On Saturday, the Financial Times featured Guy Hill’s Dashing Tweeds:
It’s a fondness for British-made, shared by the Bertie Woosterish entrepreneur Guy Hills, creator of Dashing Tweeds, a collection of vividly patterned textiles that mixes fine wool worsted with light reflective yarn patented as LumaTwill.
Appropriately, the face for Dashing Tweeds’ first ready-to-wear design, a swinging cycling cape christened “Yellow Raver” because of its glow-in-the-dark quality, is aristocratic model Iris Palmer, of the gamine Mitfordian 1930s crop and red lipstick.
In line with Blow’s approach, Hills’ Dashing Tweeds cape is sold in limited edition from Savile Row bespoke tailor Norton & Sons, while prototypes of his reflective tweed suits are cut by the great houses of the Row such as Henry Poole & Co and Davies & Son.
You can come and see the cape at our shop and experience its startling reflectivity. It has been designed by Ian Cicmanec, another star designer of mythical Pret a Rouler and retails at £485. I can think of no more dazzling Christmas present for your cycling girlfriend. And ladies, Guy can also design a bespoke cape for your husband.
Good grief. For 485 pounds, I’ll stay home nights!
Any idea what make the bike is? Looks Dutch, but I haven’t seen them in red.
I’m certain the members of the tweed cycling club will approve of the design, if not the price, which can only be interpreted as a direct challenge to Rapha, currently in the top spot of London’s most expensive/exclusive cycling gear.
My spies tell me Rapha also have a tweed cycling jacket at the prototype stage, and glimpses of it were to be seen on the London-Brighton overnight ride last month.
The bicycle is a Kronan
£485??? Bejazysus. Can one include it in a cycle to work scheme quote?
£485 is just too much now a days.