OUR NEW WINTER CLOTH COLLECTION

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Dashing Tweeds. Kirsty and I started the company with the sole aim of bringing more colour and excitement into your lives. We wanted to enrich clothing by offering gloriously thoughtful fabric designs, each year we have worked hard to bring you something new and this year is no exception.

Wild Beasts have inspired our new collection this autumn. The beasts in question are not actual animals but rather spring from a group of painters in the early 20th century. The artists used such bright colours and savage strokes of the brush that they became know as “Les Fauves” – The Wild Beasts. Interestingly some of the art works originated in London with André Derain painting Charing Cross Bridge in bright blue, framed by vermillion trees against a flaming yellow sky. Claude Monet painted London views from his room at the Savoy Hotel, capturing Waterloo lost in ethereal fog and surreal colours.

We have taken these bold visions and the free use of colour to inform our glorious new tweed designs.

Our ‘Wild’ design incapsulates the whole mood of the painting genre. The unashamedly large scale check sets the tone, a neutral grey against a rowdy riot of burnt sienna, orange and purple, brought to harmony with the use of dark navy yarns that settle the fabric into a very wearable design.

I like to think of clothes as wearable works of art and a coat tailored in our ‘Wild’ would definitely fit this brief. The fabric weighs in at 16oz and is 100% British wool.

‘Maurice’ is the name for our radiant orange and red check, named after Maurice de Vlaminck who used raw paint tones in the most daring way. The check is an elegant 4 inch rectangle against a dark grey ground and woven in a wool with a brushed finish. The effect of the brushing is to merge the yarn tones and give an almost luminous quality to the fabric. At 16-17oz the Maurice design tailors into a magnificent coat (which we are launching later this month) and will blend into the radiant autumnal scenes of the eponymous painter.

Normandy, Honfleur and Charing Cross are all names we have given to our soft Donegal tweeds. The wool yarn for these designs are famous for their daubs of colour and aesthetically pleasing to use with The Fauvists in mind.

The ‘Normandy’ design is predominately emerald green with a strong diagonal twill running across the verticals of black, grey, lime green and burgundy. The cloth seems both classic and modern at the same time and with the easy set of the yarns it drapes beautifully and feels lighter than its weight of 16oz may suggest.

For more subdued occasions our ‘Honfleur’ design in soft Donegal strikes a balance between a creative texture and the elegance of navy blue. The strong dark blue twill dominates the design and matches the warp threads, creating parallelogram shapes diagonally across the fabric in a most pleasing way. The fabric weighs 16oz, ideal for unlined jackets and soft tailoring.

Our ‘Charing Cross’ design in soft Donegal wool is a warm ochre version of the green ‘Normandy’ tweed. The overall effect of the 16oz cloth harks back to the palette used in the more colourful eras of fashion. The dark verticals are reminiscent of brush stokes and the cloth will fit with your wardrobe as the summer sun starts to set lower in the sky and give us all a diffuse glow.

To complete our collection we have added three new basket weave designs, extending the colour range of these very successful patterns. They are all woven in wonderfully thick wool and end up creating a fabulous 26oz cloth suitable for luxuriously warm overcoats. The most striking of the designs is ‘Viridian’, bright green and navy yarns jostle to create a vibrant basket weave effect that brings joy to all around.

The basket weave pattern with navy and oatmeal yarns creates a striking graphic design; an instant classic that will go with anything, we have named this ‘Marquet’ after the eponymous Albert, a life long friend of Matisse and a pioneering Fauvist.

In the ‘Prussian’ design we have used two very similar navy yarns to subtle effect. One of the yarns features neps in dark shades making the basket weave pattern of the design very subdued and creating an overall effect of texture in a very sophisticated way. At 26oz the Prussian cloth can be used for coats, unlined jackets or perhaps ski attire.

All our cloths are available by the metre to can be used through our tailoring too. We have also designed a new range of bomber jackets, raglan and body coats, so watch this space for them launching soon!

SUMMER SALE

It’s shaping up to be a sizzling summer, time to take things easy and relax in the shade. Perhaps, hand some work over to AI agents and see if they are really up to the task.

The joy of holiday is having time to chat with friends, dance together in the evening and dream up new ideas. It’s also a great time to sort through your wardrobe and plan what you need for summer. Some shorts and simple tops and then a jacket for evening dinners and a lightweight suit for weddings and parties is the ideal mix.

Our summer ready to wear collection has beautiful pieces for you, and for the whole of July we will be offering them at a darn hot discount of 20% off ready to wear and cloth.

We have tailored an exquisite suit in our very fine Orlando wool and cashmere cloth that drapes delightfully and feels cool to wear. It has proved very successful and we have a few left.

Our cotton jacquard jacket is super fun for summer, will be on sale alongside our lightweight cotton geo knit which has been incredibly popular.

Pop in store and try on some new outfits soon. We are also offering 10% off all tailoring as well, so plan ahead for those special events.

All the best,

Team Dashing

DRESSING UP FOR SUMMER

I was thinking about what defines Britishness the other day and near the top of my list was dressing up for the summer season.

British men love to dress up and to dress well. After all, the English style of a two piece suit, invented by Charles II, is perhaps the biggest fashion export of all time.

made to measure, tailoring, trousers

Summer time frees the suit from the shackles of the city and allows modern cuts to flourish as well as being the time to dust off classic pieces such as a morning suit which is still required for events such as Ascot. Many people are ditching the traditional morning coats for their weddings. In one way it’s a shame as the general backdrop for photographs looks so good with everyone dressed in unison but then it understandably allows individuality to shine through. However, the dress code of a joyous summer suit for a friends wedding can be a tricky one to pull off. Too much white or cream is probably to be avoided; mistakenly having your nuptials tied could prove uncomfortable.

Our ready to wear suit in Orlando cloth hits the mark and we have many other fine Merino wools which are waiting for you via our made to measuring tailoring.

For sporting events, blazers are always a good option. The term blazer was coined when someone commented on bright rowing club attire with a statement which probably went “By golly gosh, that coat you are wearing is a blazer!” Who made this throw away comment is not recorded in history but they were very likely to have been wearing cream flannel trousers, a boater and perhaps a naval style double breasted jacket similar to our new season Ink Spectra jacket but not quite as exciting. Should you wish to continue adding to the verbal history of clothing then we can certainly help with some of our new fabric designs, you never know what moniker will stick. I’ve had the pleasure of some sick admiration in the past!

Holiday attire is a tricky thing to pull off. Obviously if there is no one else around on your remote island you can wear anything you like; perhaps nothing at all but a well positioned mosquito net. However, more often than not you’ll find yourself invited to a banging beach club party followed by cocktails on a friends boat and then an overflowing fruits der mer platter with trout lipped blondes – or perhaps I’ve been hanging out in the Balearics too much.

Obviously some cool threads are required for such occasions and the advice of Hardy Amies, the Savile Row couturier is as relevant as ever “A man should look as if he had bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care, and then forgotten all about them.” Wearing beautiful clothes with nonchalance is the answer, high street clothing in cheap fabric looks indifferent at the best of times, after a little rough and tumble they simply look like rags. From boho to hobo is just a thread away.

Again, Dashing Tweeds can help you. Despite our name we also weave with cotton for the summer months and our wonderful jacquard cloth named Threadbare will keep you in the scene. Our Threadbare shorts look great on the beach paired with our new ecru cotton knit, then as the sun goes down you can chuck on a matching jacket for the ultimate in short suits or wear a contrasting weave should the suit concept distress your bros too much.

We have added some knits to our refined summer collection. I love an elegant 100% cotton knit which I can pair with summer trousers, one with long sleeves that can be worn in the evening or under a jacket. They are surprisingly hard to find, so we designed a geometric pattern reminiscent of marquetry and had it knitted with a placket collar just the way I like them. I hope you do too!

Now is the time to plan. Our ready to wear collection is selling fast and our made to measure tailoring takes six weeks. So whether you are stalking in the moors, strolling the beaches or cheering in the home counties you know where to come.

To celebrate the launch of our first complete capsule collection (a head to toe off the peg look) we are having drinks in the shop on Thursday 11th June from 5pm onwards. It would be lovely to see you. Do feel free to bring any of your friends along, especially those who need an added dash to their wardrobe.

See you then,

All the best,

Team Dashing

LONDON CRAFT WEEK 2026

It’s craft week. Making things with love is in the air.

Not so long ago craft was a dirty word, summoning up images of beardy weirdies whittling away in the woods. Now with impending robot doom, craft has become more important than ever. Machines can, and do churn out masses of perfectly made plastic items and clothes, but the most important aspect is always missing – soul and a loving touch.

Dashing Tweeds encompasses craft in every way. We are constantly designing fabulous new tweeds from scratch by hand. Although it’s more laborious, we work directly with wool yarns whilst designing. Hand wrapping warp samples and working directly on a loom allows creativity to flourish. The pure tactile element of textile design is so important as the fabrics we create are to be worn on the body and cherished. Serendipity is often an important part of the process, when machines go wrong they just screw up but a slight human error can suddenly be pleasing to the eye. A slip of the hand can be exciting and lead to a new line of thought and design experimentation.

The fleece to fashion journey is very much hands on. British sheep farmers do a wonderful job at nurturing their flocks. All sheep need to be skilfully shorn by hand before their fleeces are sent to the British Wool sorting centre. Grading wool is an immensely skilfull process which we were lucky enough to see last year at Wool House in Bradford.

Spinning wool into a yarn is fascinating to watch. During lockdown I bought a spinning wheel and delighted in turning wool into a thread  and interestingly the process at an industrial scale is not so different and quite mesmerising.

Once our tweeds are woven by Robbie in the Scottish borders there are still a few more processes which are little known and require a great deal of craft skill. Any broken threads need to be mended and darned back into the cloth. You can often see on the back of cloth tiny knots and on the face nothing is visible. Darning is one of the skills which is vital and yet it is so hard for the weavers to find people with the right experience for the job.

Then there is the finishing process which really determines the whole character of the cloth. There are so many choices to be made, how long the fabric should be scoured in water from the River Tweed, how wide it should be set to on tenter hooks and a whole plethora of pressing or pile raising options. The best brushing is done with real teasels which brings us round to another dying craft, that of a teasel setter. 

Lastly, after the tweed is designed, woven and finished there is the tailoring to be done. British tailoring represents a pinnacle of craft refined over hundreds of years. A full bespoke suit with horse hair canvassing and hand sewn button holes is the embodiment of skill and something to be cherished and loved for many, many years. Just thinking about all the skilled hands needed to turn fine wool into a fine suit makes me almost giddy with delight and being embraced by all these crafts is an intoxicating feeling like no other. You know where to come if you want to be embodied by craft this week.

All the best,

Team Dashing

NEW SS26 COLLECTION

This season it’s all about enjoying relaxed tailoring whilst having fun with friends and family. Dressing well elevates any occasion and makes those around you feel valued. Life is simply better when you look good.

Dashing Tweeds has pioneered new fine wool designs for the summer that effortlessly lead the way to a modern tailored look. Traditionally British tailoring was favoured the world over, but now casual clothing has become mainstream and there is a need to re-establish the relevance of English design.

Dashing Tweeds achieve this through their creativity and understanding that in today’s increasingly uniform world individuality is key.

The exquisitely cut unlined navy blue blazer in a fine merino wool leads the way in summer style. The peak lapels of the double breasted jacket contrast with the more relaxed look of the patch side pockets lending a nonchalance to any occasion. The cloth, an echo weave we have pioneered, is a clever mixture of royal blue, navy and black and weighs in at 11oz, ideal for an unlined summer jacket. It holds its shape and drapes without creasing making it ideal for travel. The double breasted buttoning is the classic 2 show 3, whereby 2 buttons fasten up and the extra show buttons lend a masculinity to the torso shape. Side vents and a 4 button cuff complete the look. The internal seams are all finished with navy binding.

Working with a heritage mill in Suffolk we have designed and woven a cotton jacquard with a fascinating distressed thread motif that bears a resemblance to snake skin. The leisurely jacket looks equally at home in town or on holiday by the sea. To keep things cool only the sleeves are lined in a steel blue. The cut is that of a classic British sports blazer as worn by rowing and cricket clubs. In keeping with tradition the three button blazer has a notched collar, a plain back, two side patch pockets and a patch breast pocket. The cuff features three corozo buttons and the cotton fabric is just 8oz. You will certainly cut a dash when out and about wearing this, especially when teamed with the matching shorts.

To complement our summer collection we have knitted cool cotton tops. The cream one is beautifully airy, being knitted in an open structure. We’ve gone to great lengths to get an ideal fit, just the right size to wear under a jacket with a collar that sits well with tailoring.

Our long sleeved cotton jumper features a marquetry design in two shades of pale blue. The pattern gives the impression of a pleasing three dimensional lattice structure interrupted only by elegant cuffs, the open neck placket and a simple collar. When styled with flannel trousers or even jeans the knit will complete your laid-back summer fit.

These will be available from the end of May.

Dressing smartly for summer events such as weddings and garden parties can be a little tricky. The traditional offerings of cream linen suits often look too staid and of course they crumple so much. We have developed a blend of lambswool and cashmere which always looks good. Last summer our 9oz cloth called Orlando was so greatly admired that we have brought it back for a range of ready to wear suits. The luxuriously soft cloth is woven with a faint red stripe against a ground of pale blue green and straw coloured yarns, a colour palette derived from the murals of Charleston Farm House, the country meeting place of the Bloomsbury group.

We have tailored a glorious single breasted suit (similar to my double breasted one above in the same fabric) which features peak lapels and side vents; a joyously dashing look completed with two horn buttons on the front and four on each cuff. The trousers are a generous cut with side adjusters on the waistband, two back pockets and turn ups on the wide leg. The overall effect is a breezy insouciance that is hard to match.

Do pop in and see us soon, or if you want to book an appointment for our made to measure tailoring, click on the link above.

Also, please do recommend us to your friends. If they are new to Dashing and mention your name when placing their order, we will give them 10% off, and you will get 20% off your next piece of tailoring.

All the best,

Team Dashing

SPRING CLEAN

Everything seems better when the sun comes out!

Easter, the traditional time of renewal and change has certainly delivered this year. Suddenly the clement weather has uplifted our spirits and our social diaries are filling up; time for a good wardrobe sort out.

I love a good spring clean. I pile all my clothes on the bed and empty my sock draw on the floor, forcing me to go through them. The orphan socks are consigned to the rag bag as I find it so hard to throw anything away, and they could be put to use to dampen the volume of my wind up gramophone (hence the origin of the phrase “put a sock in it”).

The next phase is to see what is still wearable and what needs repairing or handing down, although my youngsters are frustratingly much taller than me now.

Finally comes the part of putting the clothes back and seeing what’s missing, sadly often the crotch of my favourite trousers, as those dastardly moths always seem to go for the balls.

Fashions change, you may not feel like wearing the yellow florals from a few years ago. I’ve definitely noticed that there has been a lot less exuberance recently and a strange disregard for pattern. The trends of ‘super normal’ and minimalism do have a strong aesthetic, but quite frankly it’s just a bit boring; sophisticated patterns put together with skill is a higher sartorial art form than wearing plains.

There can be a midpoint of elegant clothing with an exquisitely subtle pattern, and this is what we can help you design and create.

We have a range of beautiful fine merino wool worsteds and can guide you through our made to measure tailoring process. We offer all of the classic cuts and are experts at selecting what will work best for you and the occasion. The tailoring takes 6 weeks so do plan ahead if you have a specific event in mind.

We are also launching our new summer ready to wear collection next week, so watch this space.

Drop us an email to book an appointment, or pop in and see us soon.

All the best,

Team Dashing

DRESSING FOR JOY

At last joy seems to be back in fashion. Recent fashion shows have delighted in bringing colour and whimsy back when we need it most.

The endless mourning procession of black clad folk will hopefully give way to some bursts of colour and pattern. A cheery thought indeed.

For people stuck in a rut of monochrome it can be hard to see the light. They need guidance and eduction as to how colours and patterns can be worn. So much of clothing is about story telling and heritage. Understandably monochrome tailoring has been the way to showcase strongly shaped and tailored looks. The idea of dressing up in black and white was actually pioneered by Beau Brummell in the late 18th century. He used the austere fabrics to flaunt the extremely shapely cuts he worked on with his numerous tailors. Against the backdrop of colourful silks and wools worn by the Georgian aristocracy of the time his silhouettes where very dashing and daring.

Although he died in poverty and exile, the inevitable fate of a degenerate gambler, his style ideas have flourished. A generation later, the death of Prince Albert in 1861 put Queen Victoria and the country in mourning. Two world wars expounded the misery and the wearing of black tightened it’s hold on society.

Now times are changing, the formality of the workplace has relaxed and with conversations around wellbeing and mental health we all need a break from the maudlin and should learn how to relax back to colour.

Tweed leads the way, it’s the traditional way gentlemen have worn colour when out of the city, dressing more in harmony with the landscape. In fact, tweed is the original camouflage designed to blend with heather moors and rustic hues. We’ve taken this aspect of tweed and given it an extra vibrant twist, adding elements from joyous times such as the rave culture of the 90’s, sports wear of the ‘80s and an historic dive back to the sustainable clothing of the Georgian period where fabrics were enjoyed and cherished by all.

Since our beginning, almost 20 years ago, we have been experimenting with exciting and elegant colour combinations. Wool can be dyed almost any colour and we never shy away from trying something new. Dashing customers often drop by and regale us with tales of the pleasure they have given and received simply by dressing joyously. If you know anyone who needs cheering up then do send them our way and we can definitely make their life woollier and probably a lot rosier.

My advice is to discard the bleak outfit, start spring with a bright outlook and spread a little happiness as you go by.

All the best,

Team Dashing

SS26 CLOTH

We are keeping things elegant this coming spring summer season adding three fine Merino wool worsteds to our lightweight cloth collection.

A few seasons ago we developed an interesting echo weave structure featuring an almost mysterious wave effect across the cloth in shimmering purples. This proved to be a great success so we have brought the design back in colours suitable for dashing nights out or even weddings. We’ve called this surreptitious design Spectra.

The ‘Spectra Ink’ cloth is woven with a navy blue yarn alongside a black. The two shades  give an almost pulsing effect on the cloth. The weight is around 11oz or 350g, perfect for tailoring a suit which keeps it shape in all weathers. Blue is a universal colour for clothing and can be paired with everything making it a very versatile choice, especially when travelling in the summer with limited luggage.

Our ‘Spectra Bottle’ worsted features a rich bottle green similar to a dark emerald tone. This interacts with the navy yarns in a very pleasing way creating a shimmering wave that is hard to define. Rich greens are interesting colours to wear and make a refreshing change from greys and neutrals. They elevate tailored looks to a luxurious level and the Merino wool drapes in a most pleasing way.

We have named the final design ‘Spectra Bordeaux’ by adding a lively ruby tone to the echo weave. The navy and crimson yarns join to produce a purple play across the fabric. Maintaining the same cloth weight of 11oz the Spectra Bordeaux exudes an up tempo feel suitable for joyous occasions.

All our cloths are available in store and online, if you would like swatches, do get in contact. These are also all available through our made to measure tailoring as well.

We hope to see you in store soon.

All the best,

Team Dashing

DRESS TO IMPRESS

Going on a special date is an exciting affair, especially with a new paramour. Although, taking your life partner out for a surprise treat should also be a moment to impress and refresh just how great you really are.

Planning a seductive evening needs some consideration, least of all how you look. Dressing well is more than just a sign that you are not slovenly but also an indication of your intellect and general attitude to life and of course you obviously want to look appealing.

For women there are so many options but for men it’s much harder. You don’t want to look too casual as if you are not bothered, but then neither do you want to look like you are heading to a job interview.

We are focused on tailoring creative menswear that allows men to express their individuality as well as their elegance. We love designing interesting fabrics, which are all woven in Scotland. Our shop offers ready to wear pieces as well as made to measure tailoring and hosts designs which will bring out the best in you. Tweed is the original dress down fabric that treads the fine line between work and pleasure.

Remember that a valentine dinner may not be a job interview but it would be a blow if it didn’t go down well!

Have a lovely night.

Many thanks,

Team Dashing

BASIL FIELD JACKET

Wearing tweed on a chilly day is one of life’s great pleasures. Ideally a tweed jacket that is versatile and can move easily between town and country as you dash around for the weekend. Funnily enough we have just what you need. A beautifully woven wool in delightfully rugged Donegal yarn; a basket weave pattern in fresh green and cream with the odd nepp of orange, giving it flavour and depth. We’ve named this delicious design Basil and created such a lovely field jacket that once it’s on you won’t want to take it off.

I’ve never really taken to the continental idea of carrying those fussy man-bags. A decent set of pockets works just fine and our jacket features six in total. Two inside, two breast ones with buttons and another two impressive side pockets tailored with expanding bellows. At a push you could probably travel for a whole weekend, sans luggage as a freewheeling Don Quixote character with a razor, paperback, pants and a toothbrush folded in them.

As the Basil cloth weighs an impressive 26 ozs we have tailored the jacket without a lining, keeping it simple and allowing the marvellous qualities of wool to do their work without interference. As you probably know, babies are proven to sleep better when wrapped in wool, it regulates your temperature like no other material. I’m not suggesting you personally sleep in our wonderful field jacket, but if the need arises you could do worse.

The fit is flattering as well, with three buttons and a clean ventless back, allowing the robust, yet soft tweed to maintain a refined shape. When paired with a crisp shirt, perhaps one of our lambswool jumpers, and a well cut pair of flannel trousers you are ready to roam the world. The jacket looks fine in the field, yet will also be at home during a luncheon party in town or the driving seat of a roadster. If you have to choose just one jacket then this is the one. Indeed our friend and model Nicholas Campbell is intent on wearing his to both the Texan rough lands and fittingly Basel art fair, his chosen destinations for pleasure and work.

These jackets are available instore and online, and if you want to make any changes to them or select a different cloth we can also tailor these through our made to measure tailoring.

NEW YEAR NEW YOU

‘New Year – New You’ is a mantra that is bandied about at this time of year. It’s a refrain you repeat for a few weeks at the gym before realising that the old you is perfectly adequate. But, who wants to be just adequate when you can be trail blazing, dashing and debonair. Deciding not to run with the pack, but to lead it or set up your own pack is what life is about and we can help you.

Clothing is a much easier and faster way to change yourself than pushing weights and pumping pills. Don a new suit and glance in the mirror; the new you will instantly appear to be more vital, delightful and elegant. Yes, the proportions of good tailoring can really change your figure, it’s all about the rise of the trousers and the fit of the shoulders.

Colour is an important aspect as well. For some reason many people have totally dispensed with the glorious yarn colours that are the product of hundreds of years of human endeavour and resorted to wearing plain neutrals which really aren’t that mood lifting and probably don’t add to your aura. Just a hint of colour can add so much to your look and we are here to help.

Colour is our thing, we are constantly experimenting with interesting combinations and designing new fabrics for you. We all have aspects of colour from our eyes to hair and skin and these can be a good starting point to emphasise your best tones either with adjacent or complimentary palettes, it’s fun to try different things out.

In our shop we can drape cloth over you to help you visualise which combinations work best, you’ll be surprised how some colours just lift you and make you look so much better.

Dressing with history and heritage in mind is also important. Clothing is an evolution both on the personal level as you grow up, and at the macro level in terms of history. In Great Britain, tweed has one of the richest histories of any fabric. It is the traditional way for gentlemen to wear colour as well as being the original sportswear for so many activities from shooting and fishing to mountain climbing and cycling.

At Dashing Tweeds we are continuing the story of tweed and bring the sustainable wool cloth up to date so it can work with our busy lives in an urban environment. Being part of this story by deciding what looks great on you in terms of cloth and cut is a real luxury. Not only will our tweeds bring joy to your life they will break the boring mould of conformity and lift away the winter blues.

We offer made to measure tailoring in house and can guide you through all the available options. The choice is huge and works well for everything you may need, from a smart wedding to a casual weekend with friends or anything in between.

Our winter sale continues for the next few weeks. We are offering a 10% discount off everything, in store and online, so do drop by soon.

Many thanks,

Team Dashing

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break and a raucous New Years Eve celebration.

As you know, we rarely do sales, we are very considered in our collections, bringing you wonderful quality and unique designs in exclusive runs.

However, we do often experiment and tailor sample suits for shoots. So we are excited to launch a very special sample sale in store this January.

The samples are normally in a small/ tall sizes, so to keep the offering open to all sizes, we would also like to offer all our made to measure clients 10% off when ordering in January.

We hope to see you in store soon. We reopen on the 2nd January from 10am – 6pm, and then again on the 5th January resuming normal opening times.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

Many thanks,

Team Dashing

Our current collection suits all tastes. We have woven elegant scarves in Merino and Cashmere, had a range of sumptuous jumpers knitted in fine lambswool and cooked up the most glorious collaboration with Jacques Villeneuve in flaming pink and golden yarns. You will be sure to find an inspired gift with us. Our caps give a finishing touch to any outfit, they are hand made in Yorkshire and range from the style of a baker boy to a baseball player and other looks in between. Should indecision befall you then we have gift vouchers to hand and your generosity is the limit.

The Chiltern Street area of Marylebone is famed for it’s independent shops and a great place to visit when shopping for seasonal gifts. On Saturday 29th November there will be carol singers jollying you up and we will be offering you a mince pie or two whilst we gift wrap your dashing purchases.

Our last day of trading before the Christmas break will be the 23rd December, and we reopen on the 5th January 2026.

For website orders, to ensure delivery in time for Christmas please see our final days for ordering:

Order online by:

UK – 19th December

Europe – 18th December

US and rest of the world – 17th December

We hope to see you in store soon.

Many thanks,

Team Dashing

Dashing Christmas

I love dressing for Christmas. Prince Albert shook up the stuffy Victorians and somehow allowed kitsch to become acceptable for twelve days of the year. He would apparently dress in an elaborate St. Nicholas costume to amuse the children and introduced the idea of not only bringing a pine tree into the house but covering it in candles and baubles.

Under the auspices of yuletide we can all relax a little and allow more colour into our lives. ’Tis the season to be merry after all!

Merriment is something we cherish at Dashing Tweeds. I often feel there is not enough of it during the rest of the year. A beautifully made tweed of traditional quality in a considered modern design can do wonders, not only for your mood but for the others around you, and Christmas is a time for thinking of others.

Giving a thoughtful present is the greatest delight, ideally something that your loved one never knew they needed until you made it appear in their lives. In our increasingly homogenous world finding something unique, well made and British is the crème de le crème, as the French would say, and to continue the idiom, the raison d’être of Dashing Tweeds.

Our current collection suits all tastes. We have woven elegant scarves in Merino and Cashmere, had a range of sumptuous jumpers knitted in fine lambswool and cooked up the most glorious collaboration with Jacques Villeneuve in flaming pink and golden yarns. You will be sure to find an inspired gift with us. Our caps give a finishing touch to any outfit, they are hand made in Yorkshire and range from the style of a baker boy to a baseball player and other looks in between. Should indecision befall you then we have gift vouchers to hand and your generosity is the limit.

The Chiltern Street area of Marylebone is famed for it’s independent shops and a great place to visit when shopping for seasonal gifts. On Saturday 29th November there will be carol singers jollying you up and we will be offering you a mince pie or two whilst we gift wrap your dashing purchases.

Our last day of trading before the Christmas break will be the 23rd December, and we reopen on the 5th January 2026.

For website orders, to ensure delivery in time for Christmas please see our final days for ordering:

Order online by:

UK – 19th December

Europe – 18th December

US and rest of the world – 17th December

We hope to see you in store soon.

Many thanks,

Team Dashing

Dashing Slippers

Dashing Tweeds has footwear to thank for its initial step-up in the world. I started Dashing Tweeds with just my personal wardrobe foremost in mind. A fashionable friend felt that the world should be informed and so spread the word via a nascent blog. Not much happened at first, but after a couple of months Converse flew over from Boston and came knocking at my door. The resulting collaboration filled my basement with hot selling shoes and helped launch Dashing Tweeds as you know it today. 

As cloth designers we are always looking for skilled and original crafts people to use our tweeds in masterly ways. Quality is our top priority.

Bowhill & Elliott have been crafting shoes since 1874 and are still based in their original Norfolk home of Norwich. Before the industrial revolution moved manufacturing closer to the coal rich areas of northern England, Norwich was the centre of both wool trading and shoe making. There is still expertise in the area, and for the last 60 years Bowhill & Elliott have concentrated on making the most sublimely comfortable slippers.

The tweeds we’ve designed with Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve are so joyous that they have driven us to creating a range of slippers.

Using each of the three designs, we’ve made a pair of soft leather soled house shoes. Bowhill & Elliott uses a centuries old technique of hand-turning the shoes so as to hide the stitching resulting in a beautifully sleek design. We worked together on a choice of trimmings which we feel adds an elegant and decorous delight to the designs. These incredibly comfortable slippers are my favourite. They are not for wandering the streets but rather for luxuriating at home.

There is also a range of harder soled slippers in which you can stroll to a soiree.

With so many possible fabric combinations and numerous sizes we thought it best if you come by and select the ones for you or a loved one. We are offering these as made to order shoes which take 4-6 weeks to make.

House slippers for £350 and outdoor soled for £400.

On Tuesday 4th November we will be hosting the Bowhill & Elliott team in our shop. They will talk about the materials used and the craft of making shoes, as well as measuring your feet and taking orders in time for Christmas.

Do come to our shop on Tuesday 4th November between 6pm – 9pm, and bring a friend or two, these are truly unique shoes and gifts for Christmas.

If you can not make the event, pop in anytime to discuss your shoe options too.

All the best,

Team Dashing

Photography credit to Sam Jackson for all images used.

Raglan Coats – No Cold Shoulder

I love learning about the evolution of menswear. Like natural selection in nature, various pressures have caused the design of clothing to change over time. Form is often dictated by function. Riding breeches are cut to be comfortable when straddling a horse but can look a little odd when worn down the street. Before stretch fabrics were invented shapes had to be modified to allow ease of movement, hence those great baggy thighed Jodhpurs of yore. 

Another case in point is the sleeve created for the first Baron Raglan, Lord Somerset. He was hit by a bullet fired from a French musket during the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Luckily he was not killed, but unluckily his right arm was smashed to pieces and had to be amputated. Life becomes harder with only one arm especially when clothing constricts movement. Elegant tailoring requires a small armhole on a coat. This is fine when you have a whole arm to wriggle around at the end of the sleeve but rather uncomfortable if you don’t. According to my research it was the tailor John Emary founder of the famous trench coat company Aquascutum who first developed a new design of sleeve specifically to help Baron Raglan. He created a larger armhole which curved over the shoulder in a continuous line from the collar and draped in a pleasing way. Sadly Baron Raglan did not live too long to enjoy his coat. He died a couple of years later from the anxieties of the Siege of Sevastopol. At the time he was in the press for allowing food and clothing shortages but nowadays his name lives on through his ever popular coat.

We have added two super Raglan sleeved coats to our ready to wear collection this year. You can luxuriate in our wonderfully heavy Maddox design. The sumptuous 26oz Donegal wool will keep the winter chills away. It’s a classic design made to last for generations.

Our Trip cloth is a psychedelic take on one of the earliest estate tweed designs made for Lady Balfour. The original featured a red check over a black and white houndstooth. We have distorted this weave in a pleasing way, creating a subtle yet fashionable take on the original.

Both coats fall below the knees and feature generous welted side pockets. We’ve given them a rounded collar which looks good but up and down and cuffed sleeves which are easy to adjust for a snug fit around the wrist.

We’re Celebrating Wool Month now during the month of October. Do come to our shop drinks on the 7th October from 6pm – 9pm where we will be showing you just how versatile wool can be.

The campaign for wool is celebrating 15 years since HM King Charles III initiated the movement. Watch this fascinating video curated by the campaign focusing on the importance of moving way from oil based clothing.

All the best,

Team Dashing

Launch Event 7th October 2025

I do hope that you will be able to join us to celebrate the launch of our new season’s collection on the 7th October from 6pm – 9pm at 47 Dorset Street.

We have worked with the Formula One race champion Jacques Villeneuve this year. Using the colours of his iconic helmet we have designed three exciting tweeds and tailored a ready to wear range of jackets and accessories.

As well as being able to try on our new pieces we will also talk about how we worked with Jacques and the whole fleece to fashion journey. The wool dye samples, the design work and the woven test blanket will all be on display.

The evening will also be a chance to meet interesting characters who share a love of tweed and individuality.

In addition to the collaboration we are delving into the world of psychedelia. The pinwheel motif is reminiscent of op art created in the 1960’s when experimentation with mind bending drugs was common amongst artist communities.

Buzz is a green and navy pinwheel design. The verdant shade clearly shows the spiralling curlicue pattern which entices you to closer inspection, drawing you into the vibrant cloth. 100% wool, 345-375g/ 12-13oz.

We have taken a traditional shepherd’s check and twisted the edges to a vortex like pinwheel, then completed the design with a maroon overcheck. This striking pattern is named Trip. 100% wool 365-395g/ 12-13oz.

Purple Haze was released by Jimi Hendrix in the year of The Summer of Love, a colourful time of psychedelic experimentation, so it seems fitting to name the new purple cloth Haze. This tweed features the same pinwheel motif in a colour beloved by both royalty and mystics alike. 100% wool, 355-385g/ 12-13oz.

Bucking trends as usual, Dashing Tweeds are continuing to release heavy weight tweeds that drape in the most delightful way and last for years and years. The 26oz Donegal wool designs have proved so popular that we have designed a new colourway this season in a beautiful shade of mottled purple. Named Riona the classic basket weave design tailors into glorious coats giving joy for generations. 100% wool, 745-775g/ 26-27oz.

All these fabrics are available by the metre, or through our made to measure tailoring. We have also used them in our latest ready to wear collection.

As the days cool down, it’s a delight to wear cozy wool. There’s no nicer feeling than being warm on a crisp autumn day. Our lambswool jumpers are what you need. They are knitted for us in Scotland to colours which match our seasonal tweed designs. Not only will they give you a boost physically but also a psychological one. Research has shown that wearing colour boosts your mood. We have the clothes to take you to the next level.

It is also Wool Month in October, so we will be celebrating the use of wool throughout this collection as ever.

Hope to see you soon, and at our event on the 7th October.

All the best,

Team Dashing

Dashing Tweeds X Jacques Villeneuve

One of my great joys is meeting interesting people with exciting stories. Dashing Tweeds is an excellent vehicle for such encounters. Free thinking folk with a zest for life, a love of colour and a certain rebellious streak find their way here and then great things can happen.

This is certainly the case as we launch our collaboration with racing driver Jacques Villeneuve. You may remember him winning the 1997 Formula One World Championship whilst wearing a splendidly colourful helmet.

Last year Jacques really enjoyed wearing Dashing suits at Goodwood Revival. Sharing a love of colour and originality, it seemed like a natural idea to design a collection together. 

We’ve worked together using the exact Pantone references from his helmet and have woven three exclusive tweed designs as well as a range of ready to wear and accessories.

Launching online on the 1st September,

and available in store from the 3rd September.

The standout pattern is called JV Check – a bold mix of pink, blue, yellow, green and red woven together in a large scale Madras style check giving the bright colour combinations space to shine.

100% wool, 520-550g/ 18-19oz.

Using the same colours in a Glenurquhart pattern this design is called the Chuck Check. With a blue and green ground beneath a red, yellow and pink overcheck. The effect is both exciting and elegantin equal measure.

100% wool, 535-565g/ 18-19oz.

Slipstream is the third Villeneuve collaborative design. Using all of Jacques’ racing colours on a black ground, subtly combining them into a vibrant herringbone stripe the cloth appears almost as if colourful tyre treads have streaked by.

100% wool, 555-585g/ 19-20oz.

https://www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/product-category/aw25

We are expanding our ready to wear collections by popular demand, tailoring looks that are easy to wear and fit well. Everyone loves our bomber jackets, an elegant zipped design featuring a classic collar, slanted welt side pockets and a neat rib on the cuff and bottom to finish it off. We have cut them to sit easily on your natural waist which gives a flattering silhouette without bulging.

Our Slipstream bomber jackets are set to fly off the shelves. We’ve worked hard to grade a size to fit everyone. With their black ribbed cuffs and waist there is no problem matching them to items of your wardrobe. The subtly striped design with all the colours of Jacques’ helmet artfully interwoven are lined in the highest quality tyre black lining. The central zip stops at the generous collar which is wide enough to be worn up around the neck and fastened with a collar tab cleverly buttoned to the left inside pocket. The right pocket is zipped for security on the move. The overall look exemplifies our ethos of modernising classic design with verve.

Over-shirts can be worn over a shirt or tee-shirt to complete your look. As well as smartening you up, they have useful pockets for everyday gadgets and as ours are tailored in pure wool they work well in all weathers. Wool never feels cold when wet, it also drys quickly and blocks out UV rays so it is ideal for variable autumn days. To add a certain panache we have include epaulets on our shirts, these military details were originally used to fasten shoulder straps and indicate your rank. I find them useful for holding gloves or a fashionable cap.

One can never have enough scarves. They top off any autumn look, adding a flourish as well as keeping you warm on dreary days. Whilst discussing designs with Jacques he loved the rolling colours and stripes on the design blanket and suggested that we add a range of lambswool scarves. They are generously long at seven feet and make ideal gifts especially for fans of motor racing.

https://www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/product-category/ready-to-wear/scarves

Tweed caps are probably the one item of clothing that have never gone out of style. Worn in Britain for hundreds of years they move with the times. Our classic caps are all handmade in Yorkshire in time honoured fashion. We’re brought them right up to date with our new bold collaborative checks. The eight piece cap has seen a return to popularity, they are full bodied and suit most heads, looking equally good on men and women. Interestingly each cap is unique as they are cut from varying parts of the large scale patterns. Baseball style caps in tweed have been a surprising success over the last year and so we are including these. The pure wool cloth lends an elegance that can’t be matched by synthetics.

SAVE THE DATE:

Thursday 9th October

12pm – 8pm

We are organising a collection launch day with evening drinks on Thursday 9th October, During the day we will invite press and buyers to view the collection and discuss the potential of extending our Jacques Villeneuve collaboration. Then in the evening from 6pm we will be serving drinks to you, our friends and supporters of the brand.

You will have a chance to try on all the looks and we will be displaying the story of the teamwork needed to bring this project to fruition. Unseen woven designs will be displayed and we will talk about the whole process; how the choice of wool yarns is made, the weaving and finishing process and behind the scenes film and photography.

It is also Wool Month in October, so we will be celebrating the use of wool throughout this collection.

See you then, if not before to grab the limited stock.

All the best,

Team Dashing

Capsule Collection of Casual Colourful Tailoring

We are very excited to be expanding our Dashing range by starting a ready to wear collection. Over the last few years we have seen a growing desire for more relaxed tailored looks. It’s a difficult path to navigate, people don’t want to look too dressed up, especially in the summer but it’s nice to wear something with a certain panache and the benefit of useful pockets.

Tropical army dress has cleverly evolved to give just this look, so we have adopted the classic cut for our summer over-shirts. They are designed to be worn over a tee-shirt or light knit and feature four elegant buttoned down pockets, a yoke back and a perfect sized collar. We have, of course retained the all important epaulettes which add verve to the garment.

Dressing playfully and cutting a dash is a tricky thing to pull-off. Our pink wool herringbone design makes the mark. The cloth, named Vita, is woven in a lovely shade of dusty pink and being a tightly woven wool it holds its shape very well. A pink shirt is a wardrobe classic for English men and compliments a surprising range of colours.
Vita over-shirts available online
We have used a previous seasons cloth named Hebrides to tailor our second over-shirt in the same style with epaulettes. This deceptively simple cloth combines navy blue and taupe Merino yarns in a mock leno weave. Interestingly the fabric appears to change hue according to the angle of the prevailing light, sometimes looking more blue and at other times browner.
The overall garment is easy to wear; throw it on with jeans for a trip to the pub or flannel trousers for a day out of town. As one of our customers said, “Wearing Dashing always elevates my look”.
Hebrides over-shirts available online
Safari jackets are a wardrobe staple for the rugged man. They instantly impart a sense of adventure, they are clothes to explore in. That said, they are excellent for all kinds of trips as they look both elegant and casual at the same time. Our beautifully fitted jackets are available as ready to wear items in two colours, a classic navy herringbone tweed (named Woolf) or the fresh green (Keynes) design.
Woolf safari jackets available online
Both feature large external patch pockets with button down flaps, as well as internal ones for your wallet and travel tickets. The shape is very flattering with a 6 button front and a half belt detail on the back. Tailored in Merino wool they work well in all environments as wool is waterproof and temperature regulating. No matter where you are off to our safari jackets will keep you protected.
Keynes safari jackets available online
To complete our new collection we have tailored Bermuda style shorts for you to take on holiday. We have used our cotton jacquard design named Threadbare for a playful looking pair in cream and navy. The cloth is strong cotton with a weather beaten look and a laid-back feel.
For our genteel and sophisticated shorts we have used the fine Merino check named Lanyon. They are designed to sit above the knee in a relaxed way and feature turnups, adjustable side fasteners and useful hip pockets. The check in blue, ecru and yellow is the epitome of summer holiday attire and instantly puts you in a good mood. We can also tailor you a matching jacket or other shorts to match previous Dashing looks.
Shorts available online
To finish off our new collection we have continued to tailor our very popular bomber jackets in our Jungle and Acid designs. The cloth is woven with entirely British wool and inspired by my days in the early 90’s dancing around with ‘techno-toffs’ in country fields. A heady mix when, fluoro, tweed, tailoring and psychedelia all collided into one fabulous entirety.
Jungle bomber jackets available online
Acid bomber jacket available online
The collection is available in store and online, and we can also tailor them through our made to measure tailoring in any of our unique tweeds.

Jonathan Root and Chris Ruocco

Dashing Tweeds brings people together and sparks creative conversation. The latest case in point is the delightful afternoon I spent with legendary tailor Chris Ruocco and Jonathan Root.

Jonathan is a fellow photographer, we first met back in the day when London was abuzz with magazines and photographers. Twenty four hour processing labs were a focal point for snappers waiting to ensure that their film was correctly exposed and another job would be awarded. The East End was a hive of activity; warehouse conversions flashed with high voltage strobe lights favoured by studio photographers and the streets crackled with the radios of rapid cycle couriers.

Jonathan assisted photographer Carrie Branovan before embarking on a career as a beauty and portrait photographer for magazines such as Tatler and Harpers. With an eye for the latest look Jonathan would haggle at Hyper Hyper, buying the threads to turn heads at Kinky Gerlinky or The Wag Club.

Cars are another passion for Jonathan. He’s regularly drives his faithful 1951 Jowett Jupiter and a few years ago remortgaged his studio to buy some impressive playboy wheels; a bright green gull-winged De Tomaso Mangusta. Recently Jonathan could not resist the chance to pick up a wonderful 1974 Rolls Royce Corniche to add to his collection, he leapt on a plane to Luxembourg and snapped it up.

Once you own such a car you have to dress the part. The nineteen seventies were a super fun time for menswear. Savile Row was straddling the line between the conservative and the wildly fashionable. Tommy Nutter was doing roaring trade, dressing the stars of the day in his signature cut with extra wide lapels and tapered waists whilst Mr Fish next door in Clifford Street was peddling the most flamboyant shirts and ties imaginable. Jonathan is lucky enough to own some wonderful vintage Mr Fish shirts and ties, however one needs to wear slightly more than that when stepping out of a Rolls. So always with a keen eye for the marvellous, Jonathan saw our new Disco Stripe cloth design and knew he had to have it to complete the look.

Chris Ruocco, is a legendary tailor, not only in Kentish town where he has worked since 1952 but also in the celebrity world of pop stars. Signed black and white photos cover his shop walls and are a testament to his part in music history. Everyone from George Michael to Boy George, Suggs and Bananarama have been suited by him. Style leaders such as Chris Sullivan, a luminary of the London club scene in the 70s and 80’s used to drop by with friends and help style a look to turn heads.

Nothing seems to faze Chris, he’s a true bespoke tailor with all the skills needed to make a client’s sartorial dreams come true. He learned the art of tailoring as a youngster helping his uncle in the very same shop. A man of fathomless energy he was a professional boxer in his late teens, a trumpet playing band leader, a vintage dealer, a runner and is still a stalwart of the Hampstead pond swimming scene.

Chatting with him in his snug workshop it’s hard to believe he’s in his 80’s. Chris not only flows with energy but also with generosity and a zest for life. Whilst chatting, one local dropped by wanting help with the hem of his daughter’s Easter parade outfit and another wild chap stopped to ask for a couple of stitches to prolong the life of the uppers on his trainers. All the while, Chris regaled us with stories of impulsive nights out and his early mohair mod suits whilst keeping an eye on the time when his piano teacher would turn up. I then noticed an upright tucked in the corner surrounded by suits awaiting collection.

Chris was more than happy to tailor exactly what Jonathan wanted. He found our cloth a pleasure to work with and knew exactly what was needed to create a 70’s inspired cut suitable for cruising the Corniche around town. The fact that Chris owns a couple of Royces himself probably helps. Having been tailoring for so many years Chris has seen it all before. The super wide peak lapels on the coat, with a matching waistcoat and pocket watch fob buttonhole are second nature to Chris. He takes it all in his stride, cutting with a natural flair that can be seen in the elegant kick of the trousers.

It comes as no surprise that Jonathan is absolutely delighted with his new suit. The sheer joy of choosing unique cloth and having a master tailor conjure a fresh take on a classic look from the dandy era is what it’s all about. Then being able to spread the love by wearing the new whistle out and about is, as Madness would say, “One Step Beyond”.

https://www.jonathanroot.co.uk

Spring Summer Tailoring Inspiration

Now that spring is in the air, there is a bounce to one’s step and suddenly everything seems easier and more joyful. People smile at you in the street and it’s time to shrug off your winter wraps. Jollity awaits, parties, weddings and all manor of summer occasions for which elegant, entertaining clothes are required.

We specialise in tailoring, a craft that has accrued style for generations. There are so many aspects to tailored clothing which have evolved through the refining forces of form and function. Even simple aspects such as turn-ups on trousers came about through the need to keep mud away. As well as physical aspects such as high arm holes allowing more movement, social aspects have added styles; for example, shoulder epaulettes indicate rank as well as being a good place to stow your beret.

Understanding the whole gamut of tailoring details allows you to make styles relevant to your needs today and through our made to measure tailoring we can include most features. For swanning around garden parties or gallery openings, I love the double breasted suit we have tailored in our new Orlando cloth. We have contrasted the formality of the cut by adding relaxed patched pockets to the jacket and included turn-ups to the fairly wide cut trousers. The cloth is a fine lambswool and cashmere blend and the turn-ups help add a little weight to the leg which enhances the flow whilst walking. To add an Edwardian touch we have turned back the cuffs of the jacket, a detail which gives a laidback feel.

For holiday, a short suit is the answer, especially in our lovely pink wool herringbone design called Vita. We have made a super relaxed look by pairing the shorts with a military inspired over-shirt featuring bellows pockets and epaulettes. Just wear it with a white t-shirt and you are ready to go anywhere. There is ample room in the pockets for phone, passport and tickets and I find it particularly amusing when topped off with a matching cap.

I love a three piece suit. It represents the epitome of tailoring. The English have always loved matching cloth over an entire outfit, in fact the word suit comes from the French word suite meaning to follow or match.

Our new season check named Quentin looks wonderful as a suit with a double breasted waistcoat. The double row of buttons give a certain gravitas to the creative cloth design. The slim cut jacket features peak lapels and slanted jetted pockets and when worn with the tapered trousers the overall look certainly cuts a dash. Just what you need to wear for celebratory occasions, dinners or even country weddings.

For adventuring, a safari suit is needed. Originally worn by European explorers in Africa, the practical jackets with multiple pockets are often belted and made for action. The word safari is actually Swahili for expedition and all manor of maps and supplies can be fitted into the pockets.

Our safari jacket is in a green wool herringbone we name Keynes. Herringbone weaves are one of the strongest structures and wool is a great fibre for temperature regulation. The whole suit with matching trousers is great for general travel by plane, train or automobile, being both comfortable and elegant. As a rule, I always think you should dress up rather than down when hitting the road as you never know where you’ll end up.

Creativity is at the core of Dashing and our Whitbread Ritzy design is a unique offering. I love the sparkle of bright blue lurex woven with the wool weft, it gives a surprising shimmer. The sky blue with burnt sienna shades suggests a sunset cocktail so I took inspiration from 60’s evening suit cuts and had a jacket with a narrow shawl collar tailored. All I need now is a matching Aperol spritz and spring can kick off.

We love guiding you through all the possible combinations of tailoring with our made to measure system. It’s surprisingly flexible, allowing you to bespeak a whole wardrobe of clothes for every occasion, or if you are a more minimal person just the single perfect suit for anywhere. Come by the shop and I can show you all the details to choose from as well as a great spectrum of linings in all colours and buttons crafted from South American nuts, buffalo horns or sea shells.

New Cloth Collection

They lived in squares, painted in circles and loved in triangles. The tight knit ensemble of artists, thinkers and writers that were the Bloomsbury Group have never been so popular. They challenged the status quo in every area from economics, literature and art giving a fresh perspective to Edwardian times.

A fresh perspective is what we all need at the moment. At Dashing Tweeds we are designing and weaving fabrics that are of a classic quality, a modern design and that make sense in these turbulent times. 

This season we have taken inspiration from the home of a couple of Bloomsbury Group members, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. They formed a creative hub at Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex and decorated the house in a most charming way.

At Dashing we are lucky to have Naomi Greenland working with us on both weave design and production. Naomi actually grew up in Charleston helping her mother at the time who managed the house for Duncan Grant (see image of Naomi below). The beautifully fresh pastel colours of the painted house and garden has provided our palette for the season. We are launching five new cloths and an exciting relaunch of a creative design from 2017 that has been sort after by the film industry.

We’ve named our softest most exquisite design Orlando. The sublime fabric in pastel blue green with a faint rose pinstripe is woven with lambswool and five percent Cashmere giving it a languid drape and a luxurious handle. The interplay of colours is reminiscent of a summers morning in Charleston as light dapples on the parlour walls and caresses freshly cut garden flowers. A lovely weight for a summer suit, Orlando is 9 to 10oz and a width of 136cm.

Herringbone designs are a one of the most appreciated weave structures, a pattern everyone enjoys and a style that is easy to wear. We’ve added three glorious herringbone fabrics to our collection woven in a Merino wool, which wears so well. Weighing in at 13 to 14 oz they are suitable for the year round, tailoring equally well into trousers, jackets and skirts. Looking at the wonderful hand painted decorative walls and furniture from Charleston we have chosen to create these herringbones with a dulcet pink and ecru yarns for the design we call Vita.

Our Keynes herringbone design blends ecru with a gently faded moss green to create a highly wearable and elegant herringbone cloth ideal for softly tailored jackets and suits. The last of our herringbones cloths is named Woolf, made in a wonderful stocking blue wool along side the ecru Merino yarn warp. The overall effect is of a timeless quality wool fabric to last through the decades.

No Dashing collection is complete without a check. We’ve taken a rich green and navy puppy tooth design and crossed it with subtle picks of cloud, emerald and lilac threads, creating a harmonious window pane check woven in soft lambswool with a touch of Cashmere. The Quentin check is a marvellous weight at 10oz and looks wonderful as a tailored suit or just a jacket for swanning around your garden.

Film and theatre costume designers relish using our tweeds and creative worsted cloths as they are unique and of such great quality. We always try to please and so have relaunched an interesting design from eight years ago called the Whitbread Ritzy. We selected one of Kirsty’s top students, Joe Whitbread, at The Royal College of Art  and asked if we could put one of his designs in production. The result was a glorious burnt sienna, turquoise and charcoal cloth woven in Merino wool with a hint of shiny lurex. The fabric with a tessellated step structure is 153cm wide and 12oz in weight. The cloth has an agreeable spring to it and makes up extremely well.

All our cloths are available in store and online, if you would like swatches, do get in contact, these are also all available through our made to measure tailoring as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I think I end up writing the same thing every January when it comes to sale time. Normally along the lines of how niche luxury brands are incredibly good value when you consider how small the mark ups are compared to the high street. So I’m not going to mention this and instead remind you why you should lead a fulfilled elegant life surrounded by only the best. Quality over quantity has never been so important.

At the moment we have a totally skewed view of clothing created by technology and greed which makes no sense at all. I constantly marvel how a commodity which gave such great wealth to Britain and enabled the building of some of the worlds finest cathedrals can hardly be given away today. It just seems bonkers that we’ve allowed wonderful wool to be replaced with billions of tons of polluting plastic and constantly buying more of it without really thinking. It simply has to stop. You can start by buying fabulous wool clothes and accessories from Dashing Tweeds.

In case you need an extra incentive we are giving you a rare reduction.

As of today the price of our made to measure suits will be reduced by 10% until the end of January. We are then going to have to raise our prices shortly after to pay the hardworking British farmers, weavers and tailors so do take advantage and come to shop at Dashing.

We are also reducing the price of our cloth, caps, scarves and ready to wear by 20% to allow you to add more colour to your wardrobe, as well as a special sample sale in store all until the end of January.

We reopen at 10am 2nd January, with our usual opening times. We hope to see you in store soon.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year from us all at Dashing!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

If like me you leave present buying to the last minute, then just to remind you, the last minute is only a tick away.

Wool is very much on the radar. It’s warm, comfortable, sustainable, biodegradable and very much part of the farming ecosystem which needs to be valued. You can’t really go wrong with a woolly present, especially when it’s a Dashing Tweed design woven by us in the Scottish Borders.

Our flat caps, handmade in Yorkshire are a top seller and make excellent gifts. If possible measure the head circumference else a medium or large is a safe bet, although we are happy to swap sizes.

Scarves are the most reliable of gifts as sizing is no issue. However, bigger is better and at 7 foot long our scarves do not disappoint. We have a couple of lambswool ones left as well as a few Merino ones in our ombré designs but the most exciting designs this season are woven using a recycled cashmere wool alongside our vibrant British wool selection.

The yarn for these scarves is known as shoddy and comes from a newly built cashmere recycling plant in Huddersfield. We’ve used classic herringbone and twill weave structures for these desirable designs.

For the traveller, our picnic rugs are a great present. I keep mine in the car where it has all sorts of uses from a lap warmer, dog rug to an impromptu papoose but they also look great at home, thrown over an old arm chair.

Christmas isn’t complete without giving at least one warm wool jumper to a loved one. We have worked with knitters in Hawick and produced super warm lambswool knits in a range of warming colours. Orange has been selling fast in both the crew necked cable design and the classic V necks. Our electric blue has also proved popular in addition to the mossy green and red ones.

tweed gift voucher

Giving tailored clothes is a little tricky, but we do offer gift vouchers which can be purchased for any amount towards a pair of shorts or a whole wardrobe of suits and overcoats.

If you drop by the store then we have a few sample pieces waiting for you as well as lovely little gifts such as Christmas stockings, lovingly sewn from offcuts, and tweed lavender bags to freshen up your drawers. I’m aways happy to give shopping advice so do drop by soon.

For website orders, the last order dates for delivery before Christmas are:

UK orders: by 19th December

European orders: by 17th December

International orders: by 16th December

All the best,

The Dashing Team

WHAT TO WEAR SKIING

‘Time tested’ is not a phrase we hear at the moment. Things are crash tested, strength tested, fire tested anything that can be done swiftly before they are sold as fast as possible to the guileless. Then, distracted by the constant torturous drip of worldwide web drivel, we rarely ask ourselves if the progress is actually going in the right direction. We heedlessly assume the masses are right, but how wrong we are.

Skiing provides a great case study. Everyone wears a synthetic ski suit with the misapprehension that they are an improvement on the outfits of yesteryear. They are definitely cheap to produce, but unless you are a downhill racer trying to shave a millisecond of your slalom you are better off wearing tweed.

In terms of comfort, performance, sustainability, breathability and let’s face it, style, wool has the edge. It’s no coincidence that the pioneers of alpine skiing all wore wool and that top athletes are now returning to the original fibre. A layer of knitted wool next to the skin provides the best possible temperature control and rapidly wicks away any perspiration.

I was ski touring a while ago, wearing a merino wool knit under a three piece tweed suit of plus 4s, sporty waistcoat and jacket. We skinned up our skis, released the bindings into uphill mode and set off. After no time at all my ill dressed companions rustling in their noisy plastic outfits had to stop and take off a layer of sweat sodden synthetics whilst I sauntered pass in my elegant tweed suit. I was glowing warm in a gloriously comfortable way as they faffed below.

Then in no time at all, a nippy wind piped up and our winding posse had to pause again before their sweaty threads started to freeze. Needless to say I was fine in my tweed suit and with a simple flip of my collar and a buttoning of my jacket I was once again protected from the elements. These stops and starts continued until we reached the exciting alpine border, a jutting metal sign at ten thousand feet above a perilous couloir announcing a national border. A few deft moves, and my ski skins were tucked in a large pocket, my bindings clicked down and I was off towards to the awaiting bars. After exhilarating turns and a final schuss we arrived at one of those picturesque hotels which every chocolate box artist must have admired. Then, in no time at all a sartorial enamoured local was offering me schnapps. I relaxed in the surroundings entirely sympathetic to the cut of my glen check tweed as the others crinkled in the corner like discarded sweet wrappers.

Skiing in tweed has brought me no end of pleasure and we would be delighted to make you a bespoke ski suit with all the additions of fastened down pockets and leather patches needed for the most demanding of alpine sportsmen and of course sportswomen.

Our tailoring takes 6 weeks, so plan ahead for your next trip, and pop in store to discuss your next outfit.

Don’t forget to join us for some drinks and mince pies next Wednesday the 20th November from 6pm – 8pm in store, where we are hosting an event with Miyar Mufflers.

All the best,

The Dashing Team

MUFFLERS AND MINCE PIES

The season to be jolly is fast approaching. Soon ’Winter draws on’ will titter from radio repeats and sleigh bells will start following you from shop to shop. One of the joys of Christmas time is the predictability of it all, you can relax, go with the flow, fit in as many drinks parties as possible and enjoy finding rare treats and presents for your loved ones.

The joy for Dashing, is that wool comes to the fore as the nights draw in. Stories of sheep and shepherds enter conversation as we reach for woolly favourites from the wardrobe hoping that the moths have not made them more holey.

As the year comes to a close, it’s a wonderful time to think about giving back—to others and to the planet. Wool is one of the most sustainable materials for clothing, and purchasing it also means supporting communities across the world.

On Wednesday 20th November, we’re teaming up with Christina Noble and her enterprise, Miyar Mufflers, which supports rural women in the Northwest Himalayas. These skilled knitters from the Pir Panjal range hand-spin wool from hardy native sheep, crafting beautiful, authentic mufflers, scarves and throws that are perfect for any season.

I’m always grateful for mine when a sudden chill blows in! This collaboration offers you the chance to buy these unique, handcrafted pieces and directly support communities in need.

As the evenings get darker we all need more colour in our lives and this season we’ve gone wild by any standards. We’ve used the early days of rave as the sounding board for our seasonal collection, sampling fluro greens, oranges and blues to create a cacophony of pattern which has received a rapturous applause. To vibe with our cloth designs we’ve knitted a range of jumpers and cooked up a collection of wonderful woven scarves, all which will be available on the night.

Join us for some drinks and mince pies from 6pm – 8pm, and curate a range of beautiful gifts for your loved ones, along with some other crafty treats from other local makers.

We hope to see you all soon,

All the best,

The Dashing Team

DASHING KICKS

There was a point, about 7 years ago, where a seismic shift occurred in my attitude towards wearing trainers. Previously, things were fairly clear cut, when wearing a suit I’d always lace up a pair of leather brogues or oxfords and then when in shorts or laid back attire the trainers would come out.

Of course I was aware of dudes like Dan Macmillian, GQ’s most stylish man of 2001 hanging out in his Savile Row suits with T-Shirts and white plimsolls, but at the time I just felt the look was too transatlantic for me. However, attitudes and tolerances change and as everyone is dressing more casually now-a-days I feel churlish not joining the throng. In fact, I’d go as far to say that I’ve really been enjoying mixing up my looks with the addition of sporty trainers.

I’m interested in the balance of form and function in menswear and footwear always makes a good case in point. From platform shoes that traditionally kept your feet elevated from the mud to hobnail climbing boots, shoes have been adapted to all terrains. Ultra light sprinting shoes with internal springs are great for runners but they don’t look so good with a suit. Interestingly, the new era of trainers have evolved to look fine with dress down tailoring, leather, rubber and tech materials combined mostly in an elegant way.

We have taken the idea of the modern urban trainer to the next level with the addition of our special lumatwill reflective tweed. We chose our Denim Raver design, an interweaving of fine Merino wool and reflective threads as the blue compliments so many other colours. The modern tweed is finished with a waterproof teflon coating which works well as a protection from dirt and rain. For the overall design we’ve gone with a classic dress trainer look; a fresh white rubber sole stitched with a leather toe cap and heel in navy. This leaves the side panels, which are less likely to wear down, free for our unique reflective tweed.

The whole shoe is finished off with white laces which literally tie the design together as well as ensuring a snug fit as you dash around town.

Available in UK mens sizing 8 – 11 and cost £240.

For more information please do pop in and see us, and try on a pair.

All the best,

The Dashing Team

*SAVE THE DATE*

20th November 6pm – 8pm in store

We are hosting a special Christmas shopping event

with some special friends.

More information coming out next week, watch this space.

WRAP UP THIS WINTER

Walking the dog on a crisp autumn day with a low slung sun raking through the trees is one of life’s great pleasures. Add a Dashing scarf thrown loosely around your neck in a devil-may-care manor and you may well find yourself positively elated.

At Dashing, we come into our own at winter. Wool is without doubt the best thing to be wearing and nothing is easier than pulling on a jumper and picking up a scarf.

It will come as no surprise that we have chosen some very jolly colours for our new season jumpers. A glorious royal blue, a vibrant orange, a moss green and a rich autumnal burgundy wool.

The light, soft lambswool jumpers are surprisingly warm and are all knitted for us in Hawick, the famous Scottish Borders area renowned for quality wool and knitting.

I’m a fan of ‘V’ necked jumpers as I often like to wear a shirt and silk scarf underneath and the shape allows everything to sit well. Many people enjoy the higher fitting crew necks and so we have decided to have both styles knitted and to also add cable designs to the crew neck. Our sizing is small for a close fit on a 38 inch chest, medium for a chest size around 40 inches and then large around a 43 inch chest and extra large for chaps with a 46 inch chest; the arms and length adjust accordingly.

Watch the latest instagram reel about our jumpers.

For our scarf range, we still stock a few of our desirable ombre shaded Merino and cashmere scarfs and a couple of classic lambswool designs but the big interest is for our scarf range woven using recycled Cashmere yarns.

Followers of our woolly jottings will remember our trip to visit the first new shoddy machine in the country for decades and learnt with interest how it shredded up old cashmere garments and created a fibre ready to be re-spun with yarn. We have used shoddy cashmere alongside our new season colours of British wool to create a really fabulous range of scarves. The cashmere yarns in subtle neutral shades provide an elegant ground upon which the vibrant British yarns in bright green, orange, blue and mauve can really radiate. We have woven the designs with twilled herringbone structures, classic designs that everyone can relate to and the warp threads are then fringed for a traditional scarf look.

Watch the latest instagram reel about scarves.

For more information please do drop us an email: info@DashingTweeds.co.uk, or pop in and see us.

All our collections are available online, but often more options available in store.

All the best,

The Dashing Team

WOOL MONTH

Wool is where it’s at! When it comes to the future of sustainable fashion, zero waste clothing and furnishing, well-being and innovation, all roads lead to wool. This is not surprising, the wool industry has been developing technology to go from fleece to fashion for thousands of years. It’s only been in the last few decades that the petrochemical industry has flooded the market with cheap plastic yarns, wreaking havoc on the environment and the mental well-being of people constantly craving junk fast fashion.

The good news is that wool is fighting back. The Campaign for Wool has King Charles III leading the way to promote wool. Wool Month consists of events around the country educating consumers on the numerous benefits of wool, during the month of October.

At Dashing I like to think we are always ahead of the game. We have been extolling the virtues of wool for many years. Recently I shared stories of the whole journey of British wool and below you can enjoy clicking through our wonderful woolly adventures.

Introduction to the British wool story

The starting point not only to Dashing Tweeds but to probably one of the biggest, most lucrative industries Great Britain has known.

Read the full blog here:
British wool and sheep breeds:

The really interesting thing is that all the wool is just a byproduct of the meat industry. Farmers are obliged by law to shear sheep for their comfort in the summer months, but no one actually breads sheep just for their wool anymore. 

Read the full blog here:
Wool grading:

If variety is the spice of life then the sheep of Great Britain must be high on the list for liveliness. We have over 60 native breeds in the country and their wool comes in such a range of varieties that it takes many years of training to sort them into the 130 different grades required by British Wool.

Read the full blog here:
Shoddy:

Shoddy was a way of putting wool waste back into the supply chain and dates back to the 1800’s. The mills of the time were continually spinning valuable wool and weaving cloth, the scale of production was huge and England was supplying half the world.

Read the full blog here:
Spinning:

Our spinning revolution was the turning point of Britain’s textile industry. Twisting strands of fibre together by hand is as old as civilisation, and dates back fifty thousand years. 

Read the full blog here:
Dyeing:

Using extracts of plants and animals, people have been dyeing wool for thousands of years. Some rare and expensive colours such as the Tyrian purple derived from sea snails was only allowed to be used within royal circles in Roman times.

Read the full blog here:
Weaving:

In terms of shear creative invention, weaving must surely be one of the great landmarks of civilisation. During Neolithic times men and women probably copied our clever feathered friends, watching them weave twigs for nests and started to interlace bark shreds together to make things like door mats, although I’m not sure if they had invented doors by then.

Read the full blog here:
Finishing:

Finishing is not just the end process of tweed creation, it is the beginning of a fabric’s life. Wool is woven in it’s natural greasy state and so needs a good wash and dry once it is woven, but there is a whole lot more to the finishing process than you may have thought.

Read the full blog here:
Now that you have a full appreciation of the wonders of wool, I’m sure you will be wanting something fabulous made. All our designs are woven in wool and we can tailor you a beautiful piece that you can love and cherish for years to come.

To find out more about our tailoring offering, check out our website, drop us an email, or visit us in store.

NEW COLLECTION LAUNCH AND EVENT

When it comes to colour we love nothing better than experimenting to see how far we can push the boundaries whilst our designs remain palatable. Colour theory has fascinated thinkers for centuries and great books have been written on the subject by luminaries such as Goethe and Josef Albers. The pointillist painters of the late 19th century paved the way to the use of colour pixels on our screens as interaction with colour changes dramatically when varying pigments are placed in juxtaposition. With this in mind we thought it would be interesting to ramp up the hue and boldly go where few dare, especially in the world of tweed design.

One of the many beauties of wool is that it can be dyed to any colour and this season we have been working with Shepley yarns and their vibrant range of British wools with a sound ecological footprint and accredited dye standards. We choose a palette of electric blues, vigorous greens and radiant oranges as the basis for our collection, reminiscent of the psychedelic rise of Acid House and the 90’s rave scene.

Our sensational design named Acid is a fabulously textural interweave of almost fluorescent yellow, bright blue, soft lilac and taupe brown, it really has to been seen to be believed. Remarkably the vibrant colours nestle together in the most glorious and harmonious way creating an overall stripe effect that is as vivacious as it is daring. The cloth weighs a useful 16oz, a mid weight cloth ideal for winter suiting or a light overcoat.

We have tailored an unlined blazer style jacket and matching narrow legged trousers in our Acid cloth. The relaxed cut of the jacket with patch pockets compliments the joyful nature of the tweed and the easy wearing trousers are right for so many occasions. We have also crafted a fabulous fitted coat, this is a close fitting knee length cut and is ideally worn instead of a jacket. The colours of the Acid tweed work well with denim and plains enabling the coat to work as a statement piece that bursts with delight.

We’ve named our bold check for the season Jungle, another reference to a musical genre originating from the rave scene, a time that saw a melting pot of upbeat mixes and eye popping displays of colour. This is reflected in the thrilling orange and marine check laid over an elegant grid of earth tones. The 16oz British wool is entirely made in the UK and is of a classic tweed quality suitable for outer wear in the elements.

We have crafted a slick fitting bomber style jacket using our Jungle design. The cuffs and waistband are ribbed in a navy band and the elegant shape features a central zip and side welted pockets. The easy to wear bomber has a broad collar which looks great both up round the neck or folded down. For a dramatic pairing we have had matching trousers tailored; the whole ensemble takes classic tweed sports wear into the 21st century.

For the evening, we have worked with our luxurious Merino worsted yarns to produce a discreetly elegant yet spirited design we call Jazz. Shades of dark maroon, navy and royal blue quiver together with a soupçon of lilac purple in a stripe that seems to frolic over the swarthy cloth. The 11-12oz worsted has a lustrous finish and makes up well into exquisite evening wear for any occasion.

Red carpet and black tie events are as popular as ever, and now more open to glamorous interpretation. We have tailored an exquisite three piece evening suit in Jazz. The cloth design, reminiscent of art deco motifs, certainly cuts a dash with black grosgrain silk lapels and a double breasted waistcoat.

Folk are waking up to the importance of traceable and sustainable clothing the use of British wool is more important than ever. We are now proud to be a part of the British wool organisation which entitles us to use their emblem of a Shepherds crook on our fully British Wool designs.

Come and join us to celebrate the launch of our new collection, with an event in our Dorset Street store, from 6pm – 8pm on the 19th September. Showcasing the fabrics and fashion we have tailor made this season!

BRITISH WOOL: FINISHING

Finishing is not just the end process of tweed creation, it is the beginning of a fabric’s life. Wool is woven in it’s natural greasy state and so needs a good wash and dry once it is woven, but there is a whole lot more to the finishing process than you may have thought.

I could tease you, or perhaps teasel you with tales of the how the Eurasian thistle is used to brush up some wool designs or put you on tenterhooks before I explain that these small metal claws are used to grab the edges of a cloth and stretch it to the required width as it is drys. The vocabulary of fabric finishing is woven throughout our language.

Historically special songs known as waulking songs were sung whilst handwoven cloth was put through a manual scouring process in remote Isles such as Harris. Today, more contemporary tunes are played whilst the hardworking crew at Schofield Finishers fasten hundreds of metres of cloth to a whole plethora of specialist machines.

Once a cloth is woven it is checked over at the mill for any broken yarns and theses are mended by hand. This is meticulous, skilled worked that cannot be mechanised and it is increasingly hard to find skilled darners. Once every inch of a 60m piece of cloth is checked by eye, it is driven over to the town of Galashiels where Schofields use the famously soft waters of Gala, a tributary of the River Tweed.

The cloth initially goes into aqueous scouring tanks whereby the fabric is wetted and softened by squeezing through huge wooden rollers, these are worn to a wonderful smooth finish by years of rubbing and in conjunction with the delightful properties of Scottish water, any hardness in the woven wool is smoothed out and given a texture ideal for tailoring. As with all the finishing stages, scouring is an exacting process and the length of time spent at this stage can really change the feel or handle of a cloth.

To achieve a tougher tweed quality a process known as milling can be carried out. This is a controlled felting process whereby wool cloth is rubbed by wooden blocks in a temperature controlled water tank. Gloriously tough fabrics can be given a finish in this way for garments such as duffle coats and thick tweed caps.

After the wet processes are carried out all wools and tweeds need to be dried to an exact width. As mentioned earlier tenterhooks grab the selvedge edge of the cloth as it enters a huge blow drier and a measuring device ensures the width is consistent, it’s mesmerising to watch yards of fabric drift past you through the rolling wheels of these machines.

Wool is such a wonderful material and being made of organic coiled protein structures it responds wonderfully to heat, water and steam. The same piece of cloth can be made to feel light and fluffy or dense and smooth. For a fleecy feel the nap is raised by brushing with either natural teasels or fine wires. For a smoother caress, cloth can be pressed between heated plates under very large clamps or set in submarine like containers that hold steam under great pressure.

I find it fascinating how the whole character of a cloth can be totally determined by the finishing process, much like raising children you need to understand all the factors available in the finishing environment and decide what your creative offspring needs for survival, be it toughening up for an adventurous life or delicate softening to deal with the subtle etiquette of society. Whatever the finish you are now ready to match up the pieces and continue through the rich seams of life.

The finishing process is the end of our British Wool journey that we have taken you on in the last year, from fibre all the way through to fabric. We are launching our new collection next week so watch this space.

*SAVE THE DATE*

19th September 2024

We will be launching our new collection in store.

More details to follow in the next newsletter!

If you have any questions about the cloth production process, or our collections,

do get in contact Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk.

BRITISH WOOL: WEAVING

I never cease to be fascinated by the technical advancements mankind has perfected over the millennium. In terms of shear creative invention, weaving must surely be one of the great landmarks of civilisation. During Neolithic times men and women probably copied our clever feathered friends, watching them weave twigs for nests and started to interlace bark shreds together to make things like door mats, although I’m not sure if they had invented doors by then.

Like many great developments, weaving with fibre yarns seems to have independently arisen in civilisations around the world from Africa to Asia and South America. Biblical accounts such as Joseph’s technicolour dream coat allude to a plethora of complex textile techniques including, spinning, dying and weaving at least five thousand years ago and the preserved linens from Ancient Egyptian tombs show incredibly sophisticated weaving probably performed using warp weighted or back strap looms. The principle of stretching vertical warp threads on some sort of frame and then threading the horizontal weft threads up and under the warp ones is so clever that weavers have always be highly prized within the fabric of society. Even today in the city of the London, the grandest of the Worshipful Companies are The Drapers, The Clothworkers and The Weavers.

So to the late 18th century, and as we all know from school, Cartwright invented the power loom. Initially powered by water wheels and then steam engines the power looms flew shuttles of yarn across the warp at ever increasing speeds as the technology evolved. By the twentieth century, looms which used steel finger like rapiers to transport the weft threads became popular and these rapier looms are the ones still used today.

We relish our trips to the mill to visit Robbie and Stevie in the border town of Langholm, an area synonymous with tweed production. Robbie not only houses wonderful rapier and shuttle looms but more importantly a lifetimes knowledge and experience of the wool industry. A well known local character, Robbie gets the job done and knows all the key players in the industry from yarn dyers to finishers.

Once a huge business for the area, weaving now just exists in a few pockets along the tributaries of the famous river Tweed. Preserving the skill set as well as the machinery is absolutely vital for the next generation, especially as sustainability and the desire for well made clothes is finally starting to trump the cheap excess of the high street.

Every season we design new intricate clothes for Robbie to weave and he never shies away from the challenge whether it is working with technical reflective yarns or a rare breed of sheep’s wool, he always delivers a beautiful woven cloth in the small unique runs that we require.

To find out more about our latest collection, and new designs we are developing, watch this space.

We hope to see you in store soon!

All the best,

The Dashing Team

CARING FOR YOUR CLOTHES

Buying beautiful clothes is one of life’s great pleasures, but for beauty to last it needs appreciation and care. Neglect is the nemesis of the wardrobe, leading to decay and destruction. Without invigilation the agent of ruination can creep into your clothing. As you may know this winged harbinger of doom goes under the name of Tineola bisselliella; aka the clothes moth.

Without doubt clothes moths are one of the few animals, along with kittens (a long story) that strike fear into my very heart. Left to their own devices the larvae of these tiny fluttering devils not only cause very expensive damage, they can also leave you perilously exposed, like many below the belt aggressors they tend to aim for the crotch.

As stealthy as moths are, they can be kept at bay if you know their modus operandi. You can then act accordingly with various forms of warfare from chemical and biological to brush in hand combat. The lifecycle of the clothes moth is a fairly standard one of the Lepidoptera order, which includes butterflies great and small.

The female lays eggs, these hatch into hungry caterpillars and munch through anything they can get her mandibles into. Eventually they form themselves a cocoon and emerge a month or so later as a moth keen on finding a mate. The males tend to fly towards the less mobile females, using smell to locate them in your darkened wardrobe. You can buy pheromone traps, which male moths mistake for lusty females, fly towards and come to a sticky end on. The pheromone boxes are great as a monitor too. A couple of moths trapped a month is OK but if it fills up after a couple of weeks you have an infestation and then pheromone devices need to be removed, whilst the room/ area is sprayed and then a day later replace the pheromone traps. You do not want the traps to be contaminated with the spray.

Another recommendation we have been told is to not put the pheromone boxes in wardrobes as this will attract the moths in. Placing them on top of a wardrobe is better, away from windows and doors. One every 5m will suffice, alternating them with moth decoy products will also confuses the mating!

These traps however only solve half the problem. Since scent is so important for moths, strong perfumes such as lavender or even Yardley’s sandalwood soap bars, which my stepmother swears by, bamboozles the blighters. You can get sprays ranging from very toxic concoctions by Rentokil to more natural ones such as Chrysanthemum Moth Killer Spray, which is our spray of choice as it is natural and does not include any harmful chemicals.

I find the most effective method is to get everything out of my cupboards, visually inspect for moth eggs and the little white web cocoons and then give all your cloths a steam from a handheld contraption followed by a good stiff brush with a proper bristle clothes brush,

Whenever I undertake this mission I inevitably end up with a pile of clothes that need mending. Depending on the severity of the attack there are various options available. Invisible mending is incredible, but seriously expensive and you have to weigh up the overall wearability of the garment. There is no point spending a lot on a small patch if the rest is a bit tatty. For larger holes on loved garments that you just want to continue wearing then I suggest a jolly patch over the offending hole. This can either be a piece of the same material cunningly obtained from somewhere like the trouser inside turn ups, or another piece of contrasting cloth used in an arty way.

Watch one of my tiktok videos on moth care.

Watch another of my tiktoks for the repair results to my suit.

In these circumstances I sometimes find my mind wandering to Nanki-Poo’s song and the minstrel of shreds and patches; both the mending and the Gilbert and Sullivan reminding me of my Grandmother. The final option for mutilated garments may be something more radical like amputation. My daughter manages to make cutoff trousers look wonderful as trendy shorts.

After a thorough wardrobe clean you may decide that some of your outfits are destined only for the local farmer’s scare crow, but on the positive side you will have room for some new threads yourself. Visiting your tailor to bespeak a new look brings us full circle in this life cycle story starting again at the beginning: buying beautiful clothes is one of life’s great pleasures.

We stock a range of Total Wardrobe Care products which are all natural and a great deterrent to moths, they smell lovely for the home as well. Check out their website, or visit us in store to see what we have available:

www.totalwardrobecare.co.uk

SUMMER SALE:

10% off – Made to measure tailoring

20% off – Accessories, ready to wear and throws

30% off – Fabric

Available until 31st July 2024

Special sample sale also available exclusively in store.

We hope to see you in store soon!

All the best,

The Dashing Team

SUMMER OFFERS

I love this time of year when summer holidays are imminent and you can dig out all the jolly clothes from your wardrobe. Hopefully most of them will still fit and have survived any moth attacks. Inevitably, there will be some weeding out to do. Passing clothes on is one of life’s generous pleasures, assuming that you buy quality clothes that last. This leaves space for you to treat yourself to a necessary luxury such as a lovely Dashing Tweeds look.

In the same way that you are making space in your dressing room we also need to make space in our shop. Ideally, I would like to generously give our glorious surplus items to any deserving customer, but sadly the lack of generosity from our landlords who insist on raising our rent means that money still needs to change hands.

However, in the spirt of giving to the deserving we are having a rare sale whereby we encourage you to buy our beautiful clothes, which you need, by significantly reducing the price for a limited period of time.

I’ve noticed that many shops seem to regularly discount their clothes which means that either they are charging too much in the first place or that their items are not that desirable. Neither of this scenarios apply to us so you would be wise to take advantage and snap up some sale bargains swiftly.

SUMMER SALE:

10% off – Made to measure tailoring

20% off – Accessories, ready to wear and throws

30% off – Fabric

Available until 31st July 2024

Special sample sale also available exclusively in store.

We hope to see you in store soon!

All the best,

The Dashing Team

DASHING WOMEN

When it comes to fashion the main victims are women. The industry makes a point of creating an insecurity around how women look in order to persuade them to constantly buy something new. The cycle of change has ramped up to frenzy like a deranged snake trying to eat its own tail. Social media exacerbates this. The natural rhythm of seasonal shows, fashion shoots and curated magazine spreads has been eroded by a spewing stream of influencers scrabbling for likes.

In order to maximise profits cheaper and cheaper materials and production methods have been pursued by high street brands; a hiding to nothing. Luckily, people are fighting back against the pointless waste of fast fashion.

Investing in beautiful clothes made individually for you is the answer. It’s long been proven that people value and look after clothes which they have been involved in creating. Timeless idiosyncratic style is always more prized than people who merely don the work of another.

The hard part is finding someone who can make fabulous original clothes for you, but luckily as you are reading this you know where to come. We have been tailoring for women for almost a decade now and have a good resource of talented tailors who can make your sartorial dreams come true.

Tailoring for women is more flexible than the male counterpart as there are fewer rules that need to be followed. This ironically can make it harder to decide what to have made.

We have years of experience and can guide you through all the options. Trousers are a good example, depending on your figure you may wish to have low slung hip hugging trousers with a tighter thigh and a slight flared bottom or a wide legged high waisted pair with double pleats. The trousers can be paired with a matching jacket to make an elegant suit, and again there are more acceptable silhouettes for women’s jackets; cropped rounded ones look just as good as deliberately oversized boxier cuts and it’s good to have all the options. To complete a look you may want to throw in a skirt of any volume from a mini to fully pleated circle.

tweed, tailoring, tailored jacket, jacket, tweed

As you are gathering, there are measureless possibilities so it’s fun to start with a blank canvas and think about what your ideal look is for specific occasions and then drop by the shop where Holly and Naomi will be more than happy to give you advice, show you our large selection of original fabrics and help you bespeak a dream outfit which will bring you pleasure for many, many years.

“I wandered into the store on a visit from Canada. Holly then spent over an hour with me as I chose a tweed and she measured me for my fabulous new jacket.

I picked everything from lapel width to buttons. It was simply a wonderful experience. My jacket has now arrived, as promised. I could not be happier!

I look forward to my next visit in February.”

Susan C

Naomi wears a summer coat tailored in-house using a fine Merino wool worsted. Our seamstress can copy simple unstructured shapes and ensure an elegant fit for you.

A tailored jacket is such a versatile item for your wardrobe. It’s easy to dresses up or down. Aramide wears her Blue Glen jacket with bleached jeans and the collar popped up but can transform to a boardroom ready look by pairing it with navy wool flannel trousers and a crisp white shirt.

We are always around to give you advice, so even if you are not sure exactly what you want then just come by for a chat.

Our made to measure tailoring takes 6 weeks, so plan ahead.

Jackets £1,200, trousers £675, skirts £500 and waistcoats £550.

Soft tailored cigar jackets £850, bomber jackets £1,050.

 2 piece suits £1,625 and 3 piece suits £1,850

Coats from £1,550 dependant on length

We also offer an in-house bespoke service as well.

To design your own look, or get advice on what to wear, do drop us a message for more information.

Holly – Business Manager

Holly@DashingTweeds.co.uk

Naomi – Production Manager

Naomi@DashingTweeds.co.uk

BRITISH WOOL – DYEING

By now, followers of my woolly jottings will be in no doubt that wool is the most wondrous natural fibre. You will have learned about all the different grades, the fabulous properties of woollen clothing and the sheer comfort, sustainability and versatility of wool. As well as being a worthy fabric, wool also has the ability to adapt to the vagaries of fashion as it can easily be made to change colour. 

Using extracts of plants and animals, people have been dyeing wool for thousands of years. Some rare and expensive colours such as the Tyrian purple derived from sea snails was only allowed to be used within royal circles in Roman times. In later centuries colours such as red made from crushed up cochineal beetles became more expensive than gold due to its demand by the British army for uniforms.

One of the aspects of traditional tweed that I find appealing is its use as camouflage. There is a satisfying circularity; to blend in with the colours of the landscape, wool was dyed with the very plants of the area. Lichens known as crotal, heathers, dandelions, wode,  barberry root, bog myrtles, the list of wonderful plants that can dye wool reads like the ingredients of a witches brew and indeed ancient dye recipes were kept secret and handed down covertly.

One of the aspects of traditional tweed that I find appealing is its use as camouflage. There is a satisfying circularity; to blend in with the colours of the landscape, wool was dyed with the very plants of the area. Lichens known as crotal, heathers, dandelions, wode,  barberry root, bog myrtles, the list of wonderful plants that can dye wool reads like the ingredients of a witches brew and indeed ancient dye recipes were kept secret and handed down covertly.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Dashing Tweeds is making our designs tangible. For this to happen we rely on the great talents found in the textile area of the Scottish Borders. Water is of the utmost importance, not only for washing and dyeing wool but also traditionally for powering the machines via waterwheels. Just off the Ettrick Water you’ll find the fabulous company of Ettrick Yarn Dyers Ltd.

For generations they have handed down the skills needed for both the hank dyeing and package dyeing of woollen yarns. The first being a very gentle, precise way of dyeing small quantities of wool with little agitation and the latter a larger scale process involving big steel vats full of yarns wound on cones. The array of colour shades they can achieve is tremendous, Jason Renwick showed us rows of charming wooden draws full of decades worth of dye recipes, each for a specific client colour.

One of our central tenets is that tweed is the traditional way for gentleman to wear colour and we try to give you as much choice as possible. Ettrick Dyers have never failed to match the exact shade needed for our designs from the early days when we chipped up the yellow lines of London to the bright tints used in our raver designs. Nature abounds with colour and paying homage to this through your clothing is the surest way to put you in a good mood.

All the best,

The Dashing Team

DRESSING FOR YOUR NEXT LIFE

You may be reading the title of this piece and thinking that we have diversified into shrouds or even mummification linen; not quite yet. The reality of life today is that people are living longer than ever and starting whole new careers in midlife. It can be a very refreshing time of reinvention, perhaps heading back to school for a while before embarking on a new road.

My degree was in biology and I was always fascinated by evolution, it seems to occur in sudden saltatory jumps; much like life. One minute you change job or hit the gym and suddenly you become a smarter, leaner person. Or perhaps like a young Clown fish you have decided to change sex. Whatever your metamorphosis one thing is for sure; you’ll need some new clothes.

Fashion is highly influenced by the natural selective forces of society. Stiff Victorian suits are obviously completely passé, but so too are tailoring styles from just a decade ago. If you have been stuck in a niche, you may suddenly find yourself completely behind the times. This is where we can offer you a great deal of help.

Our designs are informed by the changing demands of work and leisure. We are in continuous conversation with customers as to what garments provide the optimum balance of elegance and practicality.

There is no doubt that clothing has been on a steady journey towards the less formal. I felt it hit a nadir a couple of years ago but now I’m pleased to report that the current direction is up. Tailored clothes made to last and look good are both sustainable and desirable. Personal style is the order of the day and constant change in the name of fashion is now deeply unfashionable.

Finding your personal style as you grow older is one of life’s pleasure, the insecurity of youth is replaced by the confidence of wisdom, and this should allow you to be more daring in your choices.

At Dashing Tweeds we never shy away from experimenting with all aspects of clothing and style in order to give you as much choice as possible. We delight in offering you styling advice as to the best colour combinations and tailoring silhouettes and how to make your wardrobe work well for every occasion.

Dress norms can now be a bit of a minefield, gone are the days when you could simply wear a suit and tie to work and then change into a cocktail or dinner suit in the evening.

However, wearing boring chinos and a lack lustre shirt are not going to impress your new hip co-workers or even your fresh date for the night. It’s time to remix the hereditary elements of tailoring and make something new. Remember when it comes to the evolution of tailored forms, there’s more to it than just the genes.

Our made to measure tailoring takes 6 weeks, so plan ahead.

Jackets £1,200, trousers £675, skirts £500 and waistcoats £550.

Soft tailored cigar jackets £850, bomber jackets £1,050.

 2 piece suits £1,625 and 3 piece suits £1,850

Coats from £1,550 dependant on length

We also offer an in-house bespoke service as well.

To design your own look, or get advice on what to wear, do drop us a message for more information.

Founder/ Owner – Guy Hills

Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk

All the best,

The Dashing Team

SAVE THE DATE: 10TH APRIL

6pm onwards, in store at 47 Dorset Street

Launching the collection in store, and celebrating with our good friends

Collarbone London and Pachacuti with their panama hats.

To RSVP: drop us an email.

WHAT TO WEAR ON A DATE

‘Dress to impress’ is one of those phrases you see banded around on social media usually accompanied by a girl in a tight red dress and an oil slick of a man in a shiny suit, they may impress each other but not me. Therein lies the catch, you need to decide who you want to impress and how to use clothing as a lure. We all know that the first glance is the most important, so to use a fishing analogy, it’s worth spending some time to ensure a good bite and hopefully a successful hook.

I’m casting this missive out towards men as I feel we need the most help. The choice of clothing is narrower for men at all levels, so it becomes even more important to make every nuance count. The first rule is that you should feel comfortable in your look, that’s not to say you should be wearing horrible slouchy track bottoms but more that your clothing reflects the type of person you are or wish to be. It’s easy to spot an off kilter look that doesn’t ring true.

One of the most exciting aspects of dressing is that you can decide how you wish to be perceived. Will your paramour fancy a rakish, devil may care spontaneous lover or a steady bookish intellectual? These two extremes can equally well be conveyed at first sight. Having decided on the impression you wish to make, the next stage is to get the details right and add a fresh spin of your own. It may be that you wish to appear as a free spirited thinker who cares nothing for such insignificant material things as clothing but if that is really the case and you turn up in a stained, smelly t-shirt and bad fitting trousers you are just going to come across as a lazy slob.

I’ve always admired the good advice of the Savile Row tailor Hardy Amies; “A man should buy his clothes with intelligence, dress with care and then forget all about them”. A simple well fitting suit can be worn with just a t-shirt and trainers in a totally casual manor and be acceptable. Equally, you can dress it up with a shirt and tie, polished shoes and then all manner of accessories such as cufflinks, tie pins, boutonnieres etc. As long as the fit is good anything goes. Of course, if you feel a suit is too much then just wearing the trousers or jacket separately works equally well especially if the cloth is slightly different and does not look like a discarded business suit.

It goes without saying that ‘manners maketh man’ and the respect you show by dressing well is paramount.

Good luck, and remember you can reel in your dream catch with the right tackle.

To design your own look, or get advice on what to wear, do drop us a message for more information:

Founder/ Owner – Guy Hills

Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk

All the best,

The Dashing Team

SAVE THE DATE: 10TH APRIL

6pm onwards, in store at 47 Dorset Street

Launching the collection in store, and celebrating with our good friends

Collarbone London and Pachacuti with their panama hats.

To RSVP: drop us an email.

SUMMER SUITS AND EVENTS

Spring is teasing us at the moment with the odd flash of sunshine. Soon summer will come and it will most likely be a hot one.  It may seem surprising, but fine Merino wool is ideal to wear in the summer. Wool barely creases, keeps you cool during the day, warm at night and tailors so well. I often go for a short suit with extra trousers, giving a combination of five different looks.

Tommy wears a suit in our new Heron cloth, a 12oz Merino worsted wool which we tailored in a style made popular by rock ’n’ roll tailor Nutters. A long single breasted jacket featuring wide peak lapels, rope shoulders, slanting pockets and a single button fastening paired with stylishly shaped trousers.

It’s always amusing to play with proportions in tailoring so we’ve designed a double breasted suit with quite frankly, ridiculously wide lapels and white horn buttons that add an extra pop. The playful, relaxed nature of the suit in our blue Riley cloth is enhanced by patch side pockets and slim cut trousers.

As summers continue to get hotter, shorts suits are becoming increasingly popular and acceptable. We have tailored our fresh Lanyon check with knee length shorts and an unlined blazer, featuring patch pockets, a three button front and well proportioned notched lapels. If you are ever wondering what to wear to a tranquil garden party then this is the look for you.

As we are primarily a weave design studio, we enjoy working with a range of tailors and makers who bring new cuts to the fore. Collaborating with Collarbone London we bring you a cigar shirt in the Denim Blue Raver. The tightly woven fabric is ideal for the casual cut of the lightweight jacket, maintaining a good shape even with all the pockets full. I’ve really enjoyed mine on holiday when it easily held sunglasses, a paper back, phone and the odd cigar or two.

All our made to measure tailoring takes 6-8 weeks, and you can select any styling or cloth to suit your look.

PRICES

Jackets £1,200, trousers £675, skirts £500 and waistcoats £550.

Soft tailored cigar jackets and Tebas £850, bomber jackets £1,050.

 2 piece suits £1,625 and 3 piece suits £1,850

Coats from £1,550

SAVE THE DATE: 10TH APRIL

6pm onwards, in store at 47 Dorset Street

Launching the collection in store, and celebrating with our good friends

Collarbone London and Pachacuti with their panama hats.

To RSVP: drop us an email.

BRITISH WOOL – SPINNING

Our spinning revolution was the turning point of Britain’s textile industry. Twisting strands of fibre together by hand is as old as civilisation, and dates back fifty thousand years. It then took till around 500 AD for mankind to invent a wheel to speed up the process. This worked well for the next 2000 years until a series of British inventors who names are still revered today (James Hargreaves and Richard Arkwright amongst others) revolutionised spinning with their modern machines.

This much I knew before our enlightening trip to visit Bruce and Robin at Brierley Brothers spinners in Huddersfield. Robin Gledhill is the forth generation owner and Bruce Calverley has been working for almost a decade at the mill.

Brierley Brothers have been woollen spinning since the height of our industrial revolution. We love using their beautifully curated range of yarns which are sold under the name Gardiner Yarns.

I had never thought about how the rich quality of the colour was produced before, but like so many other things I enjoy from whiskey to chocolate it’s all about blending. The yarn we see as a shade of green for example is actually a special formula of wools dyed yellow, purple, navy and bottle green which are all blended during the carding process. The formula for the colours is filed away and each new batch matched to the originals using calibrated light sources.

During  lockdown I bought myself a spinning wheel and obtained a fleece from Mike, a friendly farmer selling lamb at my local market. My knowledge of wool processing was sketchy but it didn’t take long to pull off the fine pieces of wool, wash them and then start teasing out the fibres using a pair of spiked carding brushes. It was a laborious but rewarding task.

Watching this same process on an industrial scale is fascinating and actually quite mesmerising. Two tonnes of wool per week is fed into the hoppers and pulled over a range of huge rollers which separates the fibres making a smooth matt of wool rovings. This is then cleverly divided into fine slivers known as condenser which are wound around a cone. At this stage the strands of loosely held fibres are very weak. They are ready to be spun tightly together on rapidly rotating spindles impressively arranged in two banks down the entire length of the spinning hall. The mechanism seems simple but as you watch it pick up broken threads, connect them back and continue pulling the condenser wool over engineered wheels running at precisely geared speeds you see how two hundred years of patents propelled Great Britain to the top level of textile production.

The degree of twist determines the strength and character of the yarn. Changes such as twisting the wool clockwise, known as a ‘Z’ twist as opposed to an anticlockwise ’S’ twist is all important and a laboratory area is in constant use to test and monitor every stage of the process.

The final stage before the freshly spun yarns can be sent to the weavers is for them to be set using heat and steam in an autoclave. The yarns are transferred to cones featuring permeable holes, piled up and wheeled into a large chamber. Being a natural yarn, wool responds excellently to steam, setting the strands in position to ensure they don’t spontaneously unravel. There’s a homely satisfaction to the smell of warm, freshly spun cones of wool being unloaded from the oven that seems to evoke our whole history of wool production from cottage industry to today’s modern times.

It’s reassuring in our post modern world to realise that having tried to surpass wool’s qualities with synthesised chemical fibres we are now back to the level whereby wool is simply the best you can get for the clothes you need.

For our next AW collection, we are focusing on British wool, spun in the UK hence showcasing this whole process, watch this space to find out more.

LAUNCHING THE NEW COLLECTION

Being an island nation, the sea has a special significance for most of us Brits. Not only is the coast synonymous with holiday time it is also a lure to artists. This season we’ve woven together these two themes and created an exciting new cloth and tailored collection. All our summer fabrics are woven in Scotland using fine Merino worsted wool in an elegant palette of creams, blues and yellows.

Intricate weave designs always fascinate us, from afar they look like a single block of colour but as you move closer the geometric weave patterns and our play of colours lends an exciting geometric effect not unlike the work of Op artist Bridget Riley. In fact we have named our new beautiful blue cloth Riley in honour of the pioneering Cornish artist. The cloth weighs in at 12oz, good for summer evenings out and wear throughout the year.

Checks are a staple for weave designers and are probably the earliest of all woven patterns. Each season we add something exciting to our library of new checks and this year won’t disappoint. We have used our season’s colours for a deceptively simple window pane design. Small squares in blue and cream are latticed by a three inch yellow overcheck in our 11oz Lanyon cloth. Peter Lanyon, the abstract landscape painter was born by the sea in Cornwall. His works are considered amongst the most original and important reappraisals of modernism in the country and his views from an aerial perspective often resemble textiles.

Our summer stripe named Heron is a new take on a perennial classic that never dates. The balance is perfect with the stripes running an assured two inches apart and featuring a yellow twill nestled between a patina of fine blue lines. The cloth is of a comfortable 10oz weight, ideal for a summer two piece suit. We’ve name the design after Patrick Heron the influential British abstract and figurative artist who lived and worked throughout much of the 20th century in the idyllic Cornish cove of Zennor. His exploration of colour and light has been a great influence to us as we strive to bring you ever more interesting colourful fabrics.

From the beginning we gained notoriety by weaving reflective ‘lumatwill’ fabrics. These were created by us using retroreflective threads woven with fine Merino wool and finished to be rain resistant. The original concept for our ‘Raver Tweeds’ was for use when cycling at dusk, perhaps heading off to dance the night away. These 13oz designs are always in demand and we occasionally release new colours.

To complement our fresh new collection for the summer we are releasing a Denim Blue Raver design. Seen above in daylight and below with a flash light.

For more information or to get swatches of the new collection, please do drop us an email: info@DashingTweeds.co.uk. All our fabrics are available by the metre or through our made to measure tailoring.

BRITISH WOOL – SHODDY

The English language is strewn with words from our illustrious textile industry. It’s a lot better to be on tenterhooks, whilst someone spins a good yarn than to be fleeced by a shoddily dressed rag and bone man. The fast fashion world pulls the wool over our eyes as they stitch us up with sweatshop sewn plastic threads. The more you look, the more you find textile terms woven into conversation. However, this is not a post about textile lexicography but the fascinating story of shoddy; the original recycling of woollen yarns.

Last year we all went on an illuminating trip to Huddersfield, the epicentre of the industrial revolution. We met Dr John Parkinson and his newly built shoddy machine. Dr John is a most colourful character, a fount of information, and an expert on the rag trade. His early working life involved working with rag merchants for the then slightly frowned upon shoddy manufacturers.

Shoddy was a way of putting wool waste back into the supply chain and dates back to the 1800’s. The mills of the time were continually spinning valuable wool and weaving cloth, the scale of production was huge and England was supplying half the world. Inevitably there were left over yarns and pieces of wool, so rather than throwing these away a machine was devised that shredded the waste back into wool fibres allowing them to be re-spun with fresh new wool. This was common practice for the big mills and made perfect sense. Talk of the practice was swept under the carpet, so to speak, as the idea was born out of frugality rather than the sustainable angle which is so important today.

Initially Dr Parkinson’s desire to build the first new shoddy machine for decades came from a passion and belief that it was a necessary thing to do. He says that if everyone in the country bought a jumper made with recycled yarns it would save 371 million gallons of water, enough electricity to power a small town and vast amounts of dye chemicals.

John won a bid for funding an R&D project with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in 2019. He was luckily enough to have the blueprints of an early shoddy machine and persuaded the original company to rebuild it. This was the first time in the 21st century that such a machine has been built in the country and being overjoyed by success after so many years of trying he named his company after a favourite phrase –

“It Is Never Over Until It Is Over”  –  IINOUIIO yarns was born.

In fact, John was so proud of the formation of his new company that he had the name tattooed on his arm along with the flower logo designed by his daughter.

As more people delight in wearing wool and valuing textiles in general, hopefully we will see more suitability within the industry. It must be remembered that our throwaway society is actually a recent blip and we should all follow the age old motto of the textile town of Ossett famous for it’s rag trade “’Inutile Utile Ex Arte” translated as “Useless things  made useful through art”.

We are waiting with excitement for a range of scarves we have designed using IINOUIIO recycled Cashmere yarns. Below are some of our CAD workings and we will let you know as soon as they are back from the weavers in Scotland.

BESPOKE WEAVING

The New Year is a great time to reflect on what we have achieved and to remind everyone what we do and why.

Quite simply, Dashing Tweeds is modernising tweed; the original sportswear of Great Britain.  

We take the aspects of our fast moving urban life today and literally interweave them with the best, time proven benefits of sustainable wool. Some of our designs are fairly traditional and others such as our reflective Raver tweeds are entirely new.

Left to Right: Naomi, Kirsty, Lara and Holly

The designs originate from our London and Hastings studios. To maximise our creativity we work directly with yarn samples using both hand weaving and CAD design work. We constantly experiment and can produce a great array of samples prior to production. We work closely with the film industry to create original designs to briefs. We also collaborate with designers as well as individuals and can weave any length starting with as little as 4 metres.

Once we agree on which hand woven or CAD designs we like best the chosen yarns and  technical details are sent to the British mills.

We mainly work with a fabulous niche mill in the Scottish borders and fabric finishers in Galashiels.

The technical information for our cloth designs are transferred on to punch rolls at the mill to ensure the production pieces are exactly right.

Kirsty chatting with Stevie as yarns are prepared for warping.

Not all our tweeds are for clothing, we often work with interior quality wools, the set of the weave is tighter and we arrange for the finishers to give the cloth a tougher, long lasting handle suitable for upholstery.

For an illustrious customer, we adapted one of our exciting weave designs for use on a sofa and complimented it with a plain blue weave for the base.

We work with a wide range of yarns, including intricately spun Japanese and Italian threads as well as classic British wools. We can also dye our own worsted shades using Pantone references. Our woven structures can be complex and use up to a maximum of 16 shafts on the production looms, typically cloth weights vary from 235g/8oz to 730g/25oz.

For jacquard designs we work with the famous mills in Suffolk. We can either recolour designs from our archive or develop new designs on CAD. The jacquard mills specialise in silk and cotton weaving.

Floral jacquard silk designs we developed for my family rock band – Hills Alive.

Lead times:

Once designs are confirmed, production lead times vary from 6 – 12 weeks depending on yarn availability and dyeing requirements.

Approximate time scales:

Design & CADS – 2-3 weeks

Yarn sourcing and dyeing – 6-8 weeks

Weaving – 3-4 weeks

Finishing – 2-3 weeks

Minimum Order Quantity:

Sample lengths are available in 4m, 12m, 20m & 28m lengths.

Standard production lengths are multiples of 60m.

Our mills are capable of producing 2400m a week.

For more information and to discuss your project further, please do contact us:

Founder/ Owner – Guy Hills, Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk

Head of Production – Naomi Greenland, Naomi@DashingTweeds.co.uk

Head of Business – Holly Pressdee, Holly@DashingTweeds.co.uk

Studio Manager – Lara Pain, Info@DashingTweeds.co.uk

020 7486 6882

www.DashingTweeds.co.uk

47 Dorset Street, London, W1U 7ND

HAPPY NEW YEAR – JANUARY SALE

I love starting the new year with promises and positivity. With a clean slate you can become the person you really want to be, although in these times I think the secret is thinking of the ‘we’ and not so much the ‘I’.

Interconnectivity and understanding are key. Walking around in morbid dark clothes is simply miserable, not only for you but for others in your wake. I’m not saying we should all dress in a cacophony of colour but wearing something dashing and jolly is good for the soul and more likely to make you new friends.

With this is mind, we’re helping your January resolution to dress more joyously by having a rare sale.

In store and online we are offering 10% off our range of unique accessories, knitwear, homeware and cloth.

We also have a special sample sale with some pieces reduced by more than 50%.

Our most popular offering at the moment is our made to measure tailoring, allowing you to design and create your own individual look, and for January only we will be offering 10% off all tailoring.

Our store will reopen on the 2nd January, so we hope to see you soon.

BRITISH WOOL – GRADING

If variety is the spice of life then the sheep of Great Britain must be high on the list for liveliness. We have over 60 native breeds in the country and their wool comes in such a range of varieties that it takes many years of training to sort them into the 130 different grades required by British Wool.

Lara holding up a grade 1 lustre class fleece.

Through thousands of years of breeding, sheep wool has become specialised for a whole range of purposes, from carpets to country suits and baby blankets to insulation. As there are so many different end uses for wool it is essential that the fleeces are graded prior to being baled up for auction.

There are 6 main grades of wool depending on the sheep breed and then further divisions depending on the consistency of colour and staple length for each fleece. The staple length refers to the actual length of individual wool fibres. The micron count is the width of these fibres. Typically fine British wool has a micron range of 30-32 and thicker mountain wools are over 35 microns. Staple lengths can vary from anywhere 6 to 30cm depending of the breed and age of the sheep.

Wool from the whole country is sorted by hand at Wool House in Bradford. Each grader can pass six metric tonnes a day, just from a quick touch and visual inspection.

Close examination of every fleece is needed to determine consistency and micron width of the wool fibres, the length of the staple and whether there is any kempy hair in the fleece. Kempy is actually defined as hair with a hollow fibre rather than the complex protein structure of wool. It is found more in sheep living in harsher conditions as it helps the rain wash off the sheep’s fleece.

Head grader Ian Brooksbank explained the complexities of wool grading. Lambswool from the first shearing of what is known as a hog is graded to a higher class than wool from a wether or sheep that has been previously shorn.

Naturally coloured wool is put into a class of it’s own. Originally most sheep had darker wool and the search for what was known as a pure or golden fleece became the stuff of mythology.

As well as straight roads and plumbing the Romans introduced us to sheep with white wool and since then we Britons have never looked back. White wool is much easier to dye interesting colours and nature has provided a huge range of plants and minerals that dye wool well. Life in the past was definitely much more colourful than a lot of us imagine. In fact black was one of the hardest and most expensive dyes to produce and so when the Victorians succeeded in producing rich black dyes the desire for the morbid colour boomed.

Now at last we are dying our fine British wools to a cacophony of colours and producing mind blowing new collections, but that is another story for next year.

Our final day in the store is the 23rd December, and we reopen on the 3rd January.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and seasons greetings to all.

See you in the New Year, which will be full of new Dashing excitements.

DASHING KNITWEAR

It’s been a long time coming, but I’m now really enjoying feeling a chill in the air and a need to wear more and more woolly layers. Keeping warm can be a fine balancing act, overdo it and you render yourself immobile with clothing and start to roast, not enough and you shiver all day. Wool of course comes to the rescue;  just a thin layer of lambswool over a shirt and topped off with a tweed jacket is pretty much all you need for most days.

Finding the right shade of jumper in top quality lambswool that has been sustainably knitted in Scotland is harder than you think. However, if you are reading this then your quest is already over and we can send you one today. Although, it’s much more fun to come and visit us in person and try one on whilst we serve you a fine cup of tea.

These also make great gifts for your loved ones this Christmas.

See the full collection here.

We hope to see you in store soon, or feel free to phone us for a chat to discuss sizes for yourself or gifts for loved ones.

Get your items in time for Christmas:

UK – order by 19th December

Europe – order by 18th December

Rest of the world –order by 15th December

PRINCE ROSTISLAV ROMANOV

Conjure up a mind’s eye image of a male bohemian artist and you’ll probably be picturing Rosti before you read any further. Prince Rostislav Romanov, or Rosti to his friends is a true artist; creative to the soul. He expresses himself mainly through the medium of oil paint landscapes, but his artistic talents leap forth when leafing through the drawings of his hand made paper sketch books and through his new skill of applique on a Dashing cap.

I’ve known Rosti for a few years now, he first dropped into our original shop just to complement us on our use of colour in our weave designs. Then a year or so later, when we setup our in-house workshop we were in a position to make his sartorial dreams come true. Having studied fine art at Falmouth, Rosti has a love of nature, landscape and colour. Scattered throughout his spacious house in Tenterden, Kent are books by favourite influential artists, Milton Avery, Philip Guston, Gillian Ayres and llya Repin to name a few.

As befits the dreamy country setup and the romance of creatives, the action takes place in a shed at the bottom of the garden. I waited with eager anticipation, camera in hand, as the doors squeaked open. The rich waft of oil paint hit me as I entered and to my delight Rosti’s painting den was a cacophony of colour and controlled chaos.

On one side litho printing rollers, then around a central chair, tables strewn with paints of every hue and palettes at the ready for work on the current canvas. As Rosti paints wearing his beloved artist suit in our Motley design he listens to his vinyl collection and notes the albums he’s played on the back of the canvas; a charming addition to the artwork. The suit is ideal for painting as the design features inherent colour splashes. Rosti wanted to be able to wade in the marshes while sketching so the baggy trousers are cut high off the ground and the double breasted teba jacket has generous pockets. 

Rosti’s love of nature is evident as we stroll around the grounds of the house he shares with wife Fotini Georganta and their son. The garden dates back to Tudor times and is home to the most splendid trees including huge redwoods, beeches and chestnuts. I’d forgotten making Rosti his coat in our Gallant Check design from a few years ago which looked gloriously autumnal when paired with this three piece ochre herringbone suit and it’s elegant double breasted waistcoat.

As with so many great artists, talent comes with a degree of angst and in Rosti’s case alcohol became an early vice. Following art school Rosti headed to Russia, the home of his aristocratic heritage, his great grandmother was Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia. In his own words he moved to the land of cheap vodka where ‘my alcoholism found me’ and drifted around with friends. A wakeup call occurred on a trip to San Francisco. His friend not being home yet, Rosti tried to check in to a hotel but his grunge look of the time led to refusal and a night on the streets. Luckily, rehab in South Africa proved a success and Rosti’s sobriety has allowed his natural creativity to shine. Dressing well, with integrity and quality is a delight for Rosti and I was delighted to really see how much he loves to wear the clothes we have tailored.

A DASHING CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

Christmas time and yuletide wait for no man, woman or indeed anyone with present buying on their mind. It may be a cliché but time seems to run faster as you grow older, apparently it’s all to do with the number of new experiences we have.

When I walk down a high street, I look around and I’ve just seen it all before. Originality is hard to come by. At Dashing we like nothing better than bringing a youthful wonder into your life. We have fabric designs and colour combinations which make you marvel and more importantly they’ll arouse desire and fascination in your loved ones.

Being practical, budget is often a primary factor, you don’t want to embarrass your aunt by giving her a coat for four figures whilst opening her snow globe of two figures.

Conveniently we offer lovely Dashing gifts at a range of prices. Caps start at £50 and are always welcomed presents; you need something to keep your head warm and dry now. Wool, as I’m sure you know is wonderful for temperature regulation, a simple scarf makes all the difference between comfort and misery during winter.

We offer scarves in Lambswool as well as a Merino and cashmere blend. Next up, in terms of size our throws are highly versatile. I always keep one as a travel rug in the car and they look so elegant draped over furniture at home. If you are a generous dog lover then George can vouch for them as glorious coverings for his favourite chair.

The most desirable Dashing gift is a suit or coat made to measure and the way to give this is using our shiny gift vouchers. Just let us know how much you wish to spend and we can write on the card something like a new Dashing jacket, a shooting suit or an entire wardrobe of new looks. We can send vouchers out by post along with swatches of fabric but it’s more fun to drop by our store if you can as we have some one off samples and experimental pieces which hardly anyone has seen before and may be just what you are looking for.

To further entice you to Chiltern and Dorset Street there are some other excellent shops where I often pick up treats. Next door to us is Labour and Wait, they stock the most useful brushes I have ever come across. Cadenhead is a must for whisky drinkers and also for mind blowing rum which they bottle on-site from a barrel. I also love Perfumer H, their scents are nose tinglingly delightful and they now have a special smelling fountain pen ink. Cromford Leather is an incredible specialist shop making bespoke leather jackets and if you are into gardening then Niwaki have the sharpest weeding tools ever. Of course you could just visit us and walk across the road to relax with a pint and a pie at The Barley Mow pub.

I reckon that you can probably get all your present buying done in Marylebone and to make life easier we are going to be open late 23rd November, until 8pm, and are offering 10% off all our collections for one night only.

Life is short; enjoying yourself and treating loved ones is important. At Dashing we strive to make everything we do original and of the highest quality. When shopping, I like to bear in mind Oscar Wilde’s quote;

“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best”

and I’m sure if he were around today Dashing Tweeds would be a favourite haunt.

If you want to purchase online, please keep in mind our delivery timeframes for getting your gifts to you by Christmas:

Delivery to:

UK – 2 days, order by 19th December

Europe – 3 days, order by 18th December

Rest of the world – 3-4 days, order by 15th December

BRITISH WOOL & SHEEP BREEDS

The reason why so many of us love a pub quiz is that knowledge is the key to survival. For early man knowing which plants were toxic and where the buffalo roamed was vital. As humans settled down to an agrarian lifestyle we started to tame rather than chase. We bred and cross bred all sorts of animals and our knowledge increased daily. 

The fact that the tamed Asiatic Mouflon is the ancestor to all our sheep and that more breeds of sheep live in Great Britain than any anywhere else may not make much difference to your life nowadays, but you never know, the knowledge could one day win you a pub quiz.

I’m writing all about wool at the moment as wool month comes to a close. You are going to have to indulge me as I take you on a fascinating journey of just how amazing wool really is. There is something about wool that seems to inspire great passion. I could have chatted for days when we went to visit Haldi Kranich-Wood at Wool House in Bradford, one of the largest centres of wool grading in the county.

As you know wool was our greatest asset in the middle ages but it’s still a good export. I learned that British wool from mountain sheep with a bulky thick fibre is unbeatable for carpets. Nothing else, synthetic or natural, springs back as well as ours and for the toughest floor coverings in places such as casinos and cruise ships, everyone wants our wool.

The British Wool Marketing Board was founded sixty years ago to ensure that our farmers receive the best possible price for their wool. Anyone in the country with more than six sheep is obliged to sell their wool through the board where auctions take place bimonthly in the season. All of our 35 thousand sheep farmers send 34 million kilos of wool to be sold every year and it is all sorted by hand.

Head grader Ian Brooksbank explained how the six types of wool; fine, medium, cross, lustre, hill and mountain are graded depending on their colour and quality and then bundled into eight ton lots for auction. The really interesting thing is that all the wool is just a byproduct of the meat industry. Farmers are obliged by law to shear sheep for their comfort in the summer months, but no one actually breads sheep just for their wool anymore. Compared to the past wool prices are pitiful.

The poor price of wool came as a great shock to our king a few years ago. Determined to remedy this and spread awareness King Charles started the Campaign for Wool in 2010.  The campaign has been doing a fabulous job explaining why we all need more wool in our lives. Wool actually gives out heat when it gets wet, an exothermic reaction unlike any other cloth, and I love the fact that it absorbs smell and hardly needs washing. Wool keeps you warm and dry but it also blocks harmful UV light and absorbs far more moisture than cotton which is vital for sporting activities.

Wool just has so many wonderful attributes and I’m always happy to tell you more when you drop by my shop. I’ve also taken up spinning, in a Gandhi rather than Hoy way, it’s a very addictive hobby so come along and we can spin yarns together and plan a sustainable woolly future.

SAVE THE DATE:

As Christmas approaches we plan to host a late night shopping event in store on the 23rd November opening until 8pm, along with all our neighbours in the area. It will be a great evening in Marylebone, so do pop it in your diary and we hope to see you then. We will be offering 10% off all our collections and made to measure, so it is a great time to plan ahead for your gift shopping, and we offer gift vouchers in store too.

BRITISH WOOL: INTRODUCTIONS

When it comes to tweed, wool is where it’s at. The starting point not only to Dashing Tweeds but to probably one of the biggest, most lucrative industries Great Britain has known.

There is evidence of wool being spun and woven in the country as far back as the Bronze age four thousand years ago and by the fourteenth century wool exports became the backbone of our economy. The vast riches from our wool trading over 800 years ago, can still be seen today by visiting awe inspiring cathedrals such as Norwich and Ely.

Fast forward to the industrial revolution and by the mid nineteenth century over a quarter of our industrial output was from British textiles sold the world over. 

It’s hard for us to realise the importance of wool. Politicians have a daily reminder from the Woolsack in the House of Lords, but for most of us the role of wool in our history and its relevance today is a bit of a mystery.

I’ve really been enjoying learning more about wool and over the next few months I’m going to share with you some of my newly acquired knowledge. I’ll try not to bamboozle you with the names of our 60 plus native sheep breeds and with the deftness I observed as skilled workers at Wool House, Bradford sorted fleeces into 130 different grades.

Whilst sharing the story of wool, we will follow the rise and fall of wool prices, the fibre to fashion journey and learn just how important wool is for our future. 

The global spotlight is now rightly focused on the toxic fast fashion industry, they have pulled the wool over our eyes; over producing oil based clothing that no one values. Sustainability and the welfare of our planet depends on us radically shifting our ideas on fashion, understanding where our clothes are produced and most importantly caring about how we dress with longevity in mind. I feel that wearing wool and delving into our thousand years of sheep knowledge will help us all. 

The Campaign for Wool launches Wool Month for October, so to find out more about wool, do pop in store and see us soon.

LAUNCHING THE NEW COLLECTION

Autumn is definitely my favourite season. From my Jewish side I enjoy feeling that it is the start of the year when new fruits can be eaten and life starts afresh. I love the colours. Everything becomes rich and plush, lit from a low sun heading to the autumnal equinox. It is also the best time to wear tweed and boy do we have some excitements for you!

We have designed and woven some incredibly exuberant new tweeds this season inspired by my trip to Mexico last year. The bold colours of the cities combined with the graphic architecture of the Aztecs provided such a rich stimulus.

James Lance, actor and great friend of Dashing has kindly been modelling the collections tailored for our store, showing them off to their best advantage, but of course we can tailor any silhouettes you desire.



We have named the cloth above Ignacio and as you can see it looks fabulous as an unstructured jacket paired with wider legged trousers. The relaxed cut reflects the joyous nature of the 10oz wool cloth. The scale of the check is a large six inch repeat in an almost ecstatic mix of magenta, yellow, lilac and charcoal.

This new bomber jacket works really well made up in our new design called Teo. It’s increasingly acceptable to wear more casual tailored pieces and this jacket with patch pockets and a generously wide collar strikes a good balance. The cloth is a medium weight 14oz tweed, woven in Scotland using a Donegal wool. The basket weave design in grey and yellow has a muted appearance but the neps of red, green and blue add a vitality.

George is more than happy to rest his head on the soft Donegal wool used in our new Teo design.

James looks fabulous pairing our Rivera tweed with his double denim shirts. There’s nothing we like more than folk wearing our cloth in their own style. Individuality and joie de vivre are the essence of Dashing.

The blue and red stripes feature a tessellated design reminiscent of Aztec pyramids lending a certain sportiness to this 17oz cloth. The weight is also ideal for a winter coat or even a bespoke skiing outfit.

The Herringbone design is one of our early classic urban tweeds, featuring a double red pinstripe with a grey and black herringbone structure. It tailors fabulously into coats and sports jackets. I love the way James rocks his look with a vintage red shirt, ready to hit the road and make the world a merrier place.

Do drop by our shop soon to view our new collection or we can also post you samples of our new tweeds. Everything at Dashing is going incredibly well, these new designs do tend to sell out fast.

If you wish to use our made to measure tailors then do allow at least six weeks. If you order something soon it will be ready end of October so bear that in mind if you have important dates ahead.
We look forward to seeing you soon.

Guy, Holly, Naomi and Lara.

PS a HUGE thank you to James Lance for his innate style and time spent modelling our new collection.

WHAT TO WEAR: Frieze

As the sun kissed return to London one of the first parties to look forward to is the opening of Frieze.

Much to my dogs vexation his favourite stomping ground in Regent’s Park becomes the most richly embellished camp site in the world. Huge tents are erected and massive sculptures land by the herbaceous borders. Trucks bearing wooden treasure boxes reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark rumble round the inner circle followed closely by a procession of champagne toting staff and the odd sniffer dog. It really is a sight to see the global art circus come to town.

A few days later the main broadwalk develops into a wafting catwalk as the London scene and many others from far and wide descend and inspect the offerings of the art dealer elite.

As well as musing over the art, I love nothing better than people watching. Decoding sartorial messages is fascinating, from the conservative tailoring of the dealers informing you that they are reliable and trusty folk, to the devil-may-care ease of the super rich with nothing to prove, through to the elegant panache of young art collectors, and the odd lost soul bobbing by in prescribed threads from the high street, the pageant is compelling.

Individuality is the order of the day when visiting Frieze. Once your artistic eye is attuned you are in a receptive mood to evaluate the meaning of life though art, and everything takes on a new significance. Fresh eyes enliven mundane objects with meaning and you start to consider the inherent value of yourself and things around you. My grandmothers family were art dealers from Frankfurt and I’ve realised through the beautiful works handed down to me that everything you own should have merit and provenance. This is more important today as we are subject to so much throwaway rubbish.

With these ideas in mind it becomes a joy to decide what version of yourself you are going to project through your clothing. As a painter choses from his palette so you can combine items from your wardrobe to create a harmony or even discord about your person. Of course, art as well as dressing often needs new direction and that is exactly what Dashing Tweeds is here for. Not only do we offer you exciting, beautifully made new clothes but we also offer advice as to the best way to turn yourself into a living work of art with merit and provenance that would please my grandmother as well as yours.

Our store is conveniently located en route to the Frieze art fair in Regent’s Park. At the moment we have a sample sale with suits from previous seasons as well as our exciting new cloth and tailoring presentation, and 10% off made to measure, ready to wear, throws and accessories. You can have a preview of our super creative new collection, a range of sumptuous designs inspired by my trip around Mexico.

I like to think that dressing well is an art that can bring joy to all, so drop by and we can help you picture yourself.

To find out more or to book an appointment drop us an email Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk or call us on 0207 486 6882.

WHAT TO WEAR: The Glorious Twelfth

I’m sure that some of you are busy dusting down your tweeds as we speak, trigger fingers twitching with anticipation at the thought of the opening of the shooting season. Others may well be oblivious to the famous date in August or generally apathetic as a decent grouse shoot is increasingly hard to come by. 

Whatever your feelings, it’s a good time to dwell on the importance of tweed for country sports and so many other occasions. Training my eye with clays at a friends moor a few weeks ago, I was naturally sporting one of my favourite country suits cut by the illustrious tailors Henry Poole. It was made using our classic take on the famous Glenurquhart design, houndstooth shades of brown with dashes of purple, yellow and red. On the face of it our McDougall Check sounds outrageous but ironically the way the disruptive patterns fool the eye, I blended into the moors more elegantly then fellow guns wearing dull block colours. Naturally the breeches were cut as plus 4’s, a loose fit falling 4 inches below the knee and pretty much the most practical and comfortable leg coverings you can wear. The jacket, or coat as it should be called, had both a box pleat back and action shoulders allowing me plenty of movement with which to miss my shots.

A shooting suit is a highly evolved item of clothing at once smart and practical, refined over many years to work in all weather conditions and terrains. I try to apply this balance of form and function to all the new garments we make. The joy of tailoring is that you too can be in charge of the design of your clothes and have them made exactly to suit your actions.

To my mind any item of clothing should cover three main criteria. Firstly, clothes must make you feel good, whether you are dressing to disappear or stand out it’s vital that you are doing this in the best possible way, going out and looking shoddy is bad for you. Secondly, your clothing needs to perform. I have absolutely no time for fashion victims who wear shoes for example they can’t even walk in. And finally your clothes should be loved and cherished, buy the very best items you can and look after them. I find repairing clothes a pleasure and we are always happy to give you advice. 

With all this in mind, it’s a great exercise to think about exactly what you want to wear and what your clothes need to do while you are wearing them. In the past we have tailored artists outfits with special brush and sketchbook pockets, many cycling looks in our reflective raver tweeds, numerous wedding and party outfits as well as country tweeds for staying hidden from that elusive grouse.  So while you are musing away the summer afternoons, pose yourself the age old question which I guess Adam first asked himself, ‘If I cover my nakedness then what shall I wear?’.

Ideally everyone should be the architect of their own aesthetic and we are here to build your dream look. If you have any questions, call us up and fire away.

WHAT TO WEAR: The Rise of the Short Suit

Now that I’ve had my first lick of warm sun this week I can’t wait for more. I’m busy pulling out all my summer clothes and giving them a good steam and brush, the best way to freshen them up and get rid of any pesky moth eggs.

One of the summer looks that I like best and one that’s definitely on the rise is the short suit. Those of you who follow trends will be aware that Pharrell Williams hit the head lines wearing a Lanvin short evening suit in 2014 and fewer of you will have seen me on my first day at prep school in 1977 sporting a vaguely similar look albeit with a pink striped tie.

Short suits, the uniform of school boys since Edwardian times were seen as a right of passage leading eventually to the wearing of trousers after suffering freezing knees for several winters. The thought of venturing back into shorts other than on a green or beach is anathema to many. However, recent menswear trends and global warming has now made this jolly look wholly acceptable for grown men, and I’m all for it.

Mixing what is essentially sports wear and tailoring is one of our axioms and unites the elegance of structured clothing with the freedom of leisure wear. As soon as the sun is out the look is permissible for most summer events. Should you be venturing to tennis at Wimbledon, sailing at Cowes week or sauntering around The Chelsea Flower show then a short suit will strike the right balance.

I favour the classic Edwardian look for short suits worn with a turn up and hovering an inch or so above the knee, in the style of a tropical uniform. For the jacket a sporting cricket style blazer with relaxed patch pockets always looks good. These tend to have three buttons with a notch lapel, no vent at the back and optional cuff buttons but the joy of coming to see us is that you can decide exactly what you like.

As a parting note, it’s worth remembering that for most of the time clothes are supposed to be fun. A short suit strikes the right chord; as Shakespeare observed:

“Brevity is the soul of wit”.

To book an appointment email Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk

DASHING WEDDINGS

Amidst all the turmoil of modern life marriage still seems to be in vogue. For better or for worse gathering all your friends and family around to witness your affirmation of love is a delightful thing to do. Choosing a partner who has the one in a million qualities you are looking for is no easy matter and it can be an exhausting and an expensive search leaving no stone unturned. So the last thing you need, once a nuptial date is settled, is another quest for suitable wear.

Back in the day, when I was a chance extra in Four Weddings and a Funeral, dressing for a wedding was an easy affair, you just dusted down your old morning suit, polished your shoes, brushed your top hat and off you’d go. For my own wedding I just added a new double breasted waistcoat tailored in duck egg blue.

Nowadays, many weddings seem to be slightly less formal affairs but it’s still important to dress up and cut a dash, after all you are dressing not just for yourself but to add to the atmosphere of the day; weddings are all about participation.

Whether you are the groom, father of the bride or a guest we have what you need.

Our more subdued wool worsteds such as Newton and Midnight tailor into fabulous suits for grooms and won’t upstage the bride. We recently tailored a beautiful three piece suit using the greener side of our Newton design and it was a great hit. Following the lead of Mick and Bianca Jagger getting married in matching cream suits is a very stylish idea. Our Opticks cloth with a subtle window pane check is a top choice and has already been seen at a couple of very joyous joinings.

Should you be on the more flamboyant side and want to make your wedding day a momentous colourful occasion to remember then we are definitely the people to come to. Our bespoke tailor can craft anything you fancy. Working with creative customers is such a pleasure as we can make their sartorial dreams come true. In our shop we have a large library of inspirational books as well as sample cuts from my archive. There’s an art to pushing boundaries whilst still maintaining a certain elegance, it’s a tightrope walk of style but we are here to make everything balance.

Many wedding guest codes now ask for you to wear something fresh and summery, a stipulation for which your old work suit certainly won’t do. Every summer we design gloriously original fine wool suitings which wear well in all weather conditions. We can tailor these for you into relaxed blazer suits or more formal cuts that remain timeless looks.

I was just thinking that if you are reading this then you are probably already a Dashing fan and know how much pleasure wearing our clothes gives you. I’m sure you must know others who would be delighted to wear Dashing and it would be greatly appreciated if you recommend them to come and see us, I’m sure they will be delighted and we would be most grateful to you. Our tailoring takes 6 weeks, so best to plan ahead!

If you want some advice on your own Dashing suit, please get in contact with Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk.

WHAT TO WEAR: Literary Festivals

I’m not sure if I’ve noticed them more as I get older or if the UK is in the midst of a literature festival frenzy but everywhere I look someone is arranging a festival celebrating the cerebral act of reading.

From Hay to the Isle of Colonsay via Chipping Norton and Ullapool there are simply dozens of bookish events popping up everywhere.

I’ve spent many happy days in ruined Welsh castles listening to authors’ latest oeuvres over pints of cider. Trying to nod wisely rather than off and then with a jolt of adrenaline, raise my hand to ask a poignantly worded question, drawing attention not only to my witty dress sense but to the keenness of my mind. 

There’s a lot of excitement to be had at a literary festival, the meeting of minds and the mingling of erudite folk. As with all social events dress is key. But what to wear to a literary festival requires more thought than you may at first think. Style inspiration has to come from an intellectual perspective, whereby a nonchalant scruffiness suggests that your mind is on a higher plane than the mere animalism of promoting the size of your pecs; which of course it is.

“A man should look as if he’s bought his clothes with intelligence,
put them on with care and then forgotten all about them”

This famous quote from the legendary tailor Hardy Amies should be adhered at all times and is especially apt when dressing for a bookish crowd. Vanity is never an attractive trait but as Tom Ford rightly states:

“Dressing well is a form of good manners”

If there is one ukase at a literary festival it is for good manners.

So with all these style quotes in mind, what should you wear for the meeting of minds in a Welsh field? It will come as no surprise to readers of my posts that the most interesting and versatile of fabrics is again the hero of the day; yes tweed is the true robing of the bookish, followed closely I must add by corduroy. Although tweed is of course the fabric of choice for British Kings whereas ‘cord du roi’ is that of the French.

It is of no surprise that a well loved, if a little neglected, tweed suit is the chosen attire of the scholar, wool keeps you warm whilst in the act of conjuring wise words, wears for many, many years and barely needs washing. Just summon up images of everyone from Bertrand Russell to Rivers Solomon to see the versatility of twill woven wool. 

We can of course help you with the cut of your jib. I favour a relaxed, perhaps unlined tweed jacket sporting large patch pockets the size of penguin paperbacks, with flowing turned up trousers that waft gracefully as you meander between talks; your mind on a higher purpose than how attractive the speakers literary agent is. We have elegant, played down British wool designs that make up into understated tweed suits. With all great art and literature, framing is of the utmost importance; just think of your tweed suit as a frame for your intellect and come to us for a peerless level of gilding.

To book an appointment, email me Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk

LAST CHANCE

The fundamental tenet of Dashing Tweeds is that of creation. A continuous process of designing and weaving new wonders in wool. Sustainability is also important to us and nothing seems to make more sense than weaving locally and making exquisite clothing that lasts for years. With all this in mind, especially as spring cleaning is nigh, we have to adhere to an ‘out with the old and in with the new’ policy.

Obviously, we are not going to destroy old stock, as others are rumoured to, but we are going to offer you irresistible reductions on our old cloth stock.

We have decided to offer the last few metres of all our old fabric designs for a snip at £30 per metre.

A mutually fabulous arrangement allowing us room to weave more designs for you and also giving you the chance to get your hands on our lovely tweeds at a fraction of the price.
If you are a maker then there are endless ways you can use small lengths of our wonderful cloth for anything from elbow patches to cushions.  My latest project is a cloth case for my sons new rolling chess board. Otherwise I’m sure you have a sewing friend who would be delighted with a Dashing gift.

All our cloths are available online, and in store.

We hope to see you soon, and if you have any questions, or need any help, do get in contact.

WHAT TO WEAR: Goodwood Motoring Racing

Hanging out with the fast set was not something your grandmother would have encouraged but compared to other louche groups the hedonistic youth of the twenties did seem to have a lot of fun dressing up and spinning around in some of the most beautiful cars ever made.

The motor racing circuit at Goodwood revels in the golden era of racing from before and after the second world war. The track and paddocks buzz with that intoxicating mix of joie de vivre and fuel, an exhilarating thrill where the jazz age throbs to the pulse of V8s. No matter which event you are attending there is an elegance to Goodwood that you rarely find elsewhere; you’re ‘where it’s at’ and if a biplane landed with Terry Thomas or a Mini spun up with James Hunt you would not be surprised.

Surrounded by the beautiful undulating hills of West Sussex the car racing track of Goodwood resides on Lord March’s estate on the site of the old aerodrome RAF Westhampnett. The 2.4 mile track was originally the perimeter road and was arranged as the nine turn track in 1948 by the 9th Duke of Richmond, Frederick Gordon-Lennox. Over the years it has seen incredibly exciting race action, everyone from Stirling Moss to Rowan Atkinson has sped round the track and entertained the stylish crowd with bravado and skill behind the wheel.

This year there are three main race meets. If you are lucky enough to be in the know then the Members meet on 15th – 16th April recaptures the atmosphere and camaraderie of the original BARC Meetings held from 1949 to 1966.

For others there is time to book tickets to the Festival of Speed held on 13 – 16th July or to my favourite event the Revival meet from 8 – 10th September.

Should classic cars and dressing up get you going, then the Revival meet is for you. Even walking through the car park is exciting as you pass rows of fabulously loved classics, then through tents of harmony singing dancing girls towards the famous track where competitors undaunted by the rarity of their rides stop at nothing to win. It’s de rigueur to dress appropriately for the Revival, but luckily as long as you are seen to make an effort the interpretation of period dressing from the twenties to sixties is relaxed.

Nostalgia is a mindset with rose tinted specs, everything used to be better, but it’s hard not to think this is true as you amble through crowds of elegantly dressed men and women. Sports suits of an individual cut in tweed and wool worsted look so good when accessorised correctly with neck wear, hats and spats.

Classic tailored menswear was at it’s most dynamic during the early 20th century and individualism flourished within the realm of tailoring, style was constantly changing and the choice of cloth was enormous. As long as your tailor approved you could bespeak anything you liked. To my mind this is really the attitude of the Revival meet, not so much a parody copy of the times but the mindset that you are in charge of your semblance and can feel free to court admiration through your persona.

Of course you know where to come for help, we are always happy to literally materialise your reveries. So should a day out at Goodwood Revival beckon or you just wish to create a lasting look that reflects not only yourself but our new times of sustainability and quality then we will see you soon.


We can tailor the below in 6 weeks:

Jackets £1,100, trousers £625, skirts £450 and waistcoats £500

 2 piece suits £1,485 and 3 piece suits £1,725

Coats from £1,450 dependant on length

All prices include cloth, lining, buttons and any final alterations.We hope to see you in store soon. If you want to book an appointment, best to give me a call on 07831 548 068.

LAUNCHING THE NEW CLOTH COLLECTION

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR LATEST YOUTUBE VIDEO LAUNCHING THE COLLECTION.

For many the English country garden is the centre stage of the summer social scene. From flower shows to country operas, via numerous garden parties, festivals, fetes and secluded liaisons there is not much that does not happen in an English garden. With this in mind, we have worked garden inspiration into woven wools and created a cloth collection that will look equally fabulous strolling through your British walled garden or motoring down to the Corniche des Maures.

Enjoying the garden theme we have named the cloths appropriately after renowned creatives with a love of gardens.

The first cloth in our collection we have named ‘Jekyll‘ after the celebrated garden designer Gertrude Jekyll who even had a rose to her name. The pure Merino wool cloth is mid weight at 14oz and ideal for fine tailoring, holding intricate detailed shapes. The design sums up a whole garden in itself, the sun drenched green ground is checked with a fresh rose pink, shaded with fine brick brown and features a motif reminiscent of white trellis work. The generous 3 inch pattern repeat imparts a lavish informality creating a festive feel to the fabric.

Sir Cecil Beaton is one of my favourite society photographers, famous in his later life for tending his beautiful garden near Salisbury. We’ve put his name to our classic soft summer tweed, woven in a delightful mix of Merino wool and silk. Our ‘Beaton’ cloth is woven in a classic gun club or Coigach design of regular quarter inch pattern. The soft ecru ground is interlaced by a perfect balance of fresh green, dusky pink, pollen brown and stone grey with a fine shimmering silk thread in the warp.

Next up we have ‘Burnett’ a very interestingly textured mix of reddish brick brown lambswool interlaced with silk yarns in a saffron yellow and slate grey. Weighing 11oz and including a small percentage of cashmere the Burnett tweed has a subtle soft handle that makes it a delight to wear on sultry summer days. The overall appearance of the cloth brings to mind a magical walled garden so its appropriately named after Frances Hodgson Burnett the author of The Secret Garden.

We conclude our summer collection with ‘Spry‘, a cloth that is both witty and elegantly simple. The design idea for the moody sky blue cloth in lambswool and cashmere, with pinstripes of neon spots in pink, yellow and blue, came from wild country house parties in the late nineties when friends would gather to dance on the lawns wearing an assortment of fluorescent outfits as the sun set in the cerulean sky. We have named this cloth after Constance Spry the innovative florist who famously used wild flowers to decorate royal weddings. At a light 8oz the soft draping fabric can be worn all summer and indeed all night long.

All our new fabrics are available by the metre online, or in store, and through our made to measure tailoring.If you want to book an appointment, best to give me a call on 07831 548 068, or drop us an email on info@DashingTweeds.co.uk.

WHAT TO WEAR: Cheltenham Races

For many Cheltenham means just one thing, a fabulous day at the races.

The famous meet has been going for over two hundred years and this year gallops off from Tuesday 14th March. Spread over four days Cheltenham races offers something for everyone from the grade 1 Gold Cup and Queen Mother Champion Chase to drinks tents, lunch tents, music and of course a chance to dress up.

Apart from the elation of an occasional win what I enjoy so much about the races is being thrown into a mixing pot of style and history. Race meets are a microcosm of culture, all walks of society rub along, united by a shared love of horse racing. Like all good parties there is a visceral atmosphere that ignites passion.

I have memories of Gladstone bag wielding touts, tic-tacing to each other atop their boxes, rakishly dressed in tweed caps and spivvy coats whilst an assortment of folk inspect their odds. Young ladies place bets whilst wearing delights ranging from last nights cropped ball dress to breeches and boaters, with dashing blades swanning around in sharp cut tweed suits and raglan coats keeping an ear out for tips. In the enclosures, owners look impeccable in country tweeds or barathea suits bedecked with binoculars whilst starlets ruffle in mink trimmed tweed. All the while, wiry mud splattered jockeys thrashing it out astride powerful thoroughbreds intent on a win. There really is nothing like a day at the races. 

I always feel as a general rule in life, that one should be a participant not a voyeur. With this in mind Cheltenham gives you the ideal excuse for a new tweed suit and as time is fast approaching you need to really get thinking now. Our made to measure tailoring service takes six weeks, so you’ll need to order by next week for delivery in time for the races.

We design and stock an increasingly broad range of tweeds, all will look fabulous for Cheltenham although it’s up to you to reflect your personality in cloth and become the man or woman you wish through your dress. 

dashing tweeds, tailoring, menswear, made to measure, sackville street, british tailors, savile row, tweed, tweeds

Our elegant and subtle Jura designs look sophisticated and timeless and then there are our creative tweeds which whilst maintaining the quality and ruggedness of the classic cloth, offer you and the voyeurs an added frisson of excitement. At Dashing we cater for any sartorial whim and whatever you chose you can be assured that you will only add to the joy of Cheltenham races.

We can tailor the below in 6 weeks:

Jackets £1,100, trousers £625, skirts £450 and waistcoats £500

 2 piece suits £1,485 and 3 piece suits £1,725

Coats from £1,450 dependant on length

(with 20% off if you order before the end of January)


All prices include cloth, lining, buttons and any final alterations.We hope to see you in store soon.

If you want to book an appointment, best to give me a call on 07831 548 068.

Daisy Knatchball from The Deck looking very Dashing in our McDougall Check design at last years Cheltenham Races.

HAPPY NEW YEAR – JANUARY SALE NOW ON

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

We hope you’ve all had a wonderful break over the Christmas holidays.

To celebrate the New Year we are launching our January sale today, available online.

We are offering 20% off our capsule collection of fashion accessories, which includes hats, gloves and scarves.

We will also have a Sample Sale in store when we reopen on the 3rd January, this will run until the end of the month or until stocks last!

We are also offering 20% off our beautiful British woven fabrics, and 20% off all made to measure ordered in January! (Also to note our M2M prices will be increasing as of February due to rising costs).

We hope to see you in store soon.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2023!

All the best,
The Dashing Team

WISHING YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Finishing with a tooting flourish feels like the thing to do this time of year. Since the summer Dashing Tweeds has been building up a steady head of steam and is now powering along at a tremendously successful speed. Massive momentum is required to move a weaving fashion brand along and that has kindly come from you. The Dashing team has had great joy creating the vehicle but it is thanks to you all that we are now moving along so well.

The dream of Dashing is to create a unique brand which can bring you colour, texture and fabulously designed British textiles and then provide you with a whole range of ways to have these made into wonderful and original tailored garments. We only work with the best makers and are gradually finding more to add to the Dashing family. Our in house workshop has been thriving, we are so lucky to have the priceless expertise of Aida our incredible seamstress. She has made this the year of the Teba jacket, hand sewing this elegant relaxed look for many very happy customers.

Our other makers around the country have been thriving, Robert and his team of hatters in Yorkshire have been making caps for us as fast as we can sell them and of course our greatest thanks goes out to everyone who weaves our cloth from Robbie and Stevie in the mills to Colin and his team of dyers and finishers and a whole list of yarn spinners, dyers and of course sheep farmers.

It brings me such joy to think that the success of Dashing directly impacts on the whole British supply chain we have created and this should also fill you with a sense of Christmas cheer and pride that we as a country still create the best and most interesting textiles in the world. 

We wish you all a very happy Christmas, thank you for helping make this the year we have accelerated forward. If you are sitting down watching festive films do keep a look out for Dashing on the big screen, although we are not allowed to talk about it, we provide fabric to many of the biggest costume designers around the globe, they bring tweed and cheer to us all.

We are closed from 6pm the 22nd December and reopen on the 3rd January55.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
from the Dashing Team.

Watch our showreel from 2022 here.

IN CONVERSATION FOR WOOL WEEK 2020

For Wool Week 2020 we had planned to host a joyous event in store celebrating sheep farming, spinning, and the weaving of wool. Sadly this is now not possible, so we’ve done the next best thing and brought the stars of the event to you. We know you’d love to hear the conversations, so we have created three videos for you to watch at your leisure. Obviously, the fun of a party is dressing up and meeting new friends, so perhaps you could wear something special for the hell of it this evening or even talk to a passing stranger. I find wearing a garment made with care always uplifting especially if came from our ovine friends and soon we will be able to flock together again.

Our first conversation is with Naomi Greenland and Kirsty McDougall, our very own Dashing design team. They are talking about the fascinating way that design ideas become manifest in woven fabrics. 

Click here to watch the full video.

Our next conversation is with John Taylor and Jo Burrows, the sheep farmers who approached us with a desire to turn their fleeces into fashion.

Hear how they found Dashing Tweeds and what they learnt along the way.
 

Click here to watch the full video.

Our last conversation is in collaboration with the Campaign for Wool and focuses on the British textile industry. 

We are joined by stalwarts Peter Ackroyd from the Campaign for Wool, Bruce Calverley from Brierley Brothers yarn spinners and Robbie Trussler and Stevie Tweddle from Drove Weaving as well as our  own Holly Pressdee rounding them up.

The discussion over zoom gives you a chance to hear directly from experienced British manufacturers and learn about the use of British wool, British manufacturing and the future of our textile industry.
 

Click here to watch the full video.

Our aim at Dashing Tweeds is to have fun with design, colour and cloth. Working with the best British manufacturers is an absolute pleasure. We want to be as transparent as possible, and if you have any questions about our supply chain, do get in contact.

We also have a range of other fun videos to watch on our YouTube channel, so do check these out, click here.

WOOL WEEK 5TH – 18TH OCTOBER 2020

The more I read about the history of wool the more there seems to be to celebrate. Britain has more indigenous sheep breeds than any other country; incredible fortunes and even wars have been won and lost due to wool. 

Politicians in the House of Lords have a constant reminder of the importance of wool whilst the Speaker sits on their Woolsack, but for most of the country the mention of a fleece sadly turns minds to those horrid micro plastic polluting garments with the style of a throw away wrapper.

The driving force of the industrial revolution was our textile industry, enabling Britain to build a vast empire. We are now in the midst of another revolution where every aspect of our lives is again being questioned. Having a deep understanding of the wool industry is surprisingly relevant when considering pivotal world changes. Much discussion now is about learning how we can live in a sustainable non polluting way, one thing I know for sure is that wool will be part of the answer. 

From October 5th to 18th the Campaign for Wool is celebrating wool in all its glory, highlighting the importance of wool in everything from luxurious carpets, furnishings and clothing.

Previous events have included the now legendary turfing of Savile Row. Flocks of elegant Bowmont sheep grazed whilst finely tailored wool suits flocked together on the backs of pristine gentlemen. Sadly such events are not on the cards this year but live streamed talks will hopefully keep you informed and amused from the comfort of your own home.

On the 4th October, the Campaign for Wool will be launching their Dashing video. They filmed this with us whilst sheep sheering with John Taylor, please do check out the Campaign for Wool YouTube channel on the 4th October.

On the 15th October, we were hoping to hold an event in store, but with the new restrictions in place, this is now not possible, so instead, we will be launching a range of interviews. We will be talking about our collaboration with John Taylor and his flock of Swaledale x Bluefaced Leicester sheep. Learning about the quality and processing of wool is a fascinating subject and it’s often forgotten just how valued cloth and clothing used to be. We will also be joined by the spinners, weavers, and our in-house creatives as well as Peter Ackroyd from the Campaign for Wool.

These will be streamed across our new YouTube channel, as well as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, so please do check these out.

For more information about our collections, cloth, or special one off bespoke projects, please do get in contact.

Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk
07831 548 068

Holly@DashingTweeds.co.uk
07791 602945

DIGITAL FASHION WEEK

For science fiction fans the world is an exciting place right now. Increasingly we are being forced to adopt to ideas that not so long ago were the fantasies of boys and girls who rarely left the safe retreat of a book under the duvet.

Clothing is an interesting reoccurring theme for futurists, will we have mood reactive clothing, organic wraps or just simply let a digital interface skin our avatar as it wishes.

Dressing for real life occasions is the most primitive of human desires and over the years the times that I have most enjoyed the spectacle and ritual of attire is during fashion weeks. London Fashion Week creates an arena in which creativity is everything and for generations ‘New’ has always been the buzz word.

The events are all about an exchange of ideas, from named designers kitting out strutting super models to fashion students peacocking their handcrafted ensembles.

London prides itself on creativity, never as commercial as our transatlantic cousins nor often as polished as our fellow Europeans, London offers an exciting rawness of talent in which emotion is the thrill.

The big question now is that given the dictum of the times can this translate in any iota to the digital realm? We shall find out. The imminent London Fashion Week kicks off on 17th September, with live streamed catwalk shows, videos, and more. 

See our profile on London Fashion Week here.

On the plus side a digital front row seat is now free to all but we shall see if it rocks your boat. Whether we like it or not we are now forced to boldly go where no fashionista has gone before.

With all of this in mind, we have also just launched our own YouTube channel, moving image is a great medium to portray emotion and atmosphere, so I hope you will follow our channel and check out our weekly film launches.

We have just launched our latest fashion film for London Fashion Week, click here to watch it.

BRITISH TEXTILE WEEK

In this interview for British Textile Week, Guy explains his passion for creating tweed for the 21st century, giving men and women a greater choice of fabrics while bringing colour and texture to the forefront of fashion. He talks about innovation in textiles such as creating a woven fabric (lumatwill) featuring reflective yarns, and working with English wool.

Click here to watch the full interview.

OUR LATEST COLLECTION

TRACEABLE TEXTILES

This autumn we are comforting you with the true value of woollen textiles. Quality and sustainability are key to our collection. These have always been of paramount importance to us and now finally others are understanding that taking short cuts is not viable.

Our collaboration with a Swaledale flock in Lancaster has given focus to the exciting new designs we are offering this season. John Taylor provided us with classic film photos from his farm: lush green grass against the backdrop of a radiant orange sunset, graphic images of black faced sheep huddled in a snowy glade and magenta tinted brackens on an autumnal moorland. We refined these colours to an elegant yet bold palette and had the wool specifically dyed to our exact requirements.

John Taylor is one of those lucky people who always knew what he wanted to do. While others were drawn to the big cities John knew that working the land was for him. An orphan from a young age, John was brought up by a spinster in the local village of Brookhouse, his family farm was out of reach due to a series of succession tenants. This was no deterrent for John, he did not shy away from the hard graft required of a farmer and was eager to acquire all the skills needed to thrive when farming the moors. John grew up shaped by the toil and devotion required for dry stone walling and contract sheep shearing with hands the size of boulders and a stature to match. Luck comes in all guises, and for John it was the devastating foot and mouth outbreak of 2002. The tenant farmers decided to throw in the towel and move to New Zealand enabling John to get back land that had once belonged to his grandfather.

The moorlands of Lancaster come with indigenous flocks of sheep, they stay their ground regardless of ownership. These Swaledales are the definition of hardiness spending their entire lives up on the high land come rain or shine. They give birth outside, usually to just one lamb which is nurtured diligently and survives due to its hardy strong wool. By contrast Bluefaced Leicester are as soft as soft according to John, they need mollycoddling like babies and if the wind is above a breeze it parts their very fine wool and chills them to the bone. However, when they are cross bred with Swaledales a wonderful mix is produced possessing the best of both breeds.

John creates these intermediate mules which are more fertile than Swaledales but with softer wool. It is these sheep that have been shorn for our special collaboration this season.

The Swale design woven with John Taylor’s wool is a sophisticated large block check using colours taken from his farm, but also reminiscent of the vibrant 1970’s yet entirely modern. This cloth is 1.5m wide and weighs approx 470g-500g/ 16oz-17oz.

This collection was woven up in the Scottish Borders with our wonderful commission weaver Robbie Trussler from Drove Weaving.

Due to the amount of sheep and wool collected from Johns herd, we could not produce more than one design from the yarn we had, so we wanted to develop a range of designs to compliment the Swale.

Moor is our boldest check incorporating all of our new hues to create a balanced design that will bring joy to everyone. This is woven with a soft Merino lambswool and is 1.5m wide and weighs approx 365g – 395g/ 13oz – 14oz.

Our Rush design in Merino Lambswool is a harmony of blues. This graphic design is daringly balanced with turquoise warp strips creating offset movement.

This cloth is 1.5m wide, and weighs approx 385g-415g/ 13oz-14oz.

For the evening we present two designs in fine Merino wool, famous for its soft lustre and drape. Verdant is an almost regimental stripe of greens, blues and dashing gold highlights.

This cloth is 1.5m wide, and weighs approx 325g-355g/ 11oz-12oz.

Libertine, as the name suggests is woven for indulging in sensual pleasures. The exquisite small scale pattern features rich purple squares vibrating against shapes of turquoise and black.

This cloth is 1.5m wide, and weighs approx 320g-350g/ 11oz-12oz.

OUR SUMMER SALE

We all need a little cheer nowadays and getting a bargain is a good way to start.

I know that you appreciate the ethos of Dashing Tweeds, the way we source superior wool and weave it into stunningly original designs. 

Working with the best British mills, dyers and finishers we create fabrics and clothing of the highest possible quality, cutting no corners.

This quality is well worth paying for on so many levels but a small discount is always appealing; so from 1st August we are generously offering 20% off all our cloth, ready to wear collections and made to measure tailoring available until the 31st August online and in store.

DASHING INTERVIEWS: Keith Lo Bue – The Well Dressed Head

Tell us about yourself?

I was born in 1964 in Virginia and grew up near NYC just over the border in Stamford,  Connecticut. I graduated in 1986 from SUNY Purchase in New York with a split photography/illustration major. I spent my first years as a freelance illustrator with my focus on a lot of work in the music industry. One of the highlights was getting to work with Laurie Anderson on her tour book and a few other projects.

Along the way I started playing with found objects to make small sculptures and jewellery pieces and it blossomed out into my three decade career, leaving illustration behind in 1994. Though many of the techniques I use in my work are metal-derived, I don’t refer to myself as a metalsmith. Since my palette is the entire world of found materials (everything from old furniture hardware to 16th-century paper to insects), I jokingly refer to myself as a “stuffsmith“ which pretty much sums it up. I emigrated to Sydney in 1999 and have three beautiful kids and the best partner in the world.

What got you interested in caps?

I’m glad you asked this question – you folks at Dashing Tweeds actually kicked me off in the cap world! Here’s how it happened…

I’ve had my head shaved since 1990 so have always had something up top to keep my skull warm. Beanies for the most part. Then around 2010 I was in Victoria Australia teaching art workshops when I spied a young fella wearing an extremely smart flat cap in a hot pink check wool. I ran over to him and inquired where he got it, and learned about your extraordinary business. 

I ordered about half a dozen caps from DT and wore them to death for three years. It was during that time that I began to research what kind of soft headwear was worn earlier in the 20th century. I’ve been wearing vintage clothes since the mid-80s, but in the last 15 years became much more involved with it and have been particularly drawn to men’s fashion from the 1910s through the 30s, with a special interest in workwear.

As I researched that time period in caps, I discovered something surprising: there was surprisingly little information available about them. This made little sense to me, as looking through old photos pretty much every guy, from 5 to 95 years old was wearing a cap, in all strata of society. If we are talking fedoras and hamburg‘s, information is plentiful. But cloth headwear was often used until threadbare and thrown away. So very few historic examples, relatively speaking, exist.

I had purchased a few reproductions of 1920s caps from another bespoke maker, but it was finding a few original New Old Stock 1920s examples that made me curious if I could replicate one myself.

Trouble was, I had never driven a sewing machine in my life. I’m a stuffsmith, for god’s sake.

But being self-taught with all of my 3-D making has taught me focus and patience in learning new skills. So I carefully pulled apart one of these 1920s cap models to get an accurate pattern, consulted with a pattern-maker friend to learn the technical basics, then spent all my waking hours learning to sew. 

By 2013 I had opened The Well Dressed Head and it has gone from strength to strength ever since. All of my skills learned through my education – photography, illustration, graphics etc. – have come to play in this process.

I now offer over 60 different cap models, all period-accurate to the early 20th-century.

How do you find all those amazing old shapes?

I learned early on that there is no easy way to discover new styles that were made back then. It takes hours and hours of research, poring through obscure trade magazines, photographs and advertisements from the time period, to find those extraordinary examples of cap design. I have compiled an extensive library of those items along with many original vintage caps, all of which provide the sources for what I make. I have also amassed a wonderful collection of rare wooden cap blocks from the 1920s era, both European and American, that allow me to create the exact proportions of the early originals. 

Sometimes it may just be a single vintage snapshot of someone in a crowd wearing an interesting design cap, then I will draft a pattern to reproduce it as closely as possible.

What’s the thing you enjoy most about caps?

I’m drawn by so many things relating to caps, I just find them endlessly fascinating. I love how the early designs are so substantial and wide, that they frame the face in a totally different way than a modern cap will. Once I got used to how I looked in a wide cap, there was no turning back. 

My love for old materials has also given me a passion for collecting antique fabrics to work with. I have over 200 antique fabrics from the 1840s forward that I use in my pieces.

I also really enjoy the connection to the past (so crucial in my found object work), much of what I am doing with WDH feels archaeological and clarifying of a tiny fuzzy spot in menswear history.

So it feels wonderful to come around full circle and get to work with the fabrics that first inspired me to wear caps in the first place. I adore Dashing Tweeds’ respect of classic design while nudging it into unmistakably modern territory.

What new things are coming up?

I’m surprised and grateful to report that the world’s lockdown has not diminished enthusiasm for owning bespoke headwear! I have a long list of orders and am humming along, doing what I love. Though I am moving between metal and wood and paper and organic objects and fabric, all of it is one-of-a-kind and that’s what it’s all about for me.

We hope you enjoyed reading and learning about Keith’s journey as much as we did, and do make sure you check out his instagram and collection online!

BACK TO BUSINESS! We are now OPEN!

For most of us life in lockdown hasn’t been too bad, but a change of scene would be nice. This week is your chance. You are now allowed to make necessary trips to the newly opening shops. Not only will it be a pleasant trip for a change but you can feel good about helping to kick start the economy.

We are opening our doors today from 12pm and as well as masks and sanitisers the kettle will be on standby for a fresh cup of tea. We have our summer fabrics to show you and sample suits and trousers for you to try on, all freshly steam cleaned. You can also preview our beautiful new autumn cloth collection.

Our made to measure tailors are all up and running and with the express service they can make you up jackets, trousers or shorts in a couple of weeks. Also, we are going to be able to offer alterations in house so if you have piled on a few pounds then do bring in your tight clothes, dashing or otherwise.

We look forward to seeing you all soon. As it’s still mostly just Guy in the shop we will have slightly shorter opening hours from 12pm to 4pm Monday to Friday for drop ins, but you can always make an appointment for other times, just call Guy on 07831 548 068.

We really look forward to catching up with you and hearing your lockdown tales.
Guy has been writing lots of jolly songs which he is happy to sing to you!

Best wishes and hope you are all well,

The Dashing Team,

THE NEW NORMAL – Video Consultations for Made to Measure.

One of the marvellous things about the human race is their adaptability. We have migrated to extreme locations around the planet using local resources to make clothing. There is barely anywhere we haven’t been, but recently we have all been spending time in one of the most diverse and difficult to navigate places: cyberspace.  

We have been given plenty of time to practice this new existence and some are finding it has benefits over travelling and racing around. We can spawn lifelike avatars and dress them in dream garb or use filters to portray upgraded versions of ourselves although in reality we can’t yet materialise real clothes of our own design direct from the digital ether. 

However, now with our help you can do the next best thing.

We are going to be offering a
made to measure service via video link.

To kick start this, we are offering the first three customers 35% off our normal made to measure prices.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Guy has loved working one to one with clients over the last 5+ years, assisting them in designing new outfits, presenting all the styling options and suggesting new interesting ways of wearing tailoring.

Cloth selection is the best place to begin. Before the video consultation, you can see all our fabrics online and we can post you samples of designs ahead of the call. Alternatively, Guy can show you all the cloths in store, so you can see scale of design and the drape etc. 

If you have had something made by us before we have all your measurements on file and can obviously use them to make you something new. We can of course adjust the fit slightly if lockdown has taken its toll on your waistline.

For new customers we can make jackets, waistcoats, trousers, shorts and coats using measurements which we can help you take yourself. All you will need is a tape measure but if this isn’t something you have at home, we can arrange to send you one. If you have a garment that fits, then we can use this to take measurements from as well. Guy will guide you through the process easily.

Click on the link above if you are interested in taking part in these virtual consultations. We think this is an exciting new way into tailoring from the comfort of your own home, wherever in the world that might be.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR MADE TO MEASURE SERVICE

Here are some of our very happy customers whose outfits we have tailored recently.

We have also had some great feedback and reviews:

“My Made-to-Measure jacket from Dashing Tweeds just arrived – the fit is spot-on, and it looks fantastic. A rare combination of classic tailoring with an edgy fabric and excellent details. Holly and Guy were an absolute delight to work with, and the result is a new favourite piece to wear!”

“Love my Dashing Tweeds suits. When you have one on, life suddenly becomes so much easier. Whereas previously you wanted the world, in Dashing Tweeds the world will want you.”

“Fantastic experience at Dashing Tweeds. Guy was extremely helpful and talked us through all of his fantastic fabrics and choices for cuts, sizes and embellishments. Couldn’t recommend more highly.”

“Guy and Holly are brilliant, wondrous people! Had a suit made up, it fits like a dream, it turns heads, and continues to fetch compliments. I’m exceptionally pleased by the craftsmanship, cloth, and style. Thank you!”


To get in contact to find out more, give Guy a call on +44 7831 548 068, or drop him an email Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk.

Our Made to Measure tailoring takes 6 weeks to make,
and we can ship anywhere in the world.

WEARING SHORTS

For many the chance to wear shorts is a right of passage, albeit from prep school days, that they are not keen to regress on. For others, wearing shorts represent a freedom that goes hand in hand with tousled hair and a surf board.

At the moment when sartorial standards are at a subsistence level of comfort and recent weather has been surprisingly mild, its been a good time to get your knees out. If like me you’re channeling your inner Rocky and skipping in exhausting three minute rounds, then shorts are a necessity.

I was pleasantly surprised by the positive response to my short suit recently aired on my Instagram Live tailored with our Gibbous cloth, see above, with many people expressing a desire for elegantly cut fine Merino wool shorts. As I mentioned they are essentially holiday wear but also look great when one is eventually invited to garden parties and BBQs this summer.

I do find our fine wool shorts both practical and comfortable. I favour a classic cut reminiscent of The Desert Rats with a turn up hanging just short of the knee, a rise high enough to sit on your natural waist, with hip pockets for cash, cards and dog walking accessories.

We have some good news which is that the made to measure tailors we use in the Czech Republic are going to start up in a few days. Their quality is excellent and we have been working with them for a while using our Scottish woven fabrics.

Taking the measurements needed for a pair of tailored shorts is very straight forward so do email us if you fancy a pair, and we can send you cloth swatches of the designs and you can select your own buttons and all styling options, and they will be ready in just 6 weeks.

FASHION REVOLUTION 2020

Seven years ago today in Bangladesh, a Dhaka garment factory collapsed in Rana Plaza killing 1134 sweat shop workers. This catastrophe could have been avoided, the rest of the building had been evacuated as large cracks had started to appear in the building but the poor garment workers were told to work on.
 It’s easy to blame the bosses who were convicted but the hasher reality is we are all to blame. Westerners and particularly the British, who are a driving force in fast fashion have become addicted to unsustainably cheap clothing.

We can change, it’s up to you.

Fashion Revolution is helping to highlight the realities of the whole supply chain involved in the fashion industry.

Many years ago fabric was so highly regarded that linens were kept locked in chests and a marriage proposal could be dashed if beautiful cloths were not included in a dowry.

People have come to value fabrics less and less over the years, although obviously you as Dashing fans are more knowledgeable than most.

As you know we produce all our fabric in small well run mills around Great Britain and use as much locally produced British wool as possible. However, you can help to spread awareness of where your clothes come from with others.

If you see clothing that is too cheap to be true, then you know the true cost is people lives. Buying from British brands that really manufacture in the country is a great place to start. Yes, these clothes may cost more initially but that is recouped easily with the longevity of wear.

Simply, better quality clothing lasts longer.

Not only are enslaved workers suffering from our cult of fast fashion but so it the British fashion and textile industry. As a country we are well known worldwide as a producer of fabulous clothing which is lapped up by sophisticated countries such as Japan. We really need to buy more British made goods else the future of our mills are in great danger.

The good thing is that whilst we are locked down we are considering what’s really important to us. It’s a chance to wear beautiful old clothes that are perhaps a little to tatty to go out in but are so well made, in beautiful fabric that you still cherish wearing them.

Take Action – https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/get-involved/

Buy less and buy better, it’s as easy as that to make a huge change in the fashion industry.

Best wishes and hope you are all well,

Guy and The Dashing Team,

DASHING COLLAB – Julia Sabery

Being open minded, passing on knowledge and listening to youthful ideas is something that everyone in every field should do. For the Dashing team teaching and learning is embedded in the creativity of the brand.

Kirsty has been passing on her weaving wisdom for years, teaching at Brighton, Winchester, The Royal College of Art and Central St. Martin’s in between her studio design work.

Philippa Brock the course leader of weaving at CSM kindly asked us to set a project for her second year students. This was a fabulous chance for us to have a creative dialog with excellent young minds.

All design needs a framework and purpose; as we were walking along the canal towards the new Kings Cross home of CSM we thought that a study of the Regents Canal was an interesting starting point. It bisects London through hidden tunnels, has a rich history and an active life today. 

julia sabery, tweed, collaboration

We asked students to walk along any length from Limehouse to Perivale and see what inspired them. For the project they had to design a fabric and imagine someone wearing it. 

As the assignment progressed we dropped by for chats with the students. The work they produced was of a spectacularly high standard and so when the time came to choosing a ‘winning’ design we had a particularly hard time. 

What impressed us most about Julia’s work was her comprehensive thought through the whole process. Her beautifully textured cloth design cleverly reflected her field research and her flowing sketches of a hero wearing the tweed were so well thought out and executed.

julia sabery, collaboration, tweed, csm, textile design

Hand weaving a design is one thing, but making a cloth that can be put into production with the mills we use on the Scottish Borders is another.  An exciting aspect of the award for Julia was working with Kirsty in her studio to adjust the cloth technically for production.

I loved the fact that Julia had seen the project through to conclusion with a beautifully produced drawing of a dude sporting a coat and hat in her cloth design. This is obviously a hugely important part of fabric design, making something that can fulfil it’s proposed purpose.

Dashing Tweeds constantly explores the shifting boundaries of sportswear, tailoring and fashion. The coat and ’90’s inspired bucket hat are great fun as you can see and we’ve already taken several orders, before lockdown.

The cloth would also make an excellent blazer for men or woman and I think a skirt cut on the bias would look fabulous.

Sadly our tailors are shut now for a month but we can ship any length of the cloth to you for home sewing. If you would like some do email me, and it’s 1.5m wide.

Like everyone else we are adjusting business for lockdown but call me anytime as I’m still posting out cloth orders and ready to wear items from our shop.

Tweed and Trainers

Wearing tailored suits with trainers may at first seem rather anachronistic but the more you learn about the history of footwear and Dashing’s evolution of tweed the more you realise they are an almost perfect marriage.

Menswear is all about a process of constant refinement; form and function are the driving forces and improvements have been on going for thousands of years. Looking at men’s foot coverings from ancient Egyptian times to todays fastest shoe, the Nike Vaporfly is a fascinating exercise in design technology. An almost constant evolution of design with just an occasional rest for formal occasions.

Sandals in biblical times enable people to walk a little faster along the stony path and for kings such as Tutankhamen the leather was exquisitely decorated with coloured beads, jewels and precious metals.

Roman legionary soldiers were supplied with hobnail caligae, an advanced sandal with metal studs for grip, although they caused quite a racket when worn on marble paths and were prone to slipping on smooth surfaces as fabled by Titus Flavius Josephus.

By the 15th century the Persian cavalry invented high heel shoes to keep their feet secure in stirrups. The style caught on in Europe where dandy aristocrats found them amusing for looking down on commoners.

By the 17th century leather lachet shoes were invented in Britain, these were a more enclosed design and constructed on wooden lasts in a very similar style to modern footwear. This design was constantly adapted depending on it’s use. For traversing the boggy moors of Scotland, Ghillie shoes included holes to allow bog water to drain out, overtime the construction became more rugged with the holes reduced to a decorative gimping as seen on brogues.

At the end of the 19th Century a process was invented whereby rubber could be made both mouldable and stable and this advancement lead to the use of rubber soled shoes or sneakers as they were called due to their silent footfall enabling you to sneak up on people. Over the last hundred years rubber based shoes have taken on the mantle for development whilst leather soled shoe construction has barely changed.

The Converse Rubber Corporation was one of the first to produce a vulcanised rubber shoe, inventing the All Stars basketball boot in 1917. We were delighted when they approached us in 2011 seeking a collaboration with our technically advanced reflective tweeds for use on their Jack Purcell’s; shoes invented by the eponymous Canadian badminton player to improve his game by providing flexibility and support.

The philosophy behind Dashing Tweeds is to modernise heritage sportswear and seek out innovative as well as embracing colour and joie de vivre. With this in mind it seems obvious that sneakers and Dashing Tweeds are an ideal match.

Although you may be stuck inside at the moment there’s no better way to lift your spirits than dancing around the house in springy shoes and hopefully something Dashing.

As John Travolta sang, they go together ‘Like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong’. Interpret as you will, and like us embrace it with your all.

If you have any queries or want to get in contact, the team are still available and working from home, and Guy is arranging all the orders to be sent out daily from our studio.

Our retail store is now closed but our online store is still open!

Due to the Governments recommendations we have now closed our retail store on Dorset Street for the next 3+ weeks.

We are however very much still open for online orders via our website.

All our cloths are available by the metre, and we are currently uploading a range of discounts across the collections to support people working from home and providing them with fun cloth for craft projects during this time of isolation.

25% OFF CLOTH
10% OFF END OF ROLLS
(No coupon code needed, discounts applied to all prices online)

Our tweeds are great for covering chairs, making into cushions, dog coats and much more.

dashing tweeds, tweed, tweeds, craft week, london craft week, menswear, british tailoring, british tailors, made to measure, luxury, savile row, sackville street

We are also offering discounts on all our ready to wear and accessories online, so this is a great time to stock up on Dashing.

35% OFF READY TO WEAR AND ACCESSORIES
(No coupon code needed, discounts applied to all prices online)

If you have any queries or want to get in contact, the team are still available and working from home, and Guy will organise sending out all the orders:

Guy – Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk, 07831 548 068
Holly – Holly@DashingTweeds.co.uk, 07791 602 945

COVID-19 and the Benefits of Wool

Before I mention that our Dashing shop will be by appointment only for the next few weeks, I thought I’d let you know how tweed can cheer you up.

Change is in the air at the moment and people react in different ways. The animalistic side of us is perhaps more used to changing environmental conditions. There is an innate understanding of biblical upheavals such as floods, fires, pestilence and frogs whereas our educated side is all about a stasis created by the perfection of repeated activity.

Tweed can not only comfort you physically but I feel the wearing of an animal based yarn can in someway enable you to adapt more readily to changing conditions. This may not be a thoroughly scientific idea but on the side of hard fact wool is renown for its antimicrobial qualities, it’s resistance to allergens and it’s ability to lower your heart rate and give you a good nights sleep. Add to this the shear enjoyment of wearing more colour and you can see that Tweed can definitely brighten your day.

As you may have a little more time to spare at the moment it might amuse you to listen to the podcast I was kindly invited to give by Jeremy, the charming founder of Blamo. It’s an excellent menswear focused podcast channel and full of interesting life stories to keep you entertained.

If you are at home and interested in sewing then making cushions in our fabric is a very rewarding activity. We have a large stock of fabulous designs and also discounted end off roll lengths which we will happily send you.

Having something to look forward to is always cheering so if you have ordered made to measure from us before we can make you something to the same measurements in our new spring fabrics or you are still able to drop by the shop and be measured up.

Back to the main point, our opening times may be variable at the moment so if you are planning on dropping by it’s best to send me a message by email, text (07831 548 068) or simply ring for a chat on 0207 486 6882 or my mobile.

What Actually is Tweed?

Tweed is one of those iconic fabrics that most people have heard of, it represents a certain classic Britishness, a ruggedness in patterns of checks and herringbones; the attire of gentlemen at leisure. Yet understandably many people come to our shop and ask ‘What actually is Tweed?’ and ‘What are Dashing Tweeds?’. 

Good questions, and well worth an explanation.

Interestingly there is no exact recipe or definition of tweed as there is for example for Stilton cheese or a Bowler hat. We think we live in times of hype fashion but the industrious Victorians were there before us and masters at grabbing one’s attention with romantic stories and manufacturing.

To cut to the chase they coined the name Tweed for a twilled woven woollen fabric. Supposedly, a merchant used the name of the river in place of the word twill and it stuck, but I find the creation of the legendary fabric fascinating so read on for the nub of the matter (a yarn based phrase itself).

Since the invention of weaving many thousands of years ago, populations around the world have been twisting animal and plant fibres into yarns and creating fabric with them. In essence the process could not be more simple, vertical yarns known as the warp are held in place by a loom, frames, or even just hung off a beam or pole and then horizontal or weft yarns are threaded alternatively in front or behind these warp threads. The weft yarns can go up and under every warp thread to create what is know as a plain weave or to speed things up it can jump over two or four yarns at a time; as this process continues a diagonal structure appears in the cloth known as a twill.

People naturally like to put things in order, for instance grouping the wool from black and white sheep. When these are used in alternative stripes for the warp and weft threads a pleasing check pattern is produced.  This pattern must have been woven aeons ago and it’s pleasingly known as a shepherd’s check today. 

Once it was discovered that local plants, lichens and even beetles can dye wool numerous colours, and that urine would enable the colours to hold fast there was no stopping weavers everywhere producing exciting checked patterns on their looms. Sometimes these patterns would be used as a form of identification for shepherds or for whole clans. At other times it was found that patterns woven in the colours of the land created camouflage useful for hunters. Variations of these structures, known as disruptive pattern materials would go on to save millions of lives during wars.

Great Britain offers a huge variety of landscapes and resources; Northern England and the Scottish lowlands are ideal for the production of woven wools. Sheep prosper on these lands and local waters such as the River Tweed gives the wool a wonderful finish.

In 1856 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert built a new home in Balmoral. Their appreciation for outdoor sporting life set a fashion which was quickly adopted by the English aristocracy. Families made rich by an empire and the industrial revolution constructed estates and filled them with staff and friends. As is often the case with the newly rich it’s important to stand out and what better way than to have a unique fabric created with which to clothe yourself and retinue. Woven wool cloth could be made in endless patterns and proved perfect attire for these outdoor loving arrivistes. The hay-day of Estate Tweeds had arrived.

Jump to the twenty first century and tweed is by now the iconic fabric of British country life with an established and even fusty image. Generations have grown up with colourful tweeds in a whole range of checks, houndstooths and herringbone designs. Designers such as Vivienne Westwood have used the cloth as a subversive political statement; dressing anarchic punks in the fabric beloved by lords but otherwise tweed is left to retire. More people than ever are living in cities and a whole new range of synthetic sportswear has been developed creating a burgeoning ‘athleisure’ culture. 

It was at this point that we started Dashing Tweeds with the aim of breathing fresh life into the fabric. We felt that many aspects of tweed are relevant today and advances in wool has made it even more comfortable to wear.

Inspired by both modern colourful sportswear and traditional dyes we’ve taken the fact that tweeds are the classic way men wear colour and played with exciting new combinations. In addition we have incorporated modern technical yarns such as our Lumatwill reflective threads giving Dashing Tweeds a whole new lease of life for athleisure in town today.

NikeLab 21M NYC

There’s a belief that if your name is mentioned every day without fail immortality is assured. This must be comforting for the Greek goddess of victory who unlike her siblings has lent hers to the world’s largest sports brand. As she flies through the heavens Nike must enjoy the affirming swooshes visible on so many million shoes, safe in the knowledge that not a day passes without a soul uttering her name.

Phil Knight’s story about creating his victorious brand is equally life affirming, and what fascinated me whilst reading Shoe Dog is the constant creative striving for improvement. From Bowerman’s ribbed sole experiments, melting rubber in a waffle iron, to the material technology of the ethereally named vapourmax flyknits the brand Nike never rests in its quest for the best.

For Dashing fans it will come as no surprise that Nike sought us out to collaborate with. Individuality and customisation are back in fashion and with Nike Labs it’s possible for you to design your own pair of swooshed sneakers. Sadly the London branch has closed but it’s just a hop across the pond to their store in Lower Manhattan where a team headed by Dean Martin awaits your order.

We paid a visit to 21 Mercer Street last month and after a warm welcome were greeted to the site of hundreds of kaleidoscopic coloured components. Soles, laces, leathers and threads are arranged in elegant white draws and whilst you peruse, a member of the team renders a virtual shoe on a laptop helping you visualise your bespoke creation. 

NikeLab 21M NYC as they call themselves offer you an edited range of four Dashing cloths which they hold in stock. Our fabrics have proven popular with a number of customers and the team are experienced in guiding you through the appropriate combination of tweed and tech. Once your shoe is bespoken then it takes about 10 weeks to create and arrives in a beautiful presentation box complete with crafted wooden shoe trees, something I’ve never seen in a mere trainer before. 

So if you are visiting or living in New York, do make sure you pop in and see the team, and order your bespoke Nike sneakers soon.

Guy’s Style Notes: Wearing Breeches

breeches, tweed,

You may think that trousers have always been the default leg wear for English men, but you’d be wrong. They are actually quite a recent invention helped to popularity by Prince Albert. Up until Victorian times breeches and stockings were the go to covering for your pins. As well as looking incredibly elegant they also placed an emphasis on ankles and promoted the calf as the male erogenous muscle.

tweed, breeches

Where size is concerned there is always a rivalry amongst men and so it comes as no surprise that numerous calf padding devices were not uncommon in the 18th century, enabling slighter men to still put their best foot forward with confidence.

Frock coats were the natural pairing with stocking legs and breeches, but now that trousers and jeans have become so popular so has the coatless male wearing only a t-shirt to reveal the more obvious bulging muscle of the bicep.

breeches, tweed

Nowadays breeches fall into three categories of cut although it won’t surprise you to learn that we have invented a new shape with designer Alice Burkitt. Seen mostly on country walks or shoots and paired with woollen socks rather than silk stockings.

Breeches, plus twos or plus fours are still very much part of the British gentlemen’s wardrobe. The main difference between these three are the length and width on the thigh. Breeches or Breeks as they are know in Scotland fasten just under the knee with no extra cloth hanging below.

Plus fours are a wider cut and this allows the extra fabric to fall four inches below the knee covering the fastening at the top of the calf, likewise plus twos are slightly less baggy falling only two inches below the knee.

tweed, breeches

Colourful ties known as sock garters are often used to keep ones socks up and ensure that plus fours stay secure and don’t fall down into short tapered trousers.

tweed, breeches, tweed suits

I rather enjoy our specially cut cycle breeches based on a circular pattern piece when I’m out for a bike ride. The shape creates a slight ruching on the front of the knee allowing for great comfort, I pair them with long Gallo socks and I feel that the look imparts a sense of adventure, a sort of cross between Tintin and Tim Roth as a deadly fop.

So next time you’re up for an adventure or if you just fancy channelling your inner pirate then do consider a pair of breeches for a change. You never know where flashing a little calf will lead to.

Our Latest Tailored Collection

ss20, tailoring, tweed

The collection this season has been inspired by the golden era of Hollywood. Languid yet elegantly tailored suits for men and women, wide legged trousers worn high on the waist and easy one-button jackets with flattering flowing lines.

The whole effect in pastel blues bestowing a sophistication that never goes out of fashion.

womenswear, tailoring, made to measure

For this shoot we used our made to measure tailors. They offer a flexibility that can accommodate most silhouettes. We pushed them to the limit to create the Oxford bags as sported by Zackary and the long coat jacket as seen on Aramide, but you can rein it in to suit your personal style.

tweed, tailoring

Our made to measure process is simple and takes around 30 minutes.

You try on a standard tailored suit in your size and we take all your measurements against this classic form. The shape will then be adjusted in numerous ways to ensure the perfect fit. Next comes the fun element of styling, you can choose whole suits or individual items. We guide you through the range of options; double or single breasted jackets, various lapel shapes and sizes as well as lots of pocket choice. We stock examples of various suits to help you visualise your creation but if you have a favourite suit or cuttings from a magazine then do feel free to bring them along.

Excitingly our tailoring service is now available for woman as well as for men. The suits are tailored to a full finish in one step and this takes around six weeks. For the final fitting we perform alternations to ensure trousers and sleeves are exactly the right length and this just takes a day or two.

tweed, tailoring, made to measure

In addition to suits we can tailor overcoats or more closely fitted body coats which can be worn without a jacket underneath. 

As well as our fabulous cloth designs we stock some classic Harris Tweeds and traditional suitings. We also have a large range of linings and buttons for you to choose from. 

If you’re in a hurry we can have a suit tailored for you in just two weeks using our express service. However, it’s best to plan ahead, so now is a good time to drop by and order your summer suits.

You can see the full collection online, and in store.


Prices:
Jackets £925
Waistcoats £450
Trousers £525
Skirts £495
Two Piece Suit £1,265
Three Piece Suit £1485
Coats £1375
(All the above prices include fabric, lining, buttons and alterations)

If you want to find out more about the collection or to book an appointment, email Holly@DashingTweeds.co.uk.

ss20, tweed suits, tweed tailoring, tailoring

Philipp in Overdrive

tweed coat

Philipp is a man after my own heart, a jovial individual travelling through life with generosity, an open mind, and a desire to explore. Living by the personal mantras; ‘do what you love’, ‘test and try’, ‘fail and adapt’, Philipp is the embodiment of a modern dandy and freethinker. In our increasingly homogeneous age it takes courage and action to follow your own ideas but as Philipp has discovered the voyage has many rewards.

tweed coat

Every journey has a beginning and for Philipp it was being duped by an ersatz tailor. The tailor in question was not a master tailor as he claimed but merely a salesman for a substandard made to measure firm. This confusion is actually quite common as such salesmen deliberately muddy the waters with their terminology.

Being a man of positivity Philipp turned this misadventure to his advantage. Getting his money back he sought a real tailor and was delighted to discover Sandro Dühnforth in Hamburg. As is often a good way to start when working with a new tailor Philipp commissioned a classic cut blue suit, and to help others from falling into the same trap he filmed the whole bespoke process and published it on youtube.

tailoring

As I know from personal experience, the process of bespeaking a suit and watching its creation is very inspiring. Not only do you appreciate the tremendous skills involved, you also cannot help feeling an indulgent pleasure that many hands are all working towards you looking good. The idea of just wearing a generic item of clothing seems rather miserable after having had something marvellous made. Surely it’s better to get a few fabulous pieces tailored exactly as you wish than to wear the jetsam of an off the peg industry.

tweed

Bespeaking clothes is an addictive passion and following the success of his first suit Philipp was fishing around for fresh ideas.

Roger Moore has had an influence on many a young man, as James Bond in the mid seventies he managed to make the fashionable wide lapelled suits seem suitable wear for a British agent and his personal style as tailored by Dougie Hayward was much admired. Roger Moore’s central role in Ffolkes is less well known, but he brought a certain panache to the North Sea Hijack film. In one scene he is travelling by train in a Donegal carrick coat with matching hat and these pieces became the object of Philipp’s desire.

Whilst Philipp was contemplating a Donegal cloth, we fortuitously met the tailor Sandro at the Munich Fabric Start trade show. Upon seeing our Orange Overdrive design in a Donegal spun yarn he instantly thought of Philipp and the trinity of tailor, cloth designer and client was complete.

tweed coat

As you can see the outcome of the collaboration is unique and utterly joyful. I was at Pitti Uomo last month as Philipp was showcasing his new coat, it was without doubt a show stopper. The cloth design is obviously eye catching but it was interesting to see how the fine tailoring was much admired just as much as Philipps evident delight with his spectacularly dashing creation.

tailoring, tweed coat
tweed tailoring

Our New Cloth Collection

tweed, merino wool, cloth

For spring summer 2020, we have designed exquisite light-weight cloth suitable for any event you’re heading to.

We’ve taken the quintessential ideas that Dashing Tweeds is famous for and explored colour and modernity of patterns on a fine scale using the best quality Merino wools. The meticulously woven fabrics are produced to our design in Scotland and finished to create a soft handle with a drape ideally suited to tailoring and all weigh between 10oz – 13oz.

tweed, cloth, tailoring

A fresh palette of sky blues and turquoise was chosen to lend the collection cohesion with touches of cream and subtle reds, the new fabrics have a visual depth and richness.

tweed, merino wool, cloth

Dashing Tweeds continues to explore complex weave structures rarely seen elsewhere. This year, we have worked with geometric squares and woven tessellated patterns reminiscent of mosaics and marquetry.

All these fabrics are available by the metre online or in store at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone, London.

Our Round Up: Pitti Uomo

pitti uomo, menswear, fashion

You may have heard of, or seen photos of the biannual menswear shows in Florence over the years. It’s known as the natural strutting ground of the peacock man, and although this is undeniably true it’s also a serious trade show with some of the world’s best brands showing their new designs. Plenty of buyers come to place orders for shops around the world and companies big and small go there to speak to excellent manufacturers.

I find it a useful place to visit not only for immediate business but also to gauge the zeitgeist of mens fashion.

pitti uomo, menswear, fashion

Last week was the 97th show with a clear blue sky but enough chill in the air to necessitate several layers of all important clothes. I found the atmosphere as ebullient as ever as I wondered around the area housed within the impressively fortified Fortezza de Basso with it’s distinctive hemispherical red carved stones. Within the walls is a maze of many buildings each with a theme such as Futuro Maschile or Scandinavian Manifesto.

Navigating the fair is an art in itself with dozens of bloggers and photographers circling the main square looking for fresh pray. As flattering as it is to be stopped and papped you certainly don’t want to be seen to be a desperate peacock seeking attention by preening yourself whilst perched on the walls or stairs.

pitti uomo, menswear, fashion

In these hard times for British retail I felt there was a good atmosphere of support amongst the companies showing in the UK section on the ground floor, and many of them such as Edward Green and our glove suppliers Chester Jefferies were nicely busy.

In general I noticed a feeling of authentic integrity prevailing amongst the clothing brands showing, with an openness to the origin of materials and designs, there was a lot less of the hype that has been evident in past years. Some brands were using this as a sustainable angle showing that their clothing was made from recycled materials, a couple of interesting companies were recycling cashmere by shredding old jumpers and re-spinning yarns before knitting new jumpers and socks and others were showing how right on they were by using waste plastics.

Outside the exhibitions the flâneurs peacocked as usual. The Italian menswear professionals with their too short jackets, narrow trousers and beards were starting to look rather old hat whilst several young hunks were revelling in the gender fluid with handbags, fur stoles and the odd earring.

Tweed was very evident this season with many raglan cut herringbone coats on display and colourful checks looking fresh compared to the cigar smoking fogeys squeezed between waistcoats and stiff collars.

All in all a classic season showing that menswear has a lot to offer at the moment with potential for more colour, varied silhouettes and fresh developments in the future.

Happy New Year and our January Sale

January Sale, tweeds, menswear tweed, tweed suits

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

We hope you all had a wonderful break over the Christmas holidays.

To celebrate the New Year we are launching our January Sale available in store and online.

We are offering 50% off all ready to wear and accessories.
Online use the code ‘SaleJan50’.

www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/fashion/

January Sale, tweeds, menswear tweed, tweed suits

We are offering 20% off made to measure for both men and women as well.

Orders to be placed by 31st January 2020, you can purchase an item online and book in your appointment at a later date, online use the code ‘JanSale20’.

www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/made-to-measure/

We are also offering 10% off our beautiful British woven fabrics.
Online use the code ‘JanSale10’.

www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/fabric/

Offers end 31st January 2020.

Christmas Deliveries and Opening Times

With Christmas nearly upon us, it’s a race against time to attend all the Christmas drinks, visit all the carol concerts and buy all your loved ones gifts.

We wanted to let your know the deadlines for our online orders to make sure you get your gifts on time:

Delivering to:
UK – order by 19th December
Europe – order by 17th December
United States – order by 16th December
Rest of the World – 13th December

We are also planning to close for the Christmas holidays, so our last day in store will be Saturday 21st December and we will be open from 11am – 5pm.

We then close and re open in the New Year at 10am on Thursday 2nd January.

If you needed any help with anything in the meantime, or wanted gift ideas, do get in contact Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk.

All the best,

The Dashing Team

The Giving of Gifts

There is a certain currency that appears at Christmas, the circulatory gift. We all know the ones, stashed in the present cupboard; received from one aunt and wrapped with a little gilt for another.

Now is the time to break this cycle before you’re found out or haunted by the ghost of Christmas present.

Yes, the ideal gift for your aunts, uncles, cousins and family can be found here at Dashing Tweeds. We have something for everyone, from reflective tweed greyhound collars to wool tablet cases.

You can be rest assured about the sustainability of our products. Wool is one of the most sustainable fibres and all our fabrics are woven in Great Britain. They will last for many many years but when they are finally no longer needed, wool biodegrades, leaving nothing but good memories.

Jumpers are a staple on the Christmas list but the novelty ones are often made from acrylic and not that great for the environment. Our pure wool Donegal jumpers are beautifully soft and textured giving a lift to any outfit.

Holly has used her design skills from Check Me Out to weave a beautiful range of lambswool scarves. They feature exciting large scale checks that will bring colour to everyones lives. The scarves are woven as part of a long tasselled blanket and we have saved some before they are cut into scarves should you wish for a lovely rug over six by four feet in size.

Tweed caps are one of our best sellers at this time of year. Ours are all hand made in Yorkshire by traditional milliners.  The flat caps, in our modern tweed designs and available in a range of classic and modern shapes.

As well as tweed things we are also helping out friends who have interesting brands, stocking their products in store. Shaun Gordon’s ties are exquisitely made and his range of colours is superlative.

Involute Industries is a new niche company specialising in high tolerance engineered cufflinks, you may wonder why cuff links need precision engineering but these ones made from jet fighter alloys can be made to rotate at over twenty thousand revs per minute, something to take your mind off any dull meeting.

Billy Tannery is a charming company set up by Jack at his family goat farm and specialising in goat leather bags and accessories.

Should you fancy cards then my sister in law Ellie Good has a range of finely printed designs that are stocked here in Dorset street.

So save yourself the trouble of trawling the high street and head to us for a Dashing Christmas.All the very best,

The Dashing Team

P.S – *SAVE THE DATE* 

Join us for more Christmas Festivities as part of the Chiltern Street Christmas Event. 
On Thursday 28th November between 5pm-8pm there will be workshops, live performances, food, drinks & shopping.

Tailors Uncovered: Joe Mathews at Davies & Son

Joe Mathews career is a particular london story, one where Savile Row mets The Arsenal. Having just turned 17 and looking for a summer job, Joe was chatting to his dad’s mate Graham at a Gunners match. Graham, then manager of Dege and Skinner suggested he help in the shop at 10 Savile Row, an offer Joe jumped at. 

Meeting customers and helping with deliveries around town had it’s perks and trips to the Dorchester were always an excitement. The summer job ended up lasting more than 2 years by which time Joe knew Savile Row was the place for him.

For Joe, tailoring runs through his blood. His father has been working as a military coat maker since the mid sixties and suggested that Joe train to become a cutter, an idea that much appealed. Again back at The Emirates Stadium watching a ‘Man U’ game Joe was lucky enough to bump into Alan Bennett owner of Davies and Sonand for my money one of the best cutters on the row.

Joe was delighted to be offered an apprenticeship as a cutter by Alan and started right away. The art of transforming a flat piece of cloth to the finest of fitting suits is a skill that Savile Row has been passing down for generations. Alan learned his direct measurement method from one of the Skinner family.

Joe started by watching Alan draft patterns and would then strike them out from the cloth. Fittings with customers are a vital part of the bespoke process and taught Joe how to make the necessary adjustments to all aspects of a tailored suit. After six years Joe felt confident enough to cut on his own and now that retirement is in the air for Alan, the firm that is Davies and Son will be sure to continue with Joe and others in the house.

Joe and Alan used our most iconic designs, the Gallant Check and Blue Overdrive to make these bespoke designs. To see more of his work, pop into Davies and Son at 38 Savile Row, Mayfair.

P.S. 
We have just sold out of our beautiful Gallant Check design, but do check out the rest of our cloth collection here.

Industry Insider: Knoll Yarns

When it comes to cooking, sourcing the correct ingredients with the right taste and look is everything. Whether rhubarb is grown by candle light can make all the difference and chefs can go spare if their asparagus spears are the wrong shade. So too with weaving, it’s easy to make a dogs dinner of designs if you don’t get the yarns right.

Our modern tech age has removed us from processes that used to be commonplace in village life such as twisting wool into a usable thread. I was looking to buy a spinning wheel this summer in order to turn a fleece into hats for my long suffering children. I thought I would look for a class to use it and got very excited with the number of Google results until I realised I’d only found rooms full of people peddling to get nowhere fast in the name of exercise.

Spinning is one of man’s oldest inventions, ancient people started by simply dropping a spinning piece of wood and teasing out fibre from a fleece connected to the spindle. When travelling to remote areas of the world you can still see people drop spinning fibres such as Alpaca in South America.

In England, as any school child can tell you Hargreaves spinning jennywas central to the industrial revolution, speeding up yarn production enormously and spear heading global change. Nowadays, spinning is still one of the most important of industries and here at Dashing we like to use the best.

Knoll Yarns was set up in Ilkley, Yorkshire only 41 years ago by Sean Crannigan and has gained a reputation as one of the best yarn designers and suppliers. They supply yarns to everyone from Burberry, Prada and Ralph Lauren to individual home knitters. We were interested in their Donegal yarns which are spun in Kilcar, Co. Donegal. These yarns are famous for their nepps of colour and there is great skill blending dyed wool and preparing it for spinning to achieve the desired effect. Rebecca Shaw works at Knoll as a yarn designer taking reference from colours all around the country as well as harking back to classic texts such as Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours.  

We worked with Knoll this season for our collection of beautiful woven soft Donegal tweeds and even developed our own yarn. Back in the 1980’s I wanted a black tweed jacket with flecks of primary colours but it sadly evaded me. Rekindling the desire we now have our own ‘Motley’ yarn and have used it for both weaving and knitting a small range.

For those with a sparing taste for colour this predominantly black tweed is a great starter, and then as your palate develops we have an ever increasing palette of yarns which Knoll is happy to deliver us by the pallet, so do stop by our flagship shop at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone and we’ll get you sorted.

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.

Dashing’s New Cloth Collection

This coming autumn season we are seeking comfort in one of the most sumptuous of tweeds, soft Donegals. This new collection is designed in our London studio and  woven in Scotland using fine Merino yarns spun in Ireland.

 

At Dashing Tweeds we are always interested in experimenting with colour, Donegal yarns with their famous nepps of different coloured wools are a great starting point and as a first for us we have even created our own yarn. Known as the Motley design this initially appears to be black with neps of primary yellow, red and blue but on closer inspection a whole plethora of colours can be seen.

As colour is the focus we have used classic weave structures this season, working with herringbones and twills to produce a very wearable collection.

Our Ochre, Claretand Lapis Herringbone designs have a pleasing scale and work well for jackets and coats. Herringbones are classic designs which never go out of fashion so anything made up in these will be a great investment. At around 14oz (430g) they are light enough to wear now that autumn days are mild but warm enough for winter nights.

Our Gallant Checkis the most exuberant design, fabulously fun in a large scale with over checks in yellow, green and red. This design captures the joy we try to bring to our fabrics and will put a smile on anyones face.

To RSVP to our private view of our latest cloth collections on the 18th September click here or stop by 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone whenever you’re in the area.

Please don’t hesitate to get in contact if you have any questions or would like us to reserve you some of our latest cloth collection. Drop us a line at Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk.

All the very best,

The Dashing Team

 

 

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 14th – 22nd September

 

London Design Festivalreturns to the capital for its 17th year this September with an inspiring programme of events and installations across the city.

Initially established in 2003 by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans, London Design Festival is an annual citywide celebration that brings together a global community of designers, artists, architects and the creative industries with a vision to celebrate and promote London as the design capital of the world. Since its inception, London Design Festival has grown to encompass a broad range of activities, and attracts visitors from around the world from over 75 countries and the 2018 Festival welcomed a record-breaking 588,000 visitors.

This year also marks 11 years with the V&A as a collaborating partner and the official Festival hub. During the Festival, the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance will once again play host to a series of specially-commissioned projects by internationally-renowned designers.

 

As a citywide event, London Design Festival is an essential platform for the capital’s major trade shows taking place across London as well, including: 100% Design, designjunction, Focus/19and London Design Fair.

These shows feature work from a local and international network of both new and established exhibitors. This year there will be 10 official Design Districts from East to West; North to South. Design Districts are areas where there are distinct concentrations of design activity and events that can be traversed easily on foot. Each District is organised locally and independently via the platform of London Design Festival.

This year will see a new Design District taking part in the Festival; Kings Cross Design District. It joins Bankside Design District, Brompton Design District, Clerkenwell Design Quarter, Chelsea Design District, Marylebone Design District, Mayfair Design District, Pimlico Road Design District, Shoreditch Design Triangle, Victoria Connections Design District and West Kensington Design District. In addition, the Festival is delighted to welcome back Paddington Central Design Route as a Design Route.

We are really excited to be hosting an event alongside our Marylebone Design Districtneighbours. Each district has a designated day to host events making visiting them all that little bit easier.

Marylebone’s main events will take place on Wednesday 18th September, which is the night of our new Menswear collection launch. Watch this space for more information about this in our next newsletter and to RSVP follow this link.

MILL OF THE MONTH: Stephen Walters

Photography by Ant Jones

 

Fit for a King or indeed a Queen is an expression we don’t hear much nowadays but one that would work well when talking about our jacquard fabrics woven for us by Stephen Walters.

The silk weaving company founded in Spitalfields in 1720 is now based in Sudbury, Suffolk and has been making fabrics for royalty for hundreds of years, major commissions include Queen Elizabeth II coronation robes and wedding dresses for Princess Anne and Lady Diana Spencer amongst many others.

 

 

Here at the Dashing HQ we are easily satisfied with the best so working with Stephen Walters is a natural choice. Regular loom weaving is a process by which the vertical warp threads are lifted together to form patterns such as twills and herringbones. These looms have been around in various forms for thousands of years and are what we use most of the time for our classic tweeds.

Jacquard looms have much more complex mechanisms by which individual warp threads are lifted, enabling highly complex patterns and even photographic images to be woven into cloth. The technology dates back to the 17th Century and includes innovations such as the invention of punch cards the earliest form of binary data storage later adopted by computers. We can thank King Louis XIV for renouncing the Edict of Nantes and causing skilled Huguenots to flee France and bring us the technology.

 

 

As with many powerful tools the skill is in control; we have used Jacquard weaving to provide an element of humour to our designs that would not be possible by regular weaving. Our Threadbare design is woven in pure cotton with the idea of emulating a garment worn to threads, we thought it amusing to use the Jacquard loom to give the supposed warp and weft an open wiggling shape as if stretched with age. The scale of the design does contain a regular repeat but this adds to the optical element of the fabric. The cotton cloth adds another dimension to our staple of woven wools and makes up in to a delightful summer jacket.

Our Exploded Houndstooth is another playful idea executed on Stephen Walters’ jacquard looms. The idea was to extrapolate a classic houndstooth design to a scale not otherwise possible on a classic loom, a zoomed in version of a weave made with a fine silk weft on a cotton warp. The resulting fabric is arresting to look at yet strong enough for a wild night out, perfect for a player and fit for a king of clubs.

 

Our jacquard designs are now also available through our Dashing Classics range meaning they will be stock supported going forward. However if you wanted these designs in a slightly different colour way, this is also possible but at a premium through our bespoke services. To find out more, do email Naomi@DashingTweeds.co.ukwho looks after all our cloth production.

 

P.S – *SAVE THE DATES*

We are also hosting two events in September for our official womenswear collection launching on the 17th September. To RSVP, please click here.

We will also be celebrating a private view of a new collaboration with 1960’s celebrity tailor, Dougie Millings on the 18th September. For more information and to RSVP, click here.

DASHING MEN: Hans Witteveen

When it comes to all round action then Hans is your man. Whether speed skating frozen canals in the Netherlands, cycling the alps, tearing up a tennis court or simply busting moves on the dance floor Hans is there with debonair aplomb.

A partner of law firm Stibbe and Head of the London practice, I am lucky enough to have Hans as my neighbour in Primrose Hill, with his film making wife and two teenage daughters he’s also a consummate host and a good cook.

Growing up in Amsterdam Hans started playing tennis almost as soon as he could walk and would also regularly train on the 400m skating tracks that are popular in the country. During the now rare cold winters the whole country becomes enthralled by the famous Elfstedentocht tour of eleven historic cities in the Friesland district. The tour stretches 120 miles along frozen canals, lakes and rivers and Hans was lucky to be able to participate and finish in the last race of 1997.

 

All this action has honed Hans’ physique into a proportion that looks excellent in a tailored suit. Earlier in life whilst working in his New York office Hans found the boxy American suits were not to his taste and favoured the more fitted silhouettes of Italian and particularly English tailoring. Dressing well for work is essential but the pleasure for Hans is when he can wear a great fitting suit for the shear pleasure of it. Starting with designer pieces from INA NYC in his younger days Hans is excited to have now discovered Dashing. His personal taste is for a close fitting well tailored suit that drapes perfectly, he prefers his trousers to hang just short of this shoes with no break, a look that gives sharp clean lines.

For sheer exuberant pleasure Hans loves his double breasted suit in the Dashing Stripe and is never short of compliments when donning it for a night out. The cut is derived from a famous suit tailored by Mr Fish in 1968 and now on display at the V&A museum. In the mid sixties Mr Fish had a renowned shop in Clifford Street just off Savile Row and as well as inventing the kipper tie he tailored for all the stars of the time from Mick Jagger to Peter Sellers.

Hans also loves the wit of his suit in the Clerkenwell Stripe a navy worsted with a boucle pinstripe. As a lawyer, friends are initially not surprised to see Hans sporting a pinstripe suit but as they get closer it becomes clear that the textured looped yarns of the stripe are altogether more humorous than expected and place Hans in a whole new light.

For those who don’t already know, be sure to drop by Dashing before the 31st August to shop our summer sale, with 30% off RTW, 20% off cloth and 10% off made to measure.

All the very best,

The Dashing Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long Live Fashion

Sustainability is the key nowadays. We have long been told that the rate at which we are plundering Earth’s resources and generating waste cannot continue, only now is this beginning to sink in. We need a radical rethink of the way we consume everything if we are to thrive or even survive; a good start is to think about our clothing. As naked apes we find clothing essential, not only does it protect us from the elements, but as is the case with so many animals, its use within society as a display for pecking order and mating rituals is paramount.

Sustainability in general should be a major concern of yours and as awareness grows of all others around you. Displaying your empathy to the cause by wearing clothing made in a sustainable way will not only make you feel better but also actively disclose your conviction to others. This will without doubt make you a more attractive person in their eyes and greatly increase the fulfilment required by your dress, especially where mating is concerned.

So how to be sustainable? Transparency within brands is now more commonplace elucidating the whole making journey of a garment but this can quickly become a tangled web. I find it easier to stick to the simple rule of quality over quantity. Buying fewer clothes and looking after them well is a good start. For clothing to last it has to be made well in a good quality yarn. Wool is tough to beat when it comes to longevity and sustainability, improvements in cross breeding sheep has lead to beautifully soft wearable fabrics and sheep feeding on natural grassland are entirely in balance with nature.

Repairing clothes is only possible if they are of a certain quality, cheap cotton garments made at a huge cost to the environment, especially where water is concerned, seem to spontaneously disintegrate in one go making mending impossible. If your favourite quality outfit develops a hole then they are easy to mend. Darning is an age old skill that is currently in the midst of a revival and it needn’t be done as neatly as possible. Prince Charles was sporting an obvious patch to his Anderson and Sheppard jacket a while back, proud to be extending the life of an old favourite. Indeed visible mending especially on wool garments has become an even more obvious sign of ones personal attitude to sustainability.

The Japanese, have made a whole art of patching with their Boro fabrics constructed almost entirely of mended rags but you needn’t go this far. A classic elbow patch to extend the life of a jacket could be all you need to increase your clothing sustainability. When things go beyond repair you know where to come for garments that will not only last for many years but become firm friends on the journey to a sustainable life.

 

Meet MiRo the Dashing Robot

Tweeds were designed for dressing everyone on your estate, a jolly uniform of sorts. Our modern tweeds are a great way to personalise your robot.

Robots are coming, whether we like it or not. They’ve been dramatically present for decades as little helpers such as R2D2, guardians in the form of Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Terminators from the future. Luckily the reality is not yet so blatant. Instead they are sidling in from the periphery without being too noticeable, yet.

Fascinating work is taking place on how we would like to communicate with the workers of the future; too metallic can be distancing and yet too human gives you the creeps. Their roles are also still to be decided. In Japan, where the unbalanced population is ageing and there is a dislike of immigration, robots are helping with the weight of looking after the elderly, replacing a previous generation of staff.

In the current tech revolution it seems that there is a democratisation of services once reserved for the aristocracy. We think nothing of having food delivered, transport summoned and dictions taken by devices. The next stage is surely an army of compliant staff. This leads to the big question of what they should wear.

To start things off in terms of robot raiments we have worked with Sebastian Conran and his biomimetic programmable autonomous creation. MiRo is a very cute looking artificially intelligent robot developed mainly for teaching and understanding how people will use robots in their lives.

Robots will be the eyes, ears and hands of the intelligent house or the smart office and it’s important that they fulfil this role with aplomb. We tailored a collar for MiRo in our hi-tech Lumatwill cloth a firm favourite of Sebastian’s for his personal cycle jacket and a befitting fabric for a robot. Not only is it attractive but the collar helps protect the motorised neck joint of MiRo a potentially vulnerable area of the otherwise hard shell.

 

 

 

SUMMER SALE

I’m always one for a distraction and homonyms are a good start when it comes to veering off the point. Writing about how we are going to offer a 10% summer discount off our made to measure services, 20% off our cloth and 30% of our ready to wear creations starting on the 1st August is very exciting but that’s about it in a sentence. More elucidating is an article I have just been reading about the wool sails of Viking boats.

Without wool we would have had no Viking invaders towards the end of the first millennium AD. Having known that the Pheoenicians made their sails of woven flax or papyrus over five thousand years ago I assumed that this material would be in common use world wide, but not so. In fact the Vikings had to step up their wool cottage industry hugely to prepare for their raids.

European short-tailed sheep were sheared and had their fleeces spun into two types of yarn. The hardy sheep have longer tough wool on the outside and shorter softer strands close to the body. The outer wool was spun into strong fibres of use in the vertical warp on their weighted looms and the softer wool was used in the horizontal weft, packing all the holes in the sail cloth. A slight felting of the sail cloth and immersion in fir tar, fish oils and tallow was all that was required to make strong wind proof sails ready for a jolly raiding party on us poor Angles.

As we know the Vikings came to raid all our riches of which there were plenty, fabulous silver and gold items were looted and exquisite textiles were had at a steal. Which brings us full circle back to our sale. Our fine Merino wool summer cloths are going for a song with a fifth of the normal price as are our British wool tweeds. Ready to wear jackets and suits can be had for a snip at almost a third off.

We will also be having a sample sale with 50% off all suits in the shop so now is the time to treat yourself to a tailored jacket or get yourself a made to measure suit which will be ready as soon as summer fades. So sally forth to Dashing at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone and grab a bargain but perhaps leave the seax at home.

 

 

 

The Panache of a Panama

dashing tweeds, pachacuti, Panama hat, luxury, made to measure, tailoring, tailors, Marylebone tailoring

There are very few entirely hand made products in our lives nowadays. Ones where we can saviour the provenance and take pleasure in the generations of handed down skills that have accumulated to provide us with a useful item of joy. A Panamahat is one of those little luxuries that everyone should save for, not only are they potentially life saving when in the sun but they also have that rare combination of practicality and elegance. There is just no real replacement for a fine Panama hat.

At Dashing, we are working with Pachacuti a fair trade company set up by Carry Somers over 25 years ago. Avoiding middle men, who locally take a large cut from the weavers, they work directly with the makers ensuring they earn a decent living. This has enabled hat weaving communities to move away from the coastal regions of Ecuador and set up in the idyllic forested hills where they can encourage a new generation to continue the livelihood.

Interestingly, Panama hats come from Ecuador and acquired their name through numerous sales of the hats as they were transported for distribution through the trade routes. In the gold rush era any wise prospector would pick up a hat or two along with their gold digging tools, helping spread their popularity.

The enduring appeal of the Panama hat has to do with their superb quality. Toquilla straw is hand cut, boiled, split and dried before being hand woven in a continuing spiral that can take up to 8 months for a fabulously fine example. The skills have been passed down for generations and the only thing that has really changed is the style of the shapes.

Our Dashing Panamashave additional panache through the use of our unique cloth designs. These are applied by hand to the headband, giving the already desirable hats a peerless appeal.

We have a few sizes and designs left in the shop so come and snap one up before your summer adventures begin. They will serve as faithful companions on your journey, protecting against the elements as you forge ahead.

Should you be one of those people for whom only the best is good enough then there is a chance for you to commission the world’s finest hat. Mark from Pachacuti went on a recent trip to Ecuador and met the man who is widely regarded as the finest hat weaver in Ecuador. The world record stands at close to 4000 straw picks per inch and given close to a years work he is keen to try and break this record for you.

For more information, do check out Pachacuti and to customise your own Panama band using our cloth please drop an email hereor pop into Dashing at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Different Tweeds for Different Needs

When it comes to wearing tweed there are no restrictions at all. From school boys to doddering gents via a whole new wave of hipsters, tweed is for everyone male or female. Our bespoke tweed Nike Airforce 1’s were coveted by both teenagers and mature men. Our caps are sported by young fans of Peaky Blinders, city cyclists and a whole range of interesting people who drop by our shop.

Jackets and coats are best sellers and now that we are starting a made to measure range for ladies and even dogs there is no reason to not add new tweeds to your wardrobe. Colour is the key as tweed is the original way to add a colourful item to your wardrobe. Everyone has a favourite colour and we stock a huge range so get out your metaphorical brush and paint away, as they say ‘different strokes for different folks’.

Tweed is probably one of the most versatile and democratic cloths there is. Historically fabrics such as silk were the preserve of the aristocracy and rough hemps the raiment of peasants but tweed straddled all levels of society. Worn by Lords and poachers alike, the quality and usefulness of tweed has ensured it’s unwavering popularity over centuries, and so today despite the onslaught of synthetics, tweed is as popular as ever and continues in its versatility.

Through selective breeding of sheep and new technologies in spinning and finishing, wools and the resulting tweeds are constantly improving. Menswear is all about an evolution of form and function and all clothing needs to perform to the tasks of the wearer. As we are modernising tweed their relevance to 21st century life is increasingly apposite.

Sustainability is a major benefit of tweed but there needs to be an element of fun to clothes as well. This is were Dashing Tweeds excels, clothes need to bring an element of joy to all concerned and our fabrics transcend all ages and niches of society. For any Made to Measure enquiries or to book an appointment, drop an email here or stop by 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone.

Charlotte Chaplin: Health and Woolness

 

Wearing wool for health is not something we hear enough of these days. In the 1880’s the German physician Dr Gustav Jäger extolled the benefits of wearing wool next to the skin, rather than plant based yarns such as cotton or linen. His philosophy caught on to such an extent that the British business man Lew Tomalin established the eponymous brand. The resulting woollen underwear and swim suits he made proved such a success that a Royal Warrant was granted.

Fashion is a circular affair, at the moment with uncertainty in the air comfort can be had by glancing back and wondering what we can learn from the past to make life better both for our health and for that of the whole planet.

 

The rise of synthetics and the demise of woollen clothing, is a case in hand. Crude oil based clothing such as nylons, polyesters and acrylics were thought to be the answer to everything. They were cheap, easy to produce and seemed almost too good to be true yet now we are just beginning to realise their true cost on a global scale with micro plastics entering the food chain every time you wash a so called fleece. Sustainability is what is needed and there is nothing more sustainable than Herdwick Wool from The Lake District.

Charlotte Chaplin has around 500 of the indigenous sheep on her farm in Finsthwaite, Ulverston. The Herdwick breed has been around for hundreds of years and live in complete harmony with the natural habitat of the Lake District. With short stocky legs and an enviable fleece they roam easily over the steep hills grazing naturally on the local flora, taking just what they need without denuding the pastures. Interestingly they are born black and as they age they pass through chocolate tones on their way to almost pure white.

 

Charlotte starts to shear her ‘girls’ as she calls them at around 18 months just when the wool is turning white and the length is perfect for spinning. A local farmer Stephen helps with the shearing  and then the fleeces are sent off to Haworths for scouring. Charlotte is keen to keep the wool as natural as possible so there is no dying and the pure wool is just cleaned before spinning at Laxtons. From there the  yarns are sent to Townend weavers where Charlotte’s elegant and timeless herringbone designs are woven into cloth. The last stage is finishing and Charlotte uses our preferred company Schofields, they soften the hardy wool and make it eminently wearable.

 

In our Marylebone flagship shop we are stocking three of Charlotte’s designs all in the natural colours of the Herdwick wool. Touching the cloth evokes feelings of the healthy wild landscapes of the Lake District and just by wearing it I’m sure this will rub off on you. The cloth makes up into beautiful jackets and for the brave we can certainly follow Dr Jäger and tailor a health imbuing swimming outfit.

If you have any questions or would like to book a Made to Measure appointment using Charlotte’s designs, kindly drop an email here or visit us in store at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone.

 

 

Dashing Tweed’s aim is to give men and women a greater choice of fabrics by designing their own unique range of woven cloth all woven in the UK.
All the fabrics are available to buy by the metre, and Dashing Tweeds can tailor jackets, trousers, suits and coats for both men and women using any of their unique fabrics for any occasion.

47 Dorset Street, London, W1U 7ND
+44 (0) 207 486 6882
Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk

Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm
Saturday 11am – 5pm
Sunday closed
Appointments can be booked when the store is closed

 

 

Copyright Dashing Tweeds Limited 2026. All Rights Reserved
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