On a crisp fall day we took a (car) ride out to Greenspring Valley. Horses (even sheep) in pastures dotted the lush landscape. We parked in Stevenson Village hoping to spot a sartorial gentlemen farmer or two. Instead, we encountered a true English version of the Baltimore Huntsman. Michael Finney, and his shop Yoicks, brought to mind those mythic days when men never left the house to work or hunt without a hat or a tweed sports coat on.
Michael Finney
How would you describe your style?
Eclectic Anglo-American.
Can you be more specific?
I sell and wear literally clothes my father bought in 1965 and my grandfather bought in 1935. Traditional sporting art clothes of the 19th and 20th centuries. Men’s and women’s country clothing. No pleats. Three-button jackets. Lots of tweed.
What did your father and grandfather do for a living?
They were thoroughbred auctioneers.
Do you ride horses in similar style?
I whipper-in for the Elkridge-Harford Hunt.
Excuse me?
A “whipper-in” assists the huntsmen in hunting with the hounds.
And the name Yoicks?
A huntsmen exclaims ” Yoicks!” when the hounds find a scent of a fox.
And all the while these huntsmen are looking as dapper as you do right now?
They did in my grandfather’s and father’s day, and I think many of our local huntsmen look great today, too.
