As an amateur tea connoisseur, the most important questions to ask are: How can I brew my tea better? What are some different ingredients or combinations I can come up with? What goes well with these teas?
I’m not vain but sometimes, it does feel nice to wear a traditional outfit and enjoy my cuppa. It is the same feeling you get when you visit a tea room. Tea rooms are closed because of the pandemic, as I’m writing this blog post; Also, going to tea rooms regularly could be expensive and a bit of a luxurious experience. This got me to becoming some sort of a tea connoisseur whilst juggling a 9-5 job. I wanted to not just experiment with different teas but curate my own tea room experience in my very apartment- whether it is brewing a nice loose leaf tea with fruits and baked goods, or dressing up as if I’m going on a date with a lovely lady to a tea room.
Outfits wise, I feel that there are so many options out there- if you are keeping having a nice cup of Matcha with Japanese goodies or having a traditional Masala chai with Indian snacks, you could wear a Japanese or Indian themed outfit you’d like. Most of my wardrobe consists of traditional British styled or traditional American styled clothing and my Anglophilia translates to my bone china ‘English rose’ themed tea sets, and Yorkshire Gold being my favorite tea at the moment.
I played cricket as a teenager, and whilst I do not really enjoy the game anymore, I liked the cricket outfits sported by players in the colder seasons in the past. Nowadays, with advancements made to at-leisure clothing, more technical sweatshirts have supplanted the use of cable-knit sweaters like the one I’m wearing below. That said, I’m lean somewhat on the traditionalistic side when it comes to clothing and wanted a good quality cricket sweater that would fit me perfectly, and that would keep me warm. My initial search was on Ebay and Poshmark but I couldn’t find a good sweater in Extra-Small sizing.
My next search was the websites of ‘Ralph Lauren’, ‘Brooks Brothers’, ‘Rowing Blazers’, and several other American and British companies. I wasn’t pleased with their offerings in Extra-Small size, and even if they were available, they were way too expensive. I finally came across this Norwegian company based in Sweden called ‘Berg and Berg’. Their motto is Nordic simplicity and they make good quality clothing without going over the top. This cricket sweater was on a discounted sale then and I got it and I’m very happy that it fits me well. I was surprised that for a Nordic company, most of their offerings tended to be of a British aesthetic; Well, I have no complaints here.
Several ways to sport a cricket sweater:
Way 1) A dress shirt, and chinos/jeans and a tie. Choose contrasting colors, but a plain shirt if the sweater is a little bold. This sweater has bold stripes so I choose a plain oxford shirt from Brooks Brothers that I got second-hand on ebay. I paired it with pink striped tie and grey Levi jeans. I wore an overcoat when it got cold and chose a camel colored coat to add some contrast. When using bold colors, it is best to cut down on the number of patterns and go with solids, to prevent the ensemble from looking over-the-top.
Way 3) With a blazer or suit.
A blue blazer could work really well with a cricket sweater like this.
A tweed suit could do the job as well.
Way 4) A simple T-shirt and jeans/chinos. The model in Berg and Berg stayed true to the motto of Nordic simplicity by sporting a simple T-shirt and wore this cricket sweater over the T-shirt. To be honest, if I will choose this combination when playing tennis or cricket in colder weather
Below is my video post about exploring tea time outfits for men. Women have many options from floral dresses in summer to tweed jackets and blazers in colder weather however men are normally taught to wear whatever they can find. A little bit of thought, albeit not too much can ensure one looks his best for tea. These are obviously my own personal suggestions. The possibilities are endless.
The Earl of Lavenders' Tea Parties 