DAKS - The Third Check

You'll know what the Burberry house check looks like, and Aquascutum's too, I'll wager. What about DAKS? Well that's the design of their house check above. It's a relative youngster, actually, from 1976. But the colours are classically in step with its industry cousins.

The check might be a newcomer, not so DAKS itself, which can trace its antecedence back to the famous Simpsons of Piccadilly that began as a London-based tailoring business in 1894. Of these three stalwart British heritage brands, DAKS is perhaps the most low-key. My own pet theory is that the label was never taken up by football casuals with as much enthusiasm as Burberry and Aquascutum, so didn't gain such popular recognition. The Japanese, of course, know and love the brand, and it was eventually brought into majority Japanese ownership in 1991.

The low-key check

Some trivia about DAKS:

• The name, so redolent of Britishness and elegance, was pitched as a contraction of Dad's Slacks. I think I'd prefer not to know that.
• The company launched a self-supporting trouser in 1934, with a patented waistband.
• Timothy Everest has collaborated with the brand - to quote: 'Daks is a British institution that needs to be modernised, but it can't be overly trendy. I see it as like Hermés or Celine — great quality and a great sense of Britishness.'

Modern but not trendy is a very fine line. Do they pull off the feat with the trousers in the DAKS check (below)? If you want fuller trousers, DAKS also do made to measure from Bond Street. You could have a full suit made in the check.