived recently; the shacket.

This bastard offspring of a shirt and jacket is actually starting to gain a popular reputation amongst the sartorially conscious, and probably rightly so. As the climate ameliorates and gadgets proliferate, men are left with the dilemma of choosing between pockets or a man bag. Since girdle pouches of the renaissance, stylish men have struggled to elegantly carry everyday stuff, if you are French then it’s just possible to carry off one of those small wrist worn handbags but for the rest of us pockets are a necessity.

A jacket with pockets was one of the most seminally useful items of clothing to have ever been invented and unless you happen to be a sporran wearing Scot nigh on essential.

Whilst untucked shirts sporting pockets can to some extent impersonate a jacket you are better off with the real thing in a light form, and this brings us to our made to measure unlined jackets.

These jackets are beautifully tailored and bestowed with no less than five functioning pockets. Instead of a heavy construction hidden behind a lining the jackets are simply tailored with the exposed edges of the seams elegantly sewn over with a fine lining of your colour choice. By the nature of the pattern the external pockets are patch ones as used on classic cricket or rowing blazers but the internal ones are able to be fastened securely with buttons.

Our new summer fabrics in fine Merino wool are ideal for unlined jackets being strong enough to hold their shape yet let enough to avoid overheating.

To find out more do drop us an email at Holly@DashingTweeds.co.uk, or pop in to our store at 47 Dorset Street.

All the very best,

The Dashing Team