I was asked recently about what does Country Classic attire mean? My first reaction was that it meant a mullet haircut with bangs "permed" into that frizzy mess. Then I thought, "No that is a Kountry Klassic attire" - aka the redneck look. Country Classic is not spelled with a K and so I did an in depth look at the style.
I looked at magazines such as Garden and Gun, Countryside Alliance, Hunt Country, Orvis catalog, Hawkins and Smith, Martha Stewart, etc. and I found a real different look than what I first envisioned. In all of the styles of clothing appropriate for bucolic life I found a common thread that ran through it. First, the clothing: it must be practical, durable, and able to handle the demands of chores by the "Landed Gentry." By that I mean, great looking coats from either Barbour or Burberry. Then the shoes are muck boots, paddock boots, Wellies, or Keene's river shoes. From there the shirt was either a synthetic shirt whose brand name may be Columbia, REI, or Patagonia or an all cotton chambray color with front pockets. Then the pants were either khakis, zip off fast drying pants, jeans worn on the waist, or overall denim coveralls. The look is a fashion statement for those who enjoy the outside life but also understand practicality of clothes that need to help perform the chores.
With all of that said, the jewelry was simple: a gold band and pearl stud earrings. Nothing glamorous but it all has a statement that the Jon Franklin of the Baltimore Sun wrote, Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance. Nothing could be truer when it comes to the Country Classic attire.
