The Late, Great Dressed Englishman

Contributed by Gabriel Wood - (London, England)

Where have the great dressers gone, where has the understated yet unsparingly immaculate dressed Englishman gone? Originally from West African decent, the English stereotypical suaveness, its beautiful language and its prestigious novelty of a queen have always intrigued me. James Bond was and still is a beacon of inspiration, but I often wonder why English men do not dress like this. Not necessarily three piece suits and a bowler hat, but at least an ensemble with some sense of elegance. Not everyone has the income to measure high-class designer threads, but one does not necessarily need over priced forms of statements to dress well. During a visit to Barcelona, I was utterly amazed at the plethora of stylish homosapiens happily going about their daily routines. Both the young and old were in graceful unison displaying a promenade of carefully selected detail. Mopeds are used as a fashion accessory rather than annoying piece of ASBO junk.

OK, so I may be flattering our western European friends just a tad bit, but why not have some comparison to develop, or redevelop. London is brimming with style and heritage; our buildings are a symbol of our showmanship and prestige. We have some of the most expensive roads on earth and a famous board game dedicated to that factor. We have almost every luxury garment brand imaginable on one road, an explosion of quality retail shops at our fingertips and miles of swanky of road boutiques. So with such an array of choice, why do men of Britain dress so poorly as to suggest our disinterest in personal appearance. As I wonder aimlessly through oxford circus like a fascinated tourist, I continually encounter over worn football jerseys, avalanche like trainers and denim fit for a truck driver. There has been an attempt to tackle the epidemic, facilitated by the boob grabbing duo by the name Triny and Susannah. Though I commend their efforts, I however believe that they slightly missed the mark with their presumptuous selections, selecting clothes similar to straight men selecting clothes for women. So, what ever shall we do about this? Perhaps accommodate more newspaper space for men’s fashion? More TV shows geared towards men’s fashion help, trends and styles? If more action does not take place soon, we may digress from being an elite fashion force into a European laughing stock and an irresistible target for Sacha Cohen.