Margaret Howell Flap Pocket Blazer

Glencheck, sometimes called Glen Urquhart check and sometimes Prince of Wales, is a woven pattern rather than a printed one: a small check of alternating light and dark yarns set inside a larger check, so the design exists in the structure of the cloth and cannot fade off it. It was made for Scottish estates, adopted by tailors, and has been a byword for understatement ever since, which is why it is one of the few patterns that can be worn to almost anything. In black and khaki it reads grey from a distance and resolves into a check up close, which is most of the pleasure of it. The blazer around it is cut relaxed rather than fitted, with a two-button front and flap pockets, so the cloth’s formality is worked against by the shape. That tension is the garment. A tight Glencheck jacket is a costume; a loose one is something a person owns for twenty years.

Why we selected it

A patterned jacket has to be good enough to survive being noticed, because it will be. This one is woven rather than printed, which is the difference between a pattern that ages and a pattern that wears off.

Traditional British cloth cut with the formality taken out of the shape is the center of Margaret Howell’s work, and this jacket is a plain statement of it.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent wool in a Glencheck, made in Italy. Relaxed fit, two-button front, flap pockets. Colors: Black and Khaki.

Fit notes

Relaxed through the body and the shoulder, so it layers over a knit without pulling at the button. Numeric sizing. Woven check wool holds a crease less than a plain worsted and hangs out overnight.

Styling

The obvious move is to wear it against a plain black, which lets the check do the work: the Bib Front Shirt, or the Seamless Crew. The less obvious one is against another texture rather than a plain, the linen trousers or the cashmere-cotton crew, where two surfaces argue and neither wins.

Care

Brush and hang rather than clean, and let it rest a day between wearings. A check cloth shows a shine sooner than a plain one, and shine comes from pressing and friction rather than from dirt. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The MHL by Margaret Howell Flap Pocket Blazer carries the same name and differs in cloth, origin, and sizing: a wool and cotton cloth made in Portugal and sized by letter, where this one is a worsted check made in Italy and sized by number. The Raglan Blazer runs the sleeve from underarm to collar with no shoulder seam, and the Relaxed Blazer is linen. Everything we carry from Margaret Howell is listed together.