Tweed Explained: Harris, Donegal and How to Wear a Tweed Jacket

Tweed is the fabric of the country jacket: rough, warm, flecked with color and tough enough to last for decades. It grew up as a practical fabric in Scotland and Ireland, for people who worked outdoors in cold, wet weather, and it became the classic jacket for shooting, walking and weekends. Today a tweed jacket is one of the most versatile pieces in a cold-weather wardrobe. The main types, from Harris to Donegal, each have a character worth knowing before you buy.

What is tweed?

Tweed is a woolen fabric, which means it is woven from carded yarn in which the fibers lie in every direction. The wool is often dyed as loose fiber and blended in several colors before spinning, so a single yarn can hold many shades. That is what gives tweed its heathered, flecked look. Woven in twills, herringbones and checks, the fabric is springy, warm and very hard-wearing, and the coarser wools many tweeds use give it its rough, slightly hairy feel.

The name is usually traced to a happy mistake. Tweel is the Scots word for twill, and the story goes that a London merchant in the early 19th century misread an order for tweels as tweed, after the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, and the name stuck. Historians treat the tale with some caution, but the name has never changed.

What makes Harris Tweed genuine?

Harris Tweed is the only tweed with its own Act of Parliament. Under the Harris Tweed Act 1993, Harris Tweed is tweed that has been handwoven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides. The wool itself does not have to come from island sheep, but it must be dyed and spun on the islands.

The Harris Tweed Authority, based in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, polices the rules. Its inspectors check the fabric and stamp the Orb mark onto it, and buyers receive woven Orb labels to sew into finished garments. The Orb has served as the industry's certification mark since the early 20th century.

Harris Tweed is a mid to heavy tweed. Plain Harris Tweed fabrics are commonly sold at about 470 to 500 g per meter (about 15 to 16 oz), and the open twill weave gives a rough, lofty surface. Production peaked in 1966 at 7.6 million yards, and the fabric is still woven across the islands today.

What is Donegal tweed?

Donegal tweed comes from County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. Its signature is the fleck: small knots of brightly colored yarn, often called neps, scattered through the fabric at irregular intervals. The classic Donegal is a plain weave with a warp and weft in different colors, which gives a fine, heathered ground for the flecks, though herringbones and checks are woven too.

Donegal tweed was originally all handwoven. Since the 1950s and 1960s, most of it has been woven on mechanized looms. The best-known maker, Magee, was founded in 1866. The word donegal is also used loosely for any flecked tweed, wherever it is made, so ask where a fabric comes from if origin matters to you.

What are the main types of tweed?

Estate tweeds and checks

In the 19th century, Scottish estates began to commission their own tweeds to dress gamekeepers and staff, often in colors chosen to blend with the hills. Glenfeshie is often cited as the first. Several famous patterns grew from this tradition, including the Glen Urquhart check, better known as the glen check, which later evolved into the Prince of Wales check. The gun club check, a shepherd's check worked in two or more colors, has similar roots.

What weight of tweed should you choose?

Tweed comes in a wider range of weights than almost any other jacket fabric. For a jacket you will wear in town and indoors, about 300 to 400 g (10 to 13 oz) is the most versatile. Classic Harris Tweed, at about 470 to 500 g (15 to 16 oz), is warmer and stiffer and suits colder climates and outdoor wear. The heaviest gamekeeper tweeds, about 700 g (22 oz) and above, are made for long days outside in harsh weather and can be too warm indoors.

How do you wear a tweed jacket?

Tweed is a casual fabric with country roots, so a tweed jacket sits naturally in smart casual dress. It pairs best with trousers that have texture of their own and with earthy colors. The old British rule of no brown in town once kept tweed out of city offices. That rule has largely faded, and a tweed jacket now works in relaxed offices, at weekends and for dinner out.

• Trousers: gray flannel is the classic partner; cords, moleskin, chinos and dark jeans all work.
• Shirts: oxford, twill, tattersall checks and flannel shirts, in blues, creams and soft checks rather than crisp white poplin.
• Ties: wool, cashmere, knitted silk or matte printed silk. Glossy satin ties look out of place.
• Knitwear: a crew-neck or roll-neck under the jacket in place of a shirt and tie.
• Shoes: brown brogues, derbies, suede chukkas or country boots; see shoes with a suit.

Can you wear a tweed suit in the city?

A full tweed suit is country clothing at heart: traditional for shooting, the races and country weekends. In town it reads as a deliberate style choice, which can look excellent in a relaxed setting but is out of place in a formal office. If you want tweed for town, choose a finer, flatter tweed such as a Saxony or a light Cheviot, in a quiet herringbone or a small check, and wear the jacket and trousers separately as often as together.

How should a tweed jacket be made?

• Country details, if you want them: patch or flap pockets, slanted hacking pockets, a ticket pocket and a center vent are all traditional on tweed.
• The right lining: a full lining makes a heavy tweed easier to slip on over knitwear; a half lining suits lighter tweeds.
• Leather or horn buttons: both are traditional on tweed, and they suit its texture better than shiny metal.
• Room to layer: if you plan to wear a sweater underneath, tell your tailor so the jacket is cut with a little extra room.

How do you care for tweed?

Tweed buying checklist

A good tweed jacket gets better with age, and it will outlast most of what you wear with it. For how tweed fits among the other woolen fabrics, see worsted vs woolen wool, and for when a tweed jacket counts as a sport coat, see suit vs blazer vs sport coat.

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