Prince of Wales checks in

Prince of Wales checks back in

Easily recognisable thanks to its pattern of two dark and two light stripes alternating with four dark and four light stripes — grey is the typical base shade with a thread of colour woven through in the checks — Prince of Wales check has been worn since the late 19th century. History has it that the then-holder of the title, the future Edward VII (his grandson, the infamously dapper Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor, is often wrongly credited with creating the cloth) spied some nattily attired gamekeepers during a shoot in Inverness-shire, and ordered his own distinctively checked threads made up for the next hunting season.

Closely associated with such dapper deities as Cary Grant, Sean Connery and our current Prince of Wales (naturally), the check has been employed — in varying colours and styles — by a number of designers this season. We reckon it works best for winter on hefty coats, like these by Gucci, Gieves & Hawkes and Corneliani: fashion fit for a future king.

1. Brown/blue check Cheviot wool coat, £1,300; blue check wool suit, £1,560; purple/blue/white paisley silk-wool tie, £75; white cotton shirt, £165, all by Corneliani

2. Grey/orange/white check wool coat, £2,220; blue/white striped cotton shirt, £580, both by Gucci. Camel merino wool polo-neck jumper, £145, by Sunspel

3. Blue/red check wool coat, £995; off-white merino wool-cashmere roll-neck, £495, both by Gieves & Hawkes