Paris, 30 May 1894

[Frederic Leighton]

La salle est remplie. Et quelle salle ! Quel "tout-Paris" ! M'me la comtesse Greffulhe , délicieusement habillée : la robe est de soie lilas rosé, semée d'orhidées, et recouverte de mousseline de soie de meme nuance, le chapeau fleurí d'orchidées et tout entouré de gaze lila ; [...] le Prince de Sagan, venu en voiture a vapeur avec le comte de Dion [...]

Below: le prince de Sagan, le comte Greffulhe, Boni de Castellane and The Fancy Trousers.

[Frederic Leighton]

Shepherd's Plaid or Shepherd Check. First came into prominence in the Scottish Lowlands where it was the traditional tweed of the Border shepherds. It was the custom among the shepherds on the Cheviot Hills to wear a plaidie or shawl made of what became known as the Shepherd check. The plaidie could be wrapped around the shepherd for warmth, and also to nurse any sick or frail lambs in their care, hence the name. The black and white shepherd check was popularized by the Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott in 1826 when he ordered a pair of black and white shepherd check trousers. The fashion caught on as a form of upper-class dress and soon spread to the artistic and avant-garde members of the middle classes. The district and estate checks evolved from the simple shepherd check with its emphasis on protective colouring, into a wide range of checks and harmonies.

[Frederic Leighton]

More shepherd check trousers, 1928:

[Frederic Leighton]

1930s:

[Melcombe]

Those photos are quite something - thanks indeed Mr L.

Last year I ordered a pair of odd-trousers in a puppy-tooth check (a fairly heavy Dugdale effort) which have proved very versatile in my opinion, but which have elicited some less than endorsing comments from colleagues.

Im putting that down to jealousy...

I have generally worn with a (very dark) SB navy blazer, but seeing what a silk trimmed velvet waistcoat under a frock coat can do, Im plainly missing a trick !