BEHAVIOUR IS A GARMENT OF

THE MIND an A-Z of British Etiquette, Manners and Traditions

D.S DUNDEE

“There was a time when we were almost defi ned by the smartness of the city gent and that was a good thing. And now it just looks slothful.

So lets have a bit more smartness please.”

Hear Hear.

LUXURY DESIGN DRIVEN MENSWEAR

INSPIRED BY UK TEXTILE HISTORY AND TRADITIONAL COUNTRY STYLE

Behaviour is the garment of the mind and ought to have the conditions of a garment. For fi rst, it ought to be made in fashion; secondly, it should not be too curious or costly; thirdly, it ought to be framed as best to set forth any vir-tue of the mind and supply and hide and de-formity.

from apologising to humour, via chivalry, countryside rules, faux-pas, formal dinners

and tit-tuesday.

In Britain tea is seen as a universal panacea for all ills, and the British love nothing better than ‘putting their feet up’ and enjoying a ‘cuppa’.

The quiet gentility of the English tea ceremony is seen as a refl ection of the reserved national

character.

afternoon tea

Black tie can be used to describe formal evening dress generally, but it requires a black dinner suit with a

white dress shirt and black bow tie. Black tie is some-times referred to as ‘dinner jackets’, ‘dress for dinner’

and ‘cravate noir’ or ‘tuxedos.’It goes without saying that that proper black tie is a far more specifi c dress code than anything the aver-

age man is likely to encounter outside of the military.

black tie“When you wear black tie, think navy”

Despite their reputation for reticence and reserve, British people love to drink. Alcohol oils the wheels of British social life - from the rarefi ed glamour of Royal Ascot and the traditional British wedding to

the conviviality of a night out at the local pub or so-cialising after a day at work.

drunkenness

There may be some argument as to which is the best football league in the world in terms of quality, but

there’s no debate as to which is the most watched and most lucrative. Attracting the world’s top players and

the globe’s best managers, the Premier League has sprung from humble beginnings into a behemoth.

football

kiltThere are two rules when it comes to kilts: they

should only be worn by those with a Scottish or Gael-ic connection; and the correct attire must be worn to

suit the occasion. Traditional wearers insist that it should sit high on the

waist - beneath the bottom rib, and rest between the top and middle of the kneecap.

The introduction of titled people has become a dif-fi cult area for many, as increased informality has

blurred the old rules. People with titles do not neces-sarily use them in every situation, but make sure you

err on the side of formality, particularly when dealing with the older generation. You may need to do a little

bit of homework to make sure you get the title cor-rect.

offi cial titles

Where other nationalities mass frenziedly, the British queue. Turn up at a railway station, or a supermar-

ket, or a post offi ce and you will see an orderly queue.It all dates back to the days of rationing in the long

years during and after the World Wars of the last century, when queuing effectively meant the differ-ence between an empty plate and a plate fi lled with

the delights of powdered egg and leaden bread.

queuing

Older people have already experienced all the emo-tions and most of the trials and tribulations that

young people have and ever will experience in their lives. Old people are a mine of useful advice and they

should be respected.

respecting your elders

The British Empire was built on the deadpan, the clenched jaw, the occasional polite smile. Adversity was something to be confronted with stoicism and

sang-froid - there are numerous apocryphal tales of the phlegmatic reaction of Britons to disaster.

stiff upper lip - to face misfortune bravely and resolutely.

- to surpress displays of any emotion

The weather is a topic that is deployed nationwide as an ice-breaker. When two strangers meet, in a train or a queue for example, it is virtually de rigueur to enjoy a short conversation about the weather. The primary

function of this fascination with the weather is, of course, to break down the English person’s natural

reserve; it offers a universal, and neutral, topic, which everyone, from a small child to an elderly grandmoth-

er, enjoys discussing.

weather“Long to rain over us”

D. S. DUNDEEAUTUMN / WINTER 2011

11 WAYS TO WEARPART 1

LOOK 1

DOUBLE BREASTED JACKET IN OATMEAL, MERI-NO WOOL ROLL NECK JUMPER IN SMOKE GREY,

CORDUROY TROUSERS IN LIGHT HESSIAN

D. S. DUNDEE AUTUMN/WINTER 2012

AUTUMN/WINTER 2012

LOOK 2

DOUBLE BREASTED JACKET IN OATMEAL, WASHED CHAMBRAY BUTTON DOWN SHIRT IN PASTEL BLUE, LOW CROTCH COTTON TROUSERS IN LIN-

EN, COTTON CHECK TIE

D. S. DUNDEE

BEHAVIOUR IS A GARMENT OF

THE MIND an A-Z of British Etiquette, Manners and Traditions

PROMOTION

Step OneGet a 6ft carboard cut-out of a man.

Step TwoPlace said cutout in certain places around

the area (in this instance, queues..)

Step ThreePhotograph the cutout in these locations.

Step FourPrint out as oversized polaroids and stick up

as posters.

Step FiveEncourage customers, blog followers, et al to

do the same.

Voilà! Advertising without Advertising.