Flamboyant scarves and crocheted ties – what on earth is Robert Peston wearing?

When it comes to standing out among the grey men in suits, the political editor of ITV News is a floppy head of hair above everyone else says Simon Mills. But there is one trick he is missing….

Peston’s penchant for flamboyant scarves and ties is a (sometimes) welcome distraction from the grim political news (ITV @Peston/X)

There comes a time in every older, still vanity-conscious man’s life when he must take to the scarf. The youthful shroud of the hoodie, funnel neck and parka snorkel is left to be wasted on the young, and from his late forties onwards, throwing caution and cashmere to the wind, tying himself in a series of knots, a man will enter the flamboyant foulard years. Yes, these have come late for ITV News political editor Robert Peston, now 63, but boy is he ever making up for lost time.

Earlier this week, standing outside No 10 and announcing David Cameron’s appointment as foreign secretary, Peston pulled out his scarf of many colours. Tourniqueted around his skinny neck like a desert shemagh, with its rainbow hue and complex, Missoni-esque weave pattern, the scarf felt more surprising even than the former PM’s shock return to the cabinet. David Cameron is back, yes, but what on earth is Peston wearing?

Peston reports on the dramatic cabinet reshuffle in vibrantly coloured neckwear (Alamy)

But regular Pestonheads will know that the No 10 scarf was actually one of many decorative mufflers in a growing collection. Previous fall/winter offerings having already included a magnificent, light plum, multi-wrapped pashmina back in 2019, a few long and collegiately stripy numbers in 2020, and a short, grey-on-grey, tasselled sciarpa outside Downing Street again, back in 2016.

Why should this be news? Because Peston’s choice of neckwear marks the former print journalist’s official passage from desk to stage, from jobbing editor to back-to-the-studio story scooper. In wardrobe terms, Peston is entering his luvvie era. Just like actor and songwriter Gary Kemp marked his journey from Eighties popstar to critically acclaimed actor with myriad paisley ascots, or the way with which Jude Law celebrated playing Henry V by bringing cashmere scarves to suits and jackets, the knotted addition is emblematic of age-appropriate style, salt and pepper maturity.

Like Peston, actor Stanley Tucci is a sucker for a good scarf (Ciao Pix/Shutterstock)

In Chuck Lorre’s deliciously acidic Netflix series The Kominksy Method, the difference between the two main characters is gently telegraphed by their neckwear choices: grouchy, multimillionaire Hollywood agent Alan Arkin wears collared shirts and silk ties; struggling lothario drama coach Michael Douglas prefers pashmina. Along with Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, Kominsky is one of TV’s greatest-ever scarf shows.

And News at Ten? Particularly during the chillier months, Peston’s scarves have made it essential viewing again, showcasing the Peston transformation in almost nightly, full colour and high definition. Just 10 years ago, he was still a gawky fiftysomething; googled images showing him as nebbish, nerdy and short-haired, with Specsavers glasses and bad Channel 5 clothes.

Now? Yes, the professional territory may still be Whitehall and Downing Street but his clobber is all Drury Lane and Shaftesbury Avenue. The hair has grown longer and floppier, into a Hugh Grant-ish shag, his (slightly tinted?) spectacle frames are more studiedly donnish. With overcoats now worn over tweedy jackets over cardies over shirts worn with a crocheted tie and scarves added for “layering”.

This media-genic, thespian-ista style is the opposite of fashion. It is coming-of-age clothing as performance and affectation, the scarf providing frame and reference, encouraging good lighting and a thoughtful close-up. The scarves’ pop tones are important too. Peston’s brightly coloured accessories are to the ITV treasure, what her oversized, Playskool jewellery pieces, red spectacle frames and primary toned knitwear are to Bake Off’s Prue Leith; a peacocking device.

For the over-50s, black and grey is grim and ageing. A red and yellow scarf, as the Antiques Road Trip presenters Tim Wonnacott, Philip Serrell and Raj Bisram know only too well, is an effective, look-at-me statement. “I may be older but I am still very much here and I am certainly worth listening to. Hey, I am quite good fun, as well.”

TV series ‘The Kominsky Method’ plays with the neckwear choices of its characters (Michael Yarish/Netflix)

Peston’s foulard-focused outfit influencers include young Harry Styles, Brad Pitt and Hugh Grant. And Lenny Kravitz. Of course, Lenny Kravitz.

Who wore it best? Peston has affected the so-called “Parisian knot” – the scarf doubled-over then looped through itself around the neck. As far as scarf fashions goes, I’d say this is a bit beneath him. Football and rugger pundits on the telly do the Paris knot when reporting from a cold-playing field. This market traders’ fastening of choice is also favoured by radio personality and style vacuum Chris Evans. And all the other old Top Gear presenters.

We expect more of a flourish from the Oxford-educated, Murdoch-baiting Honourable Robert James Kenneth Peston. He’s better than that – so I’d recommend instead, a minimal, unknotted “drape” (long, scarf lengths secreted undercoat or jacket lapels), a simple and unpretentious “once around” or even a “double fling” where both ends are thrown over opposite shoulders.

Bookishly foxed, “full thesp” can be achieved with the super camp, one shoulder, single fling. By all means, use Toulouse-Lautrec’s famous portrait of Aristide Bruant for reference here, but really one has to be, say, Mark Rylance or Ian McKellen, or Robert Peston to pull this particular scarf off.