‘It’s got to be a mix of sporty and elegant, with a slight humour to it,” says Isabel Ettedgui, owner of the British luxury brand Connolly, on how to categorise motoring style. “It needs to be a little bit eccentric.”
Founded in 1878, Connolly began as a shoe repair shop on Euston Road in London but grew to become the foremost supplier of fine leather for the automotive industry, providing upholstery for the first Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and Ferrari models. The brand is still the upholsterer of choice for discerning carmakers but has since expanded to stock homeware, knitwear, footwear and workwear — provided you work at a desk — and serves as the perfect case study in how luxury style has long found inspiration in the world of beautiful cars.
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Wool drop back car vest, £330, Connolly England
Connolly’s cashmere driving sweater is “the best in the world”, Ettedgui says, with its high, zippable collar for maximum warmth when driving with the top down. The brand’s chukka boots are made without a shank in the sole, allowing for extra nimbleness on the pedals, while its driving jeans are equipped with an extra “fat boy” button, recommended for those seeking a looser waistband on the postprandial drive home.
Rollagas cashmere car coat, £2,695, Dunhill
Dunhill began life as a saddlery and harness maker. Its founder, Alfred Dunhill, saw a gap in the market for luxurious driving accessories — or “motorities”, as he dubbed them. He created the “windshield pipe”, which allowed drivers to smoke with elan, and proudly stated that Dunhill offered “everything but the motor”.
The company may not be as closely tied to cars as it once was, although under the guidance of its new creative director, Simon Holloway, the collection is still flecked with automotive detailing: a car coat, characterised by a thigh-length cut, is reimagined in super-lightweight technical wool.
Gommino Bubble driving shoes in suede, £510, Tod’s
Motoring footwear has been dominated by one shape: the driving moccasin, a low-profile slip-on studded with tiny rubber dimples, instead of a solid sole, that run all the way up the heel. It was first introduced by the Italian brand Car Shoe in 1963 but has since been tweaked by other makers such as Tod’s — its version of the shoe, the Gommino, has long transcended its motoring roots, becoming the de facto loafer for the stealth-wealthy.
Car-inspired watch design really took off in 1963 with the release of Tag Heuer’s first Carrera. Heuer (as it was then) had already been making race-timing chronographs for some years, but the Carrera — named after the Carrera Panamericana motor race across Mexico — combined function, legibility and mid-century design with such aplomb that the timepiece has been at the heart of Tag Heuer’s operations ever since.
Tag Heuer Monaco chronograph, £7,050
Another of its motorsport watches, the square-shaped Monaco, was made famous by Steve McQueen, who wore it in the 1971 film Le Mans. The actor was known for his “petrolhead next door” look and the movie cemented his status as a demigod of the car style scene. It is perhaps why the Monaco is still adored today (one used in the film sold for more than $2.2 million in 2020) and why Persol still sells scores of its 714 Steve McQueen shades. Last year the Italian eyewear brand launched a special edition of the folding sunglasses to celebrate McQueen’s link to Le Mans and the race’s centenary.
Steve McQueen folding sunglasses, £311, Persol
The key to nailing the driving wardrobe is to keep it understated, Ettedgui says. She advises against anything with too many logos. A good coat or jacket is essential: “So when you step out of the car you don’t disappoint the people who have been watching you park.”
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