Walker Slater Review and Brand Overview

Walker Slater came onto my radar a couple years back while I was looking for a well-priced smoking jacket.  Given they mostly focus on tweed and country wear, I was glad I went to their website to research more, and was pleasantly surprised by their offerings.  While I didn’t end up purchasing their smoking jacket, I did end up purchasing multiple sportcoats from them.  They fit the perfect niche of a casual sportcoat with a relaxed look.

History

Founded in 1989 by Frances Slater and Paul Walker in the Scottish Highlands, WS specializes in sourcing sustainable fabrics within close proximity with understated design and crafted to last.  Now with three stores in Scotland and looking to expand internationally, we have no doubt they will continue expanding their desire to “create exceptional value for money items that are authentic and pure, and above all, represent Scotland on a global scale.”

Notes

If you’re looking for that classic tweed sportcoat no company seems to sell on a regular basis, your search is over.  Harris Tweed, donegal tweed, herringbone tweed, cashmere, lambswool and standard wool, in casual windowpanes, PoW check, houndstooth and more, they make almost every fabric and pattern combination possible in multiple colors.  We believe Walker Slater provides about as high value per dollar as you can get and as a bonus, they are made in Portugal, so you’re supporting a company that provides a living wage to its employees as well.

What to Buy

We only have direct experience with their sportcoats, so that will be our focus.  Additionally, because this is the company we recommend for a casual sportcoat with a country/casual vibe.  We actually really like their women’s sportcoat line as well, and would recommend the Emma, Iona, or Diana jacket styles.

Edward Jacket – this is the style of jacket we prefer as it has strong shoulders, proportionate notch lapels, and a nice buttoning point for the first button.  This style and fit will age gracefully so you’ll be able to wear any Edward jacket for years without it looking out-of-date.

Edward Jacket in Harris Tweed Herringbone – £320

This is the classic of all classic Scottish tweed sportcoats.  Harris Tweed is actually regulated by the Harris Tweed Authority to ensure all Harris Tweed’s are manufactured to exacting standards.  You can read more about it here.  The only downside is it does cost more than “standard tweed” but you know with 100% certainty what you’re getting, and that does have value to us.

We recommend choosing either Brown, Charcoal, or Green as these are classic subtle colors that match most chinos, wool pants or jeans, so you won’t have to worry about being a style maven to put an outfit together.  Throw on a white or light blue dress shirt with any of the aforementioned pants and you’re good to go.

Edward Jacket in Borders Tweed with Prince of Wales Check – £345

If you’re looking for something a bit lighter or sleeker, WS’s Borders Tweed line fits the bill.  Using worsted wool, these jackets are thinner and softer than the Harris Tweed jackets above.

The Charcoal and Navy variations (top two, below) only show a very subtle Price of Wales (PoW) check which gives them a bit more dress versatility while still being interesting.

The Grey (bottom left, below) is still pretty subtle, but no doubt people will notice the lighter overcheck pattern, so that does lend it a slightly less formal look.  The Tan (bottom right, below) is the most casual of the four and probably shouldn’t be worn in a work situation unless you work in artistic fields that allow a bit more leeway in dressing.  This is also the perfect jacket if you’re looking for the “country/estate/equestrian” vibe.

Edward Jacket in Lambswool Donegal Tweed with Windowpane – £285

For the man who’s looking for a purely casual sportcoat and doesn’t mind a bit of flair, we can guarantee no one else will own a jacket like this.  The combination of the Donegal weave (the little flecks/dots all over) and the windowpane overlay draws attention instantly, but in a suitably subtle way, not the “I’M WEARING A BRIGHT COLOR GUYS, LOOK AT ME!” way.

The dark green is perfect because from far away it looks like a solid dark green casual sportscoat, but closer up all the details become visible.  However you will need to be confident while wearing it, because this sportcoat does fall a bit more into the, “you always want to wear your clothes, and not have them wear you” category of clothing compared to all the others.

There are lots of additional options besides what we chose to focus on in this article, but we hope this gave a solid overview, and we encourage you to check out all Walker Slater has to offer.

Let us know if you have any questions or comments below!