How to dress like the royals on a countryside yomp
January is a time for fresh starts and fresh air – if you’re off to frolic in the countryside, here’s how to look the part
The festive excess is over – now is the time when countryside yomps come into play. They’re free, they’re much needed after December indulgence, and rural Britain never looks more beautiful than when dusted with frost on a crisp, clear morning.
Of course, real country men and women will scoff at suggestions for how to dress in such surroundings. There are codes – as deeply embedded as ancient roots – that are second nature. (Think battered old Barbours in the back of the car and wellies that are more at home beside cowpats than the Cowshed products at Babington House.)
Plus, they’ve had to put up with their fair share of arrivistes in recent years, as the Cotswolds has been embraced as an extension of Notting Hill, all Hunter wellies and collecting manicured countryside #content for Instagram without getting your hands dirty.
There’s a scene in season four of The Crown where Margaret Thatcher spectacularly fails ‘the Balmoral Test’, donning a bright-blue ensemble to go stalking, much frowned upon by the Queen. So the rest of us should take as our starting point the kind of attire the royals tend to favour when among the heather: natural tones that don’t jar with the environment, proper outerwear that does the job without looking showy, good shoes and solid knitwear.
There are some excellent countryside legends to take tips from: the late Queen Elizabeth II of course, but also Prince Philip in handsome knits and soft-collar shirts. At the more casual end of the scale, there’s Paul McCartney in his Mull of Kintyre era, which has become something of a reference point among designers today. Make sure accessories don’t veer into pastiche: flat caps can look a little bit ‘ITV Sunday drama’.
For extra style kudos, allow your outerwear to weather and take on a rich patina, and mark yourself out as an old hand rather than a try-hard townie.
Try these...
Clockwise from top left: Windproof fleece jacket, £49.90, Uniqlo; wool gloves, £40, Rove; quick drying trousers, £120, Patagonia; padded raincoat, £335, Stutterheim; hiking boots, £135, Barbour at John Lewis
Clockwise from top left: Lambswool jumper, £265, Navygrey; alpaca blend scarf, £125, Holzweiler; quilted coat, £185, Ilse Jacobsen; beanie, £28, Damson Madder; rubber boots, £120, Tretorn