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

Panama hat - the hat to be seen in at Glorious Goodwood races

Whether you opt for the traditional linen suit or just a smart jacket and tie, the hat to be seen in at Goodwood races is the Panama hat.

Charles Tyrwhitt

Charles Tyrwhitt natural colour Panama hat. Was £90 now £34.95. Woven in Ecuador, leather inner band, traditional black ribbon. www.ctshirts.co.uk

Surprisingly the Panama hat doesn’t originate from Panama but Ecuador. Many factors endorsed the name: Panama was  the international point were goods  from South America would be taken before being shipped to Europe and the USA; workers on the Panama Canal wore them for shade and  when visiting the Panama Canal construction President Roosevelt was seen wearing one. But probably the main reason was when the hats were sold in the Paris World Fair in 1855 by a Frenchman living in Panama. Ecuador was not mentioned as a participating country, so the hat became known as Panamas.

Trilby Sussex

At Goodwood, a popular sight is the Panama with the hat band in Goodwood racing colours of red and yellow. These can be purchased from www.goodwood.com  and the price ranges from £40 for the Trilby Sussex ...

Panama Richmond

...... to £250 for the Panama Richmond   

For different colours check out Pachacuti on www.panamas.co.uk  . They import directly from Ecuador cutting out the middle man and are a Fair Trade hat specialist.   

Pachacuti's Fedora Llano  with peacock blue band

This classic, fedora style panama hat can be rolled for travelling. The llano weave is a flexible, durable, herringbone weave and it takes over a week to weave each hat.

The quality of grade 8 llano weave panama hats is very fine. Price £99.50
Image showing peacock blue band. Other colours available are mink, gold and black.

Pachacuti's Fedora Brisa

Another classic fedora style. This time in standard grade weave and trimmed with a red multi-coloured hat band. This is not a rollable hat.  Price £49.90

Pachacuti's Fedora Llano

The Luxury Teal Silk Band is bespoke made for Pachacuti in Devon by the UK's last remaining silk band specialist mill. Also available in sage green. Price £139.00
Grade 8 weave and rollable.

Linen Suits for Glorious Goodwood races.

Alas Royal Ascot is over for another year, but hard on its heels is Glorious Goodwood, providing everyone with another reason to don their glad rags. Dates are 26th - 30th July.

With Ascot, it was all about being ‘dapper’ in your formal morning attire, now it’s the turn of the quintessential summer English gentleman look in a light linen suit and Panama hat.

Unlike the morning suit in Ascot’s Royal Enclosure, the wearing of linen suit is not obligatory to enter in to Goodwood’s Richmond Enclosure. But it is a tradition that caught on ever since the trend setter King Edward VII wore one (and a Panama hat) in 1906. 

M&S Collezione linen blend suit

Linen suits will give you a casual chic look when dressed down with t-shirts, polo shirts, light wool sweaters and open necked shirts. But for Goodwood the dress code for the Richmond Enclosure is a jacket worn with a tie, cravat or polo neck sweater, so you need to wear a shirt and tie with your linen suit.

M&S Collezione collection have a range of pure linen and linen blend suits. The beauty of linen blend is the suit has the appearance of linen but doesn’t crease as easily.

The above image we have M&S Collezione linen blend blazer (£99) and trousers (£49.50) in an almond shade and worn with their Blue Harbour white t-shirt £6. But for Goodwood replace the t shirt with a shirt and tie.

Details of suit: Jacket -2 button fastening, notch lapel, 5 button cuff, front flap pockets. 50% linen, 28% silk and 22% cotton. Trousers- straight leg, on the waist, single pleat, rear pockets with button detail. www.marksandspencer.com

Goodwood's Horse Gallop ties

 

Get really in to the horse racing mood with one of Goodwood’s Horse Gallops tie at £70.  They are pure silk tie with detailed weave of a racing horse at £70. Colour choices are gold, navy, lime,lavender and pink.

www.goodwood.com 

The wearing of light coloured linen suits became popular in the Victorian era when gentlemen travelled abroad and wanted to look well dressed and elegant whilst keeping cool in the sweltering heat.  Linen was ideal as this natural fabric is loosely woven allowing air to circulate freely and the skin to keep cool.  Plus it suits a looser fit style which is more comfortable in hot sticky climates than the more tailored suits and is great for most body shapes.

Karl Jackson at Debenhams

 

The stone colour of Debenham’s Karl Jackson linen 2 button suit £130 is a light shade which won’t show the dirt as much as the creams and whites, plus will look great paired with shirts in most hues.  You could opt for the crisper clean look of a white shirt; an elegant tonal look with creams, ivory and beiges; a cool chic look with pastels or the statement look with bold brights.

Details of suit: Single breasted, notch lapel, 3 button cuff. Left and right straight pockets plus breast pocket, side vents, 100% linen, lining polyester.  www.debenhams.com

If you opt for the white, cream or beige shirt, add a touch of colour with your tie.

The more popular colours for linen suits at Goodwood are the neutral creams, beiges and taupes.

Stvdio Jeffe banks at Debenhams

So stand out from the crowd in your Stvdio Jeff Banks light blue linen suit (£135) from Debenhams. www.debenhams.com .

Pachacuti's Fedora Llano weave Panama hat

Team with Pachacuti’s Fedora Llano weave grade 8 and its luxury teal silk band £139.  The Llano weave is a flexible durable herringbone weave and the teal silk band is made in Devon by UK’s last remaining silk band specialist mill. www.panamas.co.uk

Charles Tyrwhitt Liberty tie

Wear the suit with a white or cream shirt and either a floral or paisley patterned tie to complement the embossed pattern on the silk band of the hat. Charles Tyrwhitt blue and green cotton Liberty ditsy floral handmade tie says ‘English summer’.  100% cotton in a genuine Liberty design fabric. Was £70 now £19.95 www.ctshirts.co.uk

House of Fraser

This Paul Smith cream double breasted linen jacket £550, worn with Kenzo cream linen trousers £170, may not be an actual linen suit, but still looks the part of the English gent.  Unfortunately the Kenzo cream granddad collar t-shirt (£79) won’t pass the dress code for the Richmond Enclosure so go more dapper with a white shirt and coloured flamboyant cravat. The double breasted blazer and cravat are a winning combination.  www.houseoffraser.co.uk 

And don't forget to team with your Panama Hat - see tomorrow's article for more details