Harris Wharf London Jogging Trousers Vitale Barberis Canonico Houndstooth

Vitale Barberis Canonico has been weaving in Biella since 1663, and what it is known for is suiting: worsted wool, woven fine and finished dry, made to be cut into jackets and trousers that hold a line. Putting that cloth into a trouser with a drawstring is the whole point of this garment. A houndstooth is a small, sharp, high-contrast broken check, and it carries formal associations that no elastic waistband can quite talk it out of, which means the trouser ends up in a register that neither a suit trouser nor a sweatpant occupies. The zip is the detail that keeps it from tipping too far: a tie alone would read as a soft trouser, and a zip alongside it says the trouser has a proper fly and a proper front. Unlined, so it is one layer of wool and nothing else.

We wanted one trouser that could be worn to something and still be worn on the drive home. Good suiting cloth in a soft trouser is a much better answer to that than soft cloth in a suit trouser.

One hundred percent virgin wool from Vitale Barberis Canonico, houndstooth, made in Italy. Unlined, with both a zip and a tie closure. Color: Navy.

The tie closure means the waist adjusts to you, so read the fit through the seat and the leg. Worsted wool has less give than a knit, so this is a trouser with a shape rather than one that drapes onto you. Unlined worsted next to the skin is fine for most people and slightly dry for some.

The houndstooth is doing enough, so keep the top plain: a navy or charcoal knit, or a white shirt. It will take a tailored jacket over it and look deliberate rather than mismatched, provided the jacket is solid. Any shoe with structure, and nothing athletic, which would resolve the tension that makes the trouser interesting.

Dry clean. Worsted wool in a small check shows a bad press badly, so use a cloth and a low temperature if you press it at all. Our general guidance on wool covers the rest.

The 2b. Blazer in Vitale Barberis Canonico houndstooth is the same houndstooth cut as a two-button jacket. The Flared Trousers are virgin wool on an elastic waist, and the Men Pleated Trousers are superfine merino woven in Japan. There is more on the house on the Harris Wharf London designer page. Everything we carry from Harris Wharf London is listed together.