What to wear to the gym

Readers will probably be sick by now of me talking about Orlebar Brown. I have said before, after all, how they make my perfect polo shirt and perfect swimming trunks. But I’m sorry, there’s no other sports brand on the British high street that is selling itself on simple, well-executed designs and high-end materials.

I always have little quibbles with them (such as the buttons on the sleeves of the polo shirt) but this is a reflection of how close they come to perfection.

The Tommy T-shirt is a good example, and one I haven’t talked about previously. It is made from an impossibly soft cotton in a jersey construction, with that slightly curved front and rear hem that the polos have as well, which make them both easier to keep tucked in and more flattering when they are not.

Like all the Orlebar Brown clothing, it is cut slim through the waist – flatteringly so, if you are slim, and more so than you will get anywhere else apart from a high-fashion line. My only quibble with the Tommy is that the neckline is a little low for me to wear it’s on its own. But then I rarely wear T-shirts on their own, unless in the gym.

If you are in the gym, you should wear their sweats: shorts and trousers that have a great, tailored fit and as you would expect, a luxury take on the grey cotton melange. Even better, and my personal favourite of their sweatshirts, the Bennett, which has 10% cashmere in the mix. It’s almost unnoticeable – there is no flouncy shapelessness as you might get with a higher proportion of cashmere, just a touch of luxe in the soft cotton.

I don’t like everything. The tailoring, jackets and trousers, aren’t quite right in either cut or material. But then you might expect that from someone used to bespoke. As to everything else, I can’t recommend it highly enough.