I know I often talk about country and cit style and the differences between them on this blog but I figured that I should do at least this one post on what exactly 'Country Style' is. A similar question was recently asked by a farming magazine the answers mainly talked of old wax coats and jeans held together with baler twine, the odd reference to flat caps was also thrown about. If the question had been asked in an equestrian or land owners magazine the answers would vary a little but the gist would remain the same.
Above is the simple wax coat, a staple although more often green and shapelessly unisex; used by just about everyone in the countryside at some point or another. I myself don't own one but there are about five ownerless ones floating around the kitchen which I regularly borrow.
Wellies, forget the funkily patterned and coloured wedge wellies you see at festivals and think of plain green or black wellies plastered in mud from daily winter use. It's these, work boots or everyones favourite compromise the steel toe capped welly.
But to really understand anything to do with country style you have to look at the young farmers. Note this chaps sensible jeans and work boots paired with the undoubtedly witty T-shirt and John Deere branded gillet. For anyone who didn't grow up in a rural area John Deere is a brand of tractor that also do a few clothes, please note the vivid yellow and green logo visible (sort of) on the gillet.
Now check out this trendy lot, they have everything tack, jeans, wellies, boots, coats, hoodys, mud and I bet every single one of them have some baler twine and a pocket knife in their pockets. Perhaps I should explain this phenomenon to the uninitiated; baler twine is brought in large rolls and is used to tie up bales of hay and straw, when the hay or straw has to be used it is cut of. Given that hundreds of bales are made and then used each year by all but the smallest farms this means that there's a lot of this stuff lying around. As such it is used for everything, tying up gates and jeans, holding together coats and making dof leads in a fix. I've even seen photos of it crocheted to make a dress.
And of course then there are pocket knives, carrying them is only for gang members in cities but yet in rural areas everyone has one, whether the handle be wooden or fake deer antler and the blade be new or notched they're in our pockets somewhere. Personally I have a beautiful Opinel No.7 in aubergine.
I had the choice between buying it and a lovely pearl bracelet, guess which one I chose? I hope I have a explained a little of the b'tweeded and b'checked country style to all you city dwellers but I think I'll leave you with the photograph below which I truly feel summarizes what dad to day life and style is like in the backwoods.
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