Oct' 2019

Fashion

How To Dress For The Great Outdoors

When pavements are a luxury, you’re best stowing all-white looks, suede boots and anything that mud won’t readily brush off.  But that doesn’t mean you need to don a gilet and wellies.  Here’s some tips I’ve picked up since relocating to the countryside on how to marry form and function.

Be Precisely The Right Amount Of Prepared

Know that country walks mean a whole load of mud.  So your lower half should be darker than soil and made from fabric that doesn’t fear the washing machine: dark denim, yes; light coloured chinos, less so.  

But the scoutmaster look is equally inappropriate if your ‘hike’ is across a field to the pub, not the length of the River Thames.  So a backpack’s fine, but it should be just big enough for an extra knit, so you can stay until after sunset, and a bottle of something warming and a torch.  Just in case you get lost on the way home.

 

Fair-Weather Friend

If it showers in the city, you’re never more than six feet from a Pret or a Starbucks.  When you’re caught out straddling a stile, shelter is as tough to find as a decent flat white.

When a coat leaves you sweating, reach for a lightweight windbreaker or shell jacket. Rolled up and stored at the bottom of your bag, if it stays balmy nobody needs to know you even brought one.  If you get caught short in a shower or a blustery gale you’ll stay dry while your mates get soaked.

All-Weather Friend

When the skies look to offer more than a brief dousing, you need something more robust and weatherproof.  And there’s a reason the waxed jacket has become the de facto uniform for men who spend a lot of time in the rain, either looking after animals or shooting them.

Walk This Way

Although the boots you’ll buy in outdoors stores will protect your feet for the length of the Pennine Way, if you’re planning something more staid then look to heritage hikers and something a little more stylish.  ECCO have recently launched the Tredtray, an ultra comfortable boot that is designed for men who want durable, long-lasting footwear without sacrificing on their personal style.  The lightweight, sturdy rubber outsoles and warm winter linings will ensure you’ll that you’re covered on rock-strewn footpaths and you can also deploy them with selvedge jeans for the commute on wet da

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