Nicholas Daley 70’s Trouser- Purple Mohair

Mohair comes from the angora goat rather than from the sheep, and it behaves unlike wool in three ways that all matter here. It has lustre, so it reflects light instead of absorbing it. It has a dry, smooth handle rather than a faintly greasy one. And it takes dye with unusual clarity, which is why a purple in mohair arrives as an actual colour rather than as a muddied approximation of one. Woven into a check, that lustre means the pattern shifts as the light and the leg move. The trouser is never quite the same twice.

Scotland is where Daley has his mohair made, which places this pair in the Scottish half of his inheritance rather than the Caribbean half. The contrast panel is waxed cotton ripstop, ripstop being a weave with a reinforcing grid of heavier yarns laid in at intervals so a tear cannot run. Lustrous goat hair against a technical grid weave is about as far apart as two cloths can be, and the seventies cut underneath, high on the waist and full through the thigh, is what stops the pairing from reading as a stunt.

Why we selected it

We bought this for cold weather and for the mohair, which is a fibre very few people are cutting trousers from and the reason the purple looks the way it does. The waxed ripstop panel was the second reason.

The 70’s Trouser is one of the styles Nicholas Daley returns to across collections, remade each time in whatever cloth the season is built around.

Fit notes

High on the waist and full through the thigh, running clean to the hem. Mohair has more spring than linen, so this pair holds its line through a day rather than relaxing into one. It is a cooler-weather trouser and will feel like one. Take your usual waist.

Styling

Purple check is a decision, so let it be the decision. Plain black or ecru on top, and nothing else patterned. It is very good with the Waffle Rollneck in chocolate and with the Crew Neck Waffle in black. Boots, in this case, rather than a soft shoe.

Care

Mohair wants brushing far more than it wants cleaning: hang it, brush it down after wearing, and air it between outings. The waxed ripstop panel must not be machine washed, tumble dried, or dry cleaned, so sponge marks off it with cold water and warn the cleaner about the wax before you hand the trousers over. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The 70s Trouser in navy Irish linen is the summer half of the same pair. The Railroad Parka is the Scottish mohair cut as outerwear, and the Waffle Roll Neck in chocolate is the knit that goes under both. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.