A summer jacket from Dashing Tweeds: Made in the UK

I love Dashing Tweeds. Here is a brand that designs tweeds and other fabrics made in Britain. The main offering is their cloths, but they have a range of ready-to-wear and made-to-measure tailoring that provides an ideal way of accessing their fascinating collection of fabrics. 

Samson double-breasted jacket by Dashing Tweeds. Image Guy Hills

The fabrics, designed in London by Kirsty McDougall in collaboration with Guy Hills, are masterpieces of cutting-edge originality, with technical threads, clever mixes of materials and inspired patterns that allow a man to express his personality through the character of the cloth and the cut of his clothes. It's the flexibility of choice, and its very British character, that I like about Dashing Tweeds.

The jacket was made from a summer fabric (made in the Scottish borders) called Samson. Named after the largest uninhabited island of the Scilly Isles, its complex colours range from sea grey to tropical ocean blue with stabs of vibrant cobalt. The colours are also inspired by the archipelago's minerals; granite containing quartz and tourmaline and feldspar-rich sands. Across this pallet flows a slub tussah silk thread, giving a check that echoes the bright creamy sands of Scilly. The white mother of pearl buttons add to the maritime feel. 

You have to see this fabric in the flesh to appreciate how beautiful and rich in colour it is. It's an equal mix of linen and merino wool (1% silk in the check) with a weight of 185 g/sq metre, giving a soft, cool and very comfortable coat that is fun and relaxing to wear. 

Ready-to-wear, these jackets cost £610. For a little more money (£650) you can obtain even greater flexibility of choice by going made-to-measure, allowing you to select cut, style and fabrics (e.g. single or double-breasted, choice over pockets, lining, lapels etc.) I wanted a cut and shape that mixes the best of Italian style (a light summer cloth and a soft shape around chest and shoulders) and British tailoring (double-breasted, long-ish in the body and waisted) and that is what I got. Jacket from Dashing Tweeds.

Also worn:

Shirt & pocket square - Thomas Pink

Washed cotton chinos in dusk - from Spoke's summer range

Socks - Pantherella Egyptian cotton

Shoes - Loake

Bag - Tusting

Images by Guy Hill, shot in Berkeley Square, London.

This jacket was donated by Dashing Tweeds for use in their Twelve Men Project.