What To Wear To A Country Wedding

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What To Wear To A Country Wedding

Words by Mr Jim Merrett

22 March 2017

Stylish yet practical attire for out-of-town nuptials.

Unless you are the one tying the knot, you are in someone else’s hands. And that can often mean a wedding that takes you out of your comfort zone. That could come in a non-traditional form (a Star Trek theme, for example), but more likely it will require you to travel beyond whichever urban hub you call home. This is particularly true of ceremonies that take place in the environment that falls under the umbrella term “the countryside” (a place itself that often requires an umbrella). Here, there are a lot of variables to consider. For one, there is likely to be some time spent outside. There may be flora and fauna (and possibly smells related to the latter) that you are unfamiliar with. And while a wildlife guide goes beyond our remit, we can at least help you put together an outfit that makes you look like you know what you’re doing.

Up above

In a word, tweed. If ever there were an opportunity to get tweeded up, this is it. The favoured attire of gentlemanly huntsmen, jackets made from this rough, woollen, herringbone or twill material offer some protection from precipitation and won’t get ripped if you step too close to a bramble hedge. Bonus: the professorial smarts of cultural figures such as Sherlock Holmes, Rupert Giles in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Sir Sean Connery in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade might rub off on you. Just don’t overdo it, or you might end up looking a bit Toad of Toad Hall. We advise a fresh take on the rugged fabric, such as this Maison Margiela blazer, which turned heads at the label’s SS17 show. The weave is a linen blend, which makes it lighter than traditional tweed, and the unstructured fit makes for a more relaxed cut. Team it with an exemplary formal shirt from Emma Willis for the big day (and with a pair of drawstring trousers for a leisurely brunch the following weekend).

Down below

The key to any pattern – be it the flecked nature of the tactile blazer above or the camp-collar aloha shirt that we really dig, but that isn’t quite right on this occasion – is to keep everything else simple. In this context, that means a pair of smart trousers in a dark shade (this pair by Swedish master Acne Studios turns simple into an art form). So far, so every other wedding you’ve ever been to. But since you’re embracing the outdoors with your jacket, you can switch up your footwear too. Instead of donning the traditional pair of Oxfords, we’d recommend brogues, which were originally constructed for navigating Irish bogs. And while there hopefully won’t be any of those ruining the wedding, if it does rain and someone forgot to order the marquee, at least be you’ll be one step ahead of the other guests.

The accessories

We know we said you should keep everything else simple, but you’ve played it safe with the rest of your outfit, so we’ll let you have some fun with your tie (we’ve all got to get our kicks somewhere). As with much of the Celtic-centric attire of the countryside, the houndstooth check can be traced back to the Scottish Lowlands of yesteryear, but has since been embraced by everyone from the Duke of Windsor to Alexander McQueen. Its application in this tie is subtle enough to work with the blazer, but there’s no disguising this skill that has gone into this fine piece, handmade in the Drake’s east London atelier. To echo the brown and white flecks, these silver-tone brass cufflinks by Bottega Veneta will mark you out as a man who pays attention to the details. See? Dressing for the country is not so different from mastering streetwear (there is more chance of a splash of mud, we’ll grant you). Just make sure everything coordinates.

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