I’ve been enjoying some texture-heavy looks recently. The jacket above is this season’s modified Aircraft jacket from Nigel Cabourn. Made with a shearling-lined hood and unique bellow pockets, it has a slightly fuller and rounder silhouette than previous seasons’ models. The body is also made from a thick oilcloth – a fabric originally worn by British fishermen to protect themselves from the harsh seas. The matte, slightly hairy fabric looks a little more interesting than your usual cotton materials and I like that it’ll only gain in character over time. You can find a brown version of the same coat at Baby & Company.
The cream zigzag sweater is from A Kind of Guise, a relatively young German label. The make is surprisingly good – thick and lofty, it has the feeling of a warm blanket when worn. Stock is unfortunately sold out at most stores, but there are a few left at Grundtner & Sohne, Oi Polloi and Making Things.
Next, the green scarf is a wool-alpaca blend from Inis Meain (it’s also sold out at Hartford York, where I bought mine on clearance, but you can find something similar at No Man Walks Alone and Anderson & Sheppard). Finally, the tan jeans are from RRL and the pebbled grained, shearling-lined boots are from Edward Green (they’re made on Edward Green’s 64 last, which was originally developed for the British gun-maker Holland & Holland’s footwear line).
Texture-heavy looks can make for a more sophisticated statement than loud patterns or colors. In the colder months, flannel, tweed, and ancient madder are natural choices for tailored clothing. For casualwear, try treated cottons, heavily ribbed wools, and pebble grain leathers.
(photos via me, Baby & Company, Butch Blum, Chriscrat, End, A Kind of Guise, and Ralph Lauren)
