The last bastion of class the UK remains the oldest divide, city vs country. As a confirmed urbanite I remember being confused first time I heard the word “townie” being used as a pejorative.
How can anyone look down on people who live in towns? Surely that is where all the action is, and outside there are just country bumpkins, or “big hair country” as my female friends would say back in the US. When you start to broaden your social circle, you quickly realise that to people living in grand houses in the countryside, townies are not the sophisticated residents of Notting Hill, but instead the crammed together population of places like Slough or Milton Keynes, living in low quality terraced houses. And I have to admit, unless you are desperate for track suit chic a la Juicy Couture, there is precious little fashion inspiration in those places.
The same used to be true of the country set, but just manifest itself in a different way. The men always took pride in wearing shabby clothes, ideally inherited from an old relative, faded courderoy jeans or a tweed blazer with elbow patches. If I look deep enough in my own wardrobe, I can actually find a Harris tweed jacket that did belong to my father. Over the years it’s resisted the moths and I will probably never be able to buy anything of that quality again. Luckily, there have been recent improvements and the red cheeked yeoman of old can now convincingly buy updated country clothes from the likes of Beretta or Holland and Holland. I do love the idea of this line extension, you can keep your Luxottica made Prada glasses, I’d rather buy a cashmere sweater from the same place as I buy my cartridges. Cuts are getting slimmer, and because the clothes are made for outdoor wear, usually the materials are very good. Expect muted colours that are equally at home on a grouse moor as on the Kings Road, soft purples and greens which remind you of a big field of thistle.
Women’s style used to be even worse, any country ball used to be wall to wall twinsets and pearls, but luckily, perhaps mirroring Tatler’s evolution into a kind of posh Cosmopolitan, things have improved. Reading the most recent issue, I was struck both by the “how to marry a Duke” article which appears to be in every issue, showcasing a weak chinned but loaded member of the nobility, and the renewed stylishness of the girls. Goodbye twinsets, hello glamorous Balmain tops and pencil skirts. Kate Middleton probably deserves as much credit as anyone in the transformation, even though at least I prefer the overt sluttishness of Pippa. And while some of the dating advice might be questionable “he doesn’t like you if he doesn’t at least try to make you come”, the clothes are spot on.
He is wearing Beams Plus Slim-Fit Houndstooth Jacket, Berluti Fine-Knit jumper, Borsalino Grey Wool Flat Cap and Diesel Jeans
