What’s the point in having your own trumpet if you can’t blow it once in a while? So let’s blast it out loud and clear; when it comes to men’s style, the UK has always led the way. And it’s done this via a timeless, and patented, blend of elegance and eccentricity. As that celebrated iconoclast – and honorary Londoner – Oscar Wilde once said: “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.”

Think about it; in other fashion capitals – Milan, Paris, New York – the rule of thumb is to dress like your peers, only better. In Britain, we like nothing more than to take our unrivalled style heritage – from Savile Row tailoring to tweeds, tartans and paisleys – and subvert it.

From the dandies and the gents to the mods and the punks, from Ziggy Stardust to Tinie Tempah, British style has conquered the world by tweaking the classics. Premium menswear specialists Reiss knows more about this than most; the brand started almost half a century ago in the East End and still designs all its lines in London.

“We started off selling suits, and we still have that formal foundation, but we’ve gradually branched out into all areas of the modern man’s wardrobe,” says Alex Field, Reiss’ menswear director. “British style has always been eclectic, but today the lines are even more blurred.” Amid those blurred lines, however, four attributes enduringly define classic British style, and we try each of them on for size below.

1. Elegance

The British pretty much invented tailoring; Savile Row’s most venerable houses have been plying their trade for, oh, a quarter of a millennium or so.

What marks the British out from their European or American peers is their more nonchalant attitude to elegance; yes, we’re just as focused on cut, fabric and detail, but we’ll throw a few curveballs by pairing an impeccably crafted double-breasted jacket with, say, a wool roll-neck or a white T-shirt.