Summer Linen Suits for Glorious Goodwood Races

Glorious Goodwood Races is nearly upon us and one of the highlights in the British flat horse racing calender. So gentlemen - What to Wear?
The rules are more relaxed than for Royal Ascot, but there are still some rules that cannot be broken. For Goodwood’s Richmond Enclosure the dress code is: A jacket with shirt and tie or cravat must be worn or alternatively you can wear a polo neck sweater. But hopefully the weather will be too gloriously warm for the polo neck. No jeans or shorts are permitted. Although not compulsory attire, the wearing of a linen suit and a panama hat at Glorious Goodwood is a tradition started by King Edward VII way back in 1906 and is still the bookies favourite for a winning look.

 M&S Savile Row inspired pure linen suit designed by Richard James is in the pink of condition. Fabric is 100% linen so expect it to wrinkle and crease.  Click here for direct link to pure linen suit
 But then that is the charm of a pure linen suit. On any other fabric, creases look scruffy, but with linen it says laid back elegance. Price for this 1 button suit is £149 and the flat front trousers are £79. If the colour of pink is out of your comfort zone then it is also available in the more traditional colours of oatmeal and mid blue.

www.marksandspencer.com

Worn in the image with a crisp white shirt, the Savile Row Inspired pure silk spotted tie £29.50 (link below), mixed metal knot cufflinks £12.50 and Autograph round face Analogue Eye watch £35

Click here for direct link to silk tie

Celebrate your winnings in style and wear an ivory Planter Panama Hat with champagne coloured band. Price £49 The Planter has a round flat crown and wide brim providing great protection from the midday sun. For an extra £5 you can change the band for a more colourful stripe.

http://www.panamahats.co.uk/planters/

If you are not convinced that creases equals style, then choose the linen blends which have less of a tendency to wrinkle. The miracle of the M&S Collezione Linen Miracle suit is that it doesn’t crease but still looks and feels  like natural linen.

Click here for direct link to linen blend suit
  The fabric is a blend of 55% linen and 45% polyester with the innovative yarn enabling the linen to completely surround the polyester.

Here we have the 2 button jacket (£99) and flat front trousers (£49.50) in soft white but there are also another seven shades to choose from ranging from black to pale blue. Worn here with a blue check shirt, but remember you need to add a tie or cravat for Goodwood.

www.marksandspencer.com

 

A popular sight at the racecourse is the Panama with the hat band in Goodwood racing colours of red and yellow. The Goodwood Panama Trilby Sussex is £40
 http://shop.goodwood.com/products/panama-trilby-sussex

If you are worried about the pale colours getting dirty quickly, then Jaeger’s speckled ivory linen blend suit is the answer. The speckles will camouflage any marks and make them less noticeable.

Fabric:  64% silk and 36% linen.  Price of the 2 button blazer was £300 but now on sale at £149. The matching speckled flat front trousers were £160 and now £100.

Click here for direct link to linen jacket

To show the versatility of the linen suit, the image shows the blazer worn with a pair of light blue Islington cotton chinos (were £99 now £49). Also worn with a long sleeve stripe cotton shirt in pale blue and white (was £75 now £40) and silk pocket square (was £25 now £15). Again don’t forget to add a tie or cravat.

www.jaeger.co.uk