Winter is well and truly here, and what better season to confront the chill than by draping yourself in tweed? Indeed, breaking out the tweed for the cooler months gives much of the same satisfaction as cracking out the linen for the warmer - albeit with substantially less ironing required to get everything looking presentable.
Barney's New York Vintage Heavy Herringbone Tweed
Made for the now-defunct Barney's department store, this substantial overcoat is made from a weighty black and grey herringbone tweed.
Judging from the Union tags inside, this coat dates from 1949 to 1962. For a coat that (at its most youthful) is 60 years old, it really is in superb condition.
The coat has a classically boxy American cut. The lapel has a surprisingly elegant roll, and it provides some pretty bulletproof protection against the elements.
Generously proportioned flap pockets and rather large front buttons (to keep the heft of material in place) complete the look. Best paired with a chunky rollneck. This was picked up from a charity (thrift) shop for a really measly price, about £20 I think.
Richard James Tweed Double-Breasted
The most "tailored" of my tweed outwear, this was picked up from the Mr. Porter sale a few years ago for about £400. I don't get so much wear out of these days - either it's gotten smaller or I've gotten fatter (I hope for the former but fear it's the latter) - so I can no longer wear it with many layers underneath, but with some knitwear it's fine.
The cut is structured and slim, with strong shoulders and a belted back. The green and black herringbone of the tweed is surprisingly versatile with dark jeans or something more dressy like a grey flannel.
Hepton Donegal Tweed Raglan Coat
Hepton are not a brand I've been able to discover much about, making this a bit of a dark horse as it's probably my favourite current piece of clothing.
It's a weighty and quite rough, blanket-like Donegal tweed, in an unstructured cut with raglan sleeves. All surprisingly on-trend for a vintage piece actually, ticking all the current #menswear boxes.
It's a really full-on and intense tweed, brightly flecked and with a faint orange-brown overcheck, though that's really only apparent when viewed at a distance.
With the collar down you obviously have a bit less environmental imperviousness, but the look is relatively casual. It's supremely comfortable and sized to easily fit over pretty much anything. I picked it up for about £75 from savvyrow.com, which I consider a frankly outrageous bargain.
Toast herringbone tweed trousers
A recent pickup from the always excellent Marrkt, these Toast trousers are a heavy rust-brown and black herringbone. They're a pretty scratchy and rough fabric, but I've got a lot of enjoyment out of them so far.
They are becoming my go-to winter trousers, though they do have a substantial heft to them that makes them a tricky pairing with blazers - better for peacoats or any of the tweed coats shown above.
RL Polo Herringbone tweed blazer
A TkMaxx pickup - I'd been angling for a black and white herringbone blazer for a while, and although they crop up routinely in charity shops, they tend to feel more stuffy OAP than Ivy style. This was a very happy purchase at about £100.
The fabric is a very wearable blend of cotton, linen and silk. The silk gives it a very slight sheen, and it's overall pretty well-suited for warmer weather too. The fit is relaxed, with a pretty natural shoulder.
Walker Slater Donegal Tweed jacket
The last piece on the list is not from a particularly prestigious maker, but this Walker Slater jacket has seen the most wear out of anything here over the last few months.
It's a blue-grey Donegal tweed, with some rather vivid colour flecks in evidence. The fit is slouchy with an overall lack of structure that helps it slip on very comfortably, and it meets the working from home needs extremely well.
