Dress codes & occasions
What to wear to a shoot
Tweed, a shirt and tie, and a tie that tucks in. The shooting field keeps its traditions, and most of them happen to be practical.
The tie is traditional
On a driven day, guns traditionally wear a shirt and tie under a tweed jacket or shooting coat. It is a courtesy to the host and the keeper, and on a cold morning a tie keeps the collar closed against the wind.
Walked-up and rough shooting days are more relaxed, and some hosts say so. If the invitation says nothing, wear the tie. It is easier to take one off at lunch than to wish you had brought it.
Hosts notice. A guest in a shirt and tie looks as though he has taken the day seriously, which is the best compliment a guest can pay.
Tweed, colour and layers
Shooting clothes are coloured to sit quietly in the landscape: greens, browns, russets and muted checks. A tweed jacket or shooting suit, a check or tattersall shirt, a thin wool layer, and a waterproof coat over the top when the weather turns.
Tweed is the classic for good reason: it is warm, it shrugs off a light shower and it hides mud. A well-worn shooting jacket says more for a man than a new one.
Dress in layers. The first drive is cold, the walk between drives is warm, and lunch is indoors by a fire. A waistcoat or a thin jumper lets you adjust without undressing in front of the line.
Below the waist: breeks or tweed trousers, long wool socks with garters, and boots. A scarf in wool, or wool and silk, for the morning and the drive home.
Wool and silk country ties
A shooting tie has two jobs: to look right with tweed and to stay put. A wool tie in moss green or rust has a dry, matt texture that sits naturally on a check shirt. A knitted tie is square-ended and lies flat under a jumper.
Silk country ties bring the field with them: pheasants, partridge, grouse, woodcock and ducks, Labradors and shotgun cartridges. Try flying pheasants on wine, grouse and partridge on wine or gun cartridges on navy.
Choose darker grounds for the field — wine, green, navy, gold. They sit well against checks and forgive a splash; save the pale silks for town.
Keep the knot small — a four-in-hand — and tuck the blade into the shirt front, or let a waistcoat hold it. A tie that tucks in doesn’t blow over your shoulder or catch on anything.
Shooting ties
Keep a spare tie in the car. Field days are wet, and the tie you wear to lunch should be a dry one.
Braces with breeks
Breeks and tweed trousers are cut high in the waist and are meant to be worn with braces. Braces hold them at the right height through a day of walking, stiles and ditches, and leave the waist free of a belt. Wear them over the shirt and under the jumper or waistcoat, where they can be adjusted without taking anything off.
Many breeks have brace buttons; use leather button-end braces on those, and clip-on braces on trousers without. Erwin & Morris braces are made in the UK, and many are “2 in 1”, with gilt clips or leather ends. A country design — pheasants, Labradors, tractors — is a private joke under the jacket. See how to wear braces.
The shoot lunch
At lunch, in the shoot room or the house, coats come off and the shirt and tie are on show. If your shirt has double cuffs, this is where country cufflinks come in — shotgun cartridges or flying pheasants. A tie bar with a pheasant on it keeps the tie in place through the soup and the walk back out.
With the coats off, the braces show too — another reason to choose them with care. Some shoots dine in the evening as well. A tweed jacket and a country silk tie are usually enough; if the host says black tie, pack a dinner suit and a black bow tie.
All country cufflinks —A short checklist
- A tweed jacket or shooting coat, and a waterproof.
- A check shirt and a wool or country silk tie.
- Breeks or tweed trousers, with braces.
- Wool socks, garters and boots.
- A thin layer you can take off between drives.
- A scarf for the morning and the drive home.
- Cufflinks or a tie bar for lunch.
Questions
Anything else? Call us on +44 (0)20 3232 5900
Do you wear a tie to a shoot?
On a driven day, yes — a shirt and tie under tweed is still the custom. Walked-up and informal days are more relaxed, so follow your host.
What tie goes with tweed?
Wool, knitted or a silk tie with a country design, in greens, rusts, golds and wines. Avoid shiny silk and pale city colours.
Should you wear braces or a belt with shooting breeks?
Braces. Breeks are cut high in the waist to hang from the shoulders, and braces keep them at the right height all day.
What colours should you wear on a shoot?
Muted greens, browns and russets that sit quietly in the landscape. Save brighter colour for the tie, and keep even that earthy.
Related
5 min readCountry ties explainedGame birds, Labradors, horses, fishing flies and shotgun cartridges — what makes a country tie, and how to wear one with tweed, at a shoot, at the races and in town.
5 min readGifts for the countrymanHe would rather be outside. Give him something that says so — the bird he shoots, the dog at his feet, the course he never misses.
5 min readHow to wear bracesBraces hang trousers from the shoulders, so they fall straight and stay put. Choose the fastening, set the length, and leave the belt in the drawer.