A Sartorial Guide to
Shooting
Foreword The Day From Pierre Lagrange Hunting, Shooting, and Stalking are wonderful occasions to wear clothes that are elegant and functional. There is nothing worse than garments that let you down when spending hours outdoors in conditions which are often extreme. When selecting your garments, form and function go hand in hand, as one will look perfectly elegant when at ease and sheltered from the elements. The choice of materials needs to adapt to all weather conditions, taking into account the likelihood of large variations. One will move around, then be still, so will be at times hot, then cold, protected or exposed, then briefly removing some layers for lunches in either chic cool dining rooms, or heated lunch huts. A good cut is essential, to allow freedom of movements at arms and shoulder level, as well as knee. However, there is no reason for this to look baggy, there are tricks used by our revered cutters and various garments adapted to accommodate. The hunting jacket for instance, the original one button jacket, was created so to provide an elegant silhouette for those aristocratic riders sweating it out a breakneck pace, yet, in true style of our first royal patron HRH Queen Victoria for whom we made all riding outfits, one had to look elegant in any situation. Finally inspire yourself by the surrounding landscape, taking inspiration from the thousands of hues of colours, allowing you and your cutter to be creative, for that outfit that will be uniquely yours, and generations to come
Wishing you a good hunting season, Waidmansheil
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The Day Packing your bag 4. Tweeds 5. Trousers 6. Plus Fours 7. Ties 8. Shirts 9. Jackets 10. Ladies Shooting Getting Dressed 12. Elevenses 13. At The Peg 14. Lunch At The Lodge 15. In The Evening Shooting Accessories 18. Gun Slips 19. Cartridge Bags 20. Caps 21. Socks 22. Knitwear
Packing Your Bag On should always strive to be quite conservative with the colors they choose to wear when shooting. With a few eccentric exceptions, preferably in colours and hues found in the surrounding landscape. Starting from the feet up, with footwear, leather lace up boots will always keep you right and wellies only if it’s wet.
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Tweeds
The Day
A matching tweed jacket and cap will always look smart, keep to the muted greens and blues while having fun with accessories such as your ties and shirt. Our Huntsman Stag Head tie would be a perfect choice to bring a note of flair to your tweed.
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Trousers
Trousers can provide a certain elegance to a shooting ensemble, perfect in a tweed or brushed cotton variety. For a more contemporary look, Huntsman suggest opting for a moleskin or corduroy trouser, perfect for keeping your legs warm during the chillier months. 5
Plus Fours
Perfectly suited for outings in long grass or thicket, Plus Fours are traditionally worn for shooting and stalking, providing increased movement and a timeless sophistication. Huntsman recommend pairing with a matching waistcoat for chic yet practical shooting attire. 6
Ties
Remembering you may be outdoors for up to 10 hours, one of our handcrafted cashmere ties are the perfect protection against the cold. While some may see this as quote a formal accessory, Huntsman suggest this to prevent a sore throat, keeping you the life and soul of the evening's activities. 7
Shirts
Choose your shirt wisely… There’s no greater faux pas than turning up with the wrong style shirt. Plain and brilliant white should always be avoided. As with your tweed, your shirt should act as camouflage, not draw attention. Country checks, plaids or mini motifs are a elegant way to complete your look. 8
Jackets
The right tweed jacket is essential when dressing for a shoot. Matching trousers, cap or plus fours elevate the look . The reason we recommend tweed is it is waterproof - when water comes into contact with the fibres, they expand and then block the water. Tweed keeps you warm, stylish, and dry all in one go!
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Ladies Shooting Suit
Whether joining the party for lunch, or participating in the whole day, a ladies three piece shooting suit is an exceptionally chic way to shoot. With the versatility of a vest, play with androgyny and pair with a wool or silk tie.
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Getting Dressed When dressing for a shoot, Huntsman recommend keeping your colour palettes in the green and charcoal families, with a splash of beige or pale blue. Colours that fit in with the countryside are always a must, whilst they are also much more chic and fashionable for those winter shoots.
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Elevenses
You start at breakfast, then you go to the fields and typically some part of the party joins for what's called “elevenses”, which is a big sort of drink and nibbles. This is a great opportunity for those not on the shoot to show off their outdoor sartorial style with a beautiful tweed or houndstooth jacket. 12
At The Peg
For women, whether you’re at the peg shooting, or as a spectator, we recommend a really nice waistcoat, paired a very soft cotton shirt particularly for grouse shooting in August. Having a raincoat is necessary, but a nice cape is really, really cool - particularly during pheasant shooting season a cashmere cape with a fur trimmed collar is a winning look. 13
Lunch At The Lodge
Style and elegance are paramount when considering ones lunch attire. A tweed or houndstooth jacket can never steer you wrong (with a fur trim for the ladies). Huntsman recommends keeping slippers in your shooting bag, to change into from any mud soaked footwear for lunch. Pair these with a chocolate brown, dark green or tweed trouser to maintain a casual elegance. 14
In The Day Evening The
In The Evening
One of the most common questions around a shooting weekend is evening attire - black tie or not? No matter how the invitation is interpreted, both men and women will always be safe with a beautiful velvet smoking jacket, and a pair of non-matching trousers or sleek skirt. You may upstage the host but there’s no harm in that!
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In The Evening
Make sure you have something appropriate to slip into when you’re retiring the tweeds for the day. From cashmere slippers to velvet smoking jackets, dinner-suits and capes, have something sophisticated waiting for you when you get back to your residence. Dark tartans, or velvets never go amiss when dressing for dinner.
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Shooting Accessories To ensure you stay warm during the shoot, cashmere provides warmth and practicality whether in the form of a jacket, lined cape or jumper. Pair this with a windbreaker or gabardine trench coat in a dark green hue during the colder months. For the summer months, a soft cotton shirt is a wardrobe essential particularly for grouse shooting in August.
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Gun Slips
You’ll never mistake your gun sleeve for another’s in the gun bus with gun covers in a personal tweed, these Huntsman exclusive slips in bespoke tweed feature a Havana Bridle leather trim, natural wool lining and adjustable shoulder strap.
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Cartridge Bags
Whilst personal preference, a cartridge bag in complementing tweed is an elegant alternative to a cartridge belt, and stops your shooting suit feeling too bulky- You want something functional, but also stylish which ensures you don’t get mistaken for a loader!
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Caps
Functionality is always encouraged during a shoot, matching your cap with a tweed jacket is a must, and as Huntsman tweed caps are crafted from waterproof fibres they provide protection from the elements to keep your head dry during the rainier months. 20
Socks
At Huntsman we say the less bright the shooting sock, the better. A pair of Huntsman cabled cashmere socks provide the simple elegance essential for any shooting outfit. Pait these with a brown leather lace up ankle boot for a contemporary pop. Be sure the socks fit into your slippers for elevenses! 21
Knitwear
Keeping Warm
The Day
Layers are essential for maintaining a comfortable temperature throughout the day as you can expect to be walking from the car to the field quite a lot.. In this way, the five piece look is very popular with a nice waistcoat paired with a chunky knitwear underneath that can transition as the day goes on. 22
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