What’s Your Fancy?: Penelope Chilvers Shares Her English Country Style Essentials

“Lady [Carole] Bamford’s field to fork philosophy of everything being local runs through her work. Her knitwear is made quite close to here. Sometimes she even uses the wool from her own sheep and I like the way it’s local and very good quality. I like to wear the sweater with the Nelson Boot, which is one of our best-sellers.”

“I love the way Marfa Stance layers everything. You can put three layers of Marfa Stance on and you don’t look too big. It looks wonderful and it’s just great for all weather, and it’s cool. I love what she’s doing.”

“Going back to the beginning, I started with my Long Tassel Boot, which was made with a beautiful vegetable-dyed leather and unlined. Since then we’ve built on that part of the family of tassel boots to include our Inclement range, which has a SympaTex lining (similar to GorTex). They last up to 20 hours in wet weather and stay dry even though they are made of leather and oiled suede. They’re very easy.”

“We live in a very old house; it’s over 300 years old and we’ve got big old flagstone floors, which are protected by historic bodies. We can’t take them up and put in under floor heating or dig under to give proper foundations, so they’re always very cold. We always sell our Inuit slippers to customers who say they’ve got these same old floors without foundations. The slippers have solid rubber soles and are made of felt; they’re just the warmest slippers. You can wear them with socks, to run out to get the logs, or see the postman in the garden.”

“If you haven’t got a good pair of socks to put on, it’s so frustrating. You want a good quality sock that doesn’t fall down inside your jeans and can wash well.

I went up to the Arctic Circle to meet the Sami people, who are like the Inuits but on the other side of the Atlantic. They live in very cold climates and really know how to stay warm. I asked them about modern materials versus ancient wool, and they said that wool really has the warmest fiber that you can wear on your feet. It retains heat and it’s breathable, and that’s something that fascinates me as a footwear designer.”

“Katherine Hooker does very beautiful cuts and I know that she has a big following in America. Her coats are timeless and they’re great for country events for when you just want to look a little bit smarter than wearing your father’s old tweed jacket. I’ve got two or three of her jackets and I absolutely love them. They’re easy to slip on and off with a thick [sweater] underneath. They last forever. I’d pair it with our Finna boots, which has got a bit of a heel. You can wear it with a skirt or cropped jean.”

“I love Ulla Johnson’s palette. In the country, there are certain colors that just don’t work. Although bright orange or fuchsia pink that work in the summer, in winter I don’t think it looks so good. So Ulla’s palette of beautiful natural color always looks amazing.”

“A flat shoe for the evening in the country is essential. I think these would look amazing with an Ulla Johnson dress. I’d probably wear those shoes out for lunch or dinner.”

“I like to buy local. I light a candle and have a long bath with a great book with Blacklion Vodka, which is just down the road from here. I like it with Slimeline tonic.”