Dressing for the Christmas period – a guide for men with Alice Hare

For lounging, pair your quarter zip with Schöffel’s James Jeans (£119.95) – they have two-way stretch technology for ease of movement and all-day comfort not typical of jeans. And I can’t say I agree with my father’s mantra that ‘a gentleman never wears slippers’. He wears Crocs around the house instead – surely worse. Rae Feather’s unisex personalised sheepskin slippers (£170, raefeather.com) feel like you’re walking on clouds and are the only way I avoid the chilblains that plague the rest of my family.   

For lunch with granny, layer a shirt and tie under the quarter zip, and for the bottom half, add cords (try Schöffel’s Camden Cord Trousers, £119.95) and loafers. Spanish brand Morjas make the best men’s loafers on the market, and at extraordinarily reasonable prices for shoes of such quality – I particularly like their brown suede horsebit loafers (£340, morjas.com) for a touch of Rivals-esque equestrian flair. Very Rupert Campbell-Black.   

To complete the loafer, add a pair of Schöffel’s striped rugby socks (£19.95) – obviously. The sock is such an underrated item in a man’s wardrobe – when a man in an otherwise-perfect outfit sits down and his trouser leg rides up to reveal a below-par sock, it really is terribly disappointing. (I wish I could say I was being sarcastic).    

The need for tweed: the secret to smart casual Christmas attire   

Speaking of Rupert Campbell-Black, tweed is another staple of a gentleman’s Christmas season wardrobe – most notably, a tweed sports jacket. The tweed sports jacket is the secret to nailing that dreaded dress code that rears its ugly head even more often than usual around Christmas time – that’s right, you guessed it – ‘smart casual’.   

The reason this dress code sparks such fear in humankind is that you never know what side of it your fellow guests will err on. You don’t want to end up looking as much of a lemon as Colin Firth does when he turns up to the Christmas party in the novelty snowman jumper in Bridget Jones. A sports jacket like Schöffel’s St Andrews Tweed Sports Jacket in Corry tweed (£379.95) will help avoid such sartorial mishaps. Worn with light-wash jeans, a shirt without a tie and smart shoes (I’d opt for a single-strap monk in brown suede – heaven in footwear form), you can gauge via a visual swoop of the room upon which side of the smart/casual dichotomy most guests have fallen on arrival at your party and proceed accordingly. In other words, take it off and be perfectly casual, or keep it on and be perfectly smart. Winner winner.   

The Tattersall shirt: a Christmas staple   

There are few items of clothing as democratic, as unifying as the Tattersall shirt. You’re just as likely to spot one on a Duke as you are his gamekeeper, and for that, it has become the camouflage of the British countryside and the central component of a classic weekend uniform. Steeped in history, its name comes from Tattersalls Sales, a horse auctioneers founded in Suffolk in 1766 whose horses were paraded at sales in blankets in the same pattern we know today. And while it’s been on the scene since the 18th century, the Tattersall check is still working as hard as ever in the wardrobes of sartorially wise men in December 2024.  

Schöffel’s Burnham Tattersall Shirt (£89.95) looks just as good in the shooting field or at a party paired with a silk tie (I particularly like the new burnt orange, boxing hares colourway of Schöffel’s classic Ashford Silk Tie, £59.95) as it does with sleeves rolled (to reveal the shirt’s contrast cuffs, naturally) for lounging. Made from the robust twill cotton that’s typical of a true Tattersall (beware of imposters), Schöffel’s is cut with extra room in the body, shoulders and sleeves to allow for unrestricted movement – style and substance. 

Read Alice’s guide to Christmas outfits for women here.