Tweed

If I’m being perfectly honest, and I always am with you, tweed has rarely entered my consciousness when making significant style decisions. Or to be more precise, it has, on occasion, wormed its way into my psyche, only to be violently expelled with the imaginary fly swatter I often use to dismiss particularly unpleasant thoughts. There is just something about the fabric that makes me feel as if I should be sitting in a study, with a bookcase in the background, wearing glasses and smoking a pipe while enjoying Masterpiece Theater. To be fair, however, while perusing Rag & Bone’s Fall 2010 RTW collection online, I was surprisingly intrigued. There is something mischievous about the typically edgy brand’s overpowering use of the material. Instead of reminding me of a cranky old Englishman, the vibe I was getting, probably as a result of the cape and knee socks, was more vampy English schoolgirl—a look I would be more than happy to don. I may therefore begrudgingly revise my opinion of tweed in order to include the fabric in my fall wardrobe.

By Jessica Best