What to Wear to the Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Festival of Speed is a monolithic garden party for petrol heads drawing some of the biggest cars and stars from around the world. 

The event runs from 4th-7th July and 4 day passes being from 159 GBP. If anyone is going please drop me a line, I'm in discussion with a couple of brands and will hopefully be making an appearance. 

In preparation I'm already looking at potential outfits. (What's the cub scout motto?) Here are some suggestions and outfits on what I think you can be wearing to the Festival of Speed. 

TWEED | DANDY not DAPPER

I'll certainly be donning some tweed, although not the thick tweed you might see in Cheltenham Races. I'm hoping it will be too hot for that typical thick Donegal tweed. 

The difference between the Goodwood Revival and the Festival of Speed is the dress sense is more modern. The baggy Oxford trousers and the thick herringbone tweed look beautiful at the Revival. It is essentially reviving classic looks with heavier fabrics and a fuller cut. 

The Festival of Speed takes that classic look and slots it neatly in a contemporary style. (Yes classic with a modern twist). The cut will be slimmer. The dandyism will still be prevalent but with less windowpane and more cleaner patterns such as herringbone or twill.

See below the difference of a gentleman with a more vintage take for the revival versus the cleaner look of David Gandy photographed for the Festival of Speed on the right. 

If the weather is really hot (here's hoping) then you might want to have a seersucker suit on standby. 

I'll be no doubt wearing the country shirt from my own collection Hawkins & Shepherd. These button down check shirts will ameliorate the suit from just a conventional look. Styled with a cravat which is celebrated, this will denote to the onlooker that you've put some thought into your outfit. 

It is one of those events worth dressing up for. Without slipping into cosplay, which can be a tricky wire to tread.