I'm not advocating another Peacock Revolution or anything here. I'm merely saying that there's a way to enliven the F/W wardrobe: the accent colours used in the accessories can make all the difference between a stylish appearance and being mistaken for faded foliage. The sweaters, the scarves, the neckwear, the pocket squares, those small touches that give us that certain savoir. What is style if not those individual gestures that invoke the personality and reveal our individuality? Those little dashes of wit that lend a grace note? Keeping the tailoring discreet, but adding a touch of spice. You know, working outside the box a bit without forgetting what the box looks like.

I take a back seat to none in my love of muted tweeds and flannels, the mossy greens and taupes, camels and olives and rusts that are so beloved of those of us who take our country wardrobes as seriously as our town ones. But why, in the chiaroscuro of human needs, shouldn’t these woolly rural tweeds have a few top notes of mustard, pink, or royal blue, magenta, and orange?

It’s not as difficult as some may think to add a dab of colour, particularly when we’re talking about the more casual wardrobe. Starting with a well-cut, muted gun club check tweed sports jacket, why not add a pair of green corduroys, a magenta Shetland crewneck and a tartan button down? What enlivens an outfit better than a pair of crimson or purple socks to accompany those tobacco suede slip-ons and fawn cavalry twills? A solid or block-woven royal blue cashmere scarf as an accent to grey or brown herringbone? And navy corduroys are an easy way to change up an outfit from the more trad tan ones everyone else is wearing.