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