Tweed With A Twist

Back to the future

For the uninitiated, Maude & Fox produces tweed garments with a twist – but doing away with unflattering, bulky outlines and same old styles, Sue explains, doesn’t mean the clothes aren’t practical. “Part of what we do is dispel the myth that practical clothes for shooting and the outdoors have to be of a certain cut, a certain design, which is what makes us different. When we started Maude & Fox in 2012, our aim was to produce clothes that kept you warm but were stylish, too.” While the designs were a breath of fresh air to countryside clothing, there were some elements that were sacrosanct to Sue: “While we wanted a new look, we wanted to remain true to the Britishness of clothing made for the outdoors, to keep that heritage. That’s why we chose tweed, which is the ultimate outer layer. We source it from mills in Yorkshire and Scotland, and everything is made in the UK.” 

Sue says that one of the secrets behind the success is the personal approach: “We really do talk to people visiting our stands at shows, and find out what they want. The great thing is that many of our customers respond to that and we often get photos of them wearing their Maude & Fox clothes.” While many of Maude & Fox’s clothing is both popular and practical for the countryside, not all of it is specialised shooting clothing, there are several pieces that are particularly suited to the field. Sue chose six of her favourites. 

The Brace Shooting Jacket, £480
For those who don’t quite dare to go the whole hog, there’s The Brace. It’s both functional and comfortable, made from Teflon-coated tweed and has a few clever details that give it that twist of individuality: the underside of the bellow pocket flap is lined with Maude & Fox’s quirky patriot tweed. 

The Pull Gentlemen’s Skeet Vest, £350
This tweed and canvas skeet vest takes shooting wear to a completely new level. It is both playful and practical, with a canvas back, tweed and suede panels to the front and touches of embroidery. 

The Game Bird Sport Gilet, £165
This lightweight tweed isn’t just practical, it has a fantastically flattering outline, kicked down a bit at the back with dark blue fleece lining and trimmed with dark-brown suede. Perfect with the Game Bird Striped Skirt (also shown) or just with a white shirt and jeans. 

The Gamekeeper, £310
While a hoodie might sound a touch casual, the smart tweed on the Gamekeeper makes this a tremendously popular choice on the shooting field, especially thanks to the new Teflon coating on the tweed, rendering it water resistant. 

The Patriot Gilet, £310
First designed during the 2012 London Olympics, this bold design has remained popular. Made with Scottish tweed in charcoal grey with a blue overcheck on the front, the back has a great red jack. Three layers of fleece, a two-way zip and cut down at the back and up at the neck, this will keep you really warm. Available for men and women. 

The Nosy Tweed Parka, £480
There’s nothing worse than getting cold on a shoot day, but that won’t happen if you are wearing the Nosy Tweed Parka. Fully fleece lined, with a chic fur trim on the hood, this has detailing in Maude & Fox’s distinctive patriot tweed.  

To see all of these and more Maude & Fox products, visit the website.