Jeff Naylor

Working on Winter

Anthony Eden

Believe it or not, it’s almost too late to be concerned with winter clothing if you have your clothes made bespoke or to measure.

My clothing interests lately have been more on the formal end of the spectrum. As I said in my last post, I’ve already contacted Art Fawcett about working on a Homburg hat, and I’m discussing an overcoat with my friends at Bookster.

Pictured at right is Sir Anthony Eden, known among other things as perhaps England’s best dressed Prime Minister.  Eden is shown wearing a Homburg, which is eponymously known in England as an “Anthony Eden.”  He’s also wearing a Chesterfield coat, albeit one made without a common characteristic of that construction, a velvet collar.  Mine will be made with peak lapels, a black velvet collar, fly front and straight pockets without a ticket pocket.

Both the Chesterfield and Homburg are entirely appropriate to be worn with black tie and certainly qualify as conservative business dress.

When worn with black tie, the Chesterfield would typically be worn with white leather or grey suede gloves.  Black in a pinch.  With morning wear one could also wear the grey suede, but a more traditional choice would be a pale yellow chamois.

The other standard accessory worn with a formal overcoat is, of course, a scarf.  With black tie, the appropriate accessory is a white silk scarf with tassels draped around the neck over the coat.  With daily dress, a cashmere scarf tied around the neck under the coat is the way to go.  And they don’t give the good ones away.  But if you buy a good one you’ll have it forever, just do it right the first time.

When I get a little closer to my appointment with my tailor I’ll talk a bit more about the dinner suit, or tuxedo, itself.