As autumn leaves scatter becoming but a distant and charming memory of our erratic British weather, and Mr Claus threatens a dawn raid on all of our chimneys, my attentions often turn to the world of tweed. At once rough and unfinished, yet charmingly homespun and familiar, there’s nothing to compete with the delicate touch of a faithful hacking jacket or forgotten cap. Much like the impending recession, plus some of the most tremendously awful television is broadcasting history (Taggart, most specifically, but I’m throwing in Monarch of the Glenn for good measure), we have a Scot to thank for this joyous bounty. The original name was ‘Tweel’ which, if you’re really cold and have a burgeoning economy built on ‘crofting’, is Scottish for ‘Twill’.

The current name came about wholly by accident. Around 1800, a London merchant received a letter from a Hawick firm about some ‘Tweels’. He misread the missive, taking it to be a trade-name taken from the name of the river Tweed which flows through the Scottish Borders textile areas, subsequently the goods were advertised as ‘Tweed’. Whilst there’s nothing so satisfying as sound etymology, you have to hand it to our bekilted neighbours for giving us the wonder of Harris tweed, god’s finest scratchy armour in the war of style. Hand-spun, hand-dyed, hand-woven and hand-some as a well-oiled and groomed moustache. Nothing quite matches up in terms of sheer quality and brilliance.

Harris Tweed has its own ‘authority’ too, which regulates and protects, ensuring absolute integrity and guaranteeing a ‘scratchiness’ second to none. Love ‘em. It needn’t be fusty or old fashioned either. Paul Smith does a whole range of natty ‘new-tweed’ three-piece numbers that are shockingly on-trend. Ralph’s Purple Label is stacked with silk-mix treasures. Not to mention edgy Euro-ponces like Dries Van Noten who cuts achingly skinny silhouettes in lusty Harris wonder. Don’t just take my word for it – get yourself kitted out in some tweed and you’ll never look back – the only kit that’ll keep you toasty warm but frightfully cool.