Old money aesthetics: King Charles is the poster boy of newly understood sustainability

FFor lovers of British tailoring, King Charles III’s visit to Germany was rather a disappointment in March. After all, for decades the monarch had stoically stuck to the somewhat antiquated, but in the meantime again highly topical, two-piece suit with peaked lapels, and suddenly he was seen in Berlin in a single-breasted, dark blue pinstriped suit, no different to politicians today or both of them bear sons.

One would have liked to have seen the king in one of his many double-breasted suits by his favorite tailors Anderson & Sheppard, for whose slightly dropped shoulders he has for decades had the perfect figure.

He likes to combine these suits in shades of gray or blue with ties and handkerchiefs in soft pastel colors that flatter his rosy face. As recently documented in the British press, Charles has been loyal to his suits for so long that they are even taken out darned and patched.

He’s also been wearing his Turnbull & Asser shirts until the collars are slightly frayed, and a double-breasted herringbone winter coat since 1986, as you can see in pictures over the decades. The formal suit, his gray one morning coat (also by Anderson & Sheppard), in which he led Meghan Markle to the altar in 2018, he wore it in 1999 to his brother Edward’s wedding to Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and since 1984 again and again at Ascot. This is one of the reasons why Charles became the poster boy of a newly understood sustainability.

And this way of dealing with his own wardrobe fits perfectly with topics that he has been dealing with for decades. The love of traditional architecture that is often ridiculed, the organic biscuits he has certified, his lovingly tended garden in Highgrove, the whole effort to preserve old and beautiful things that is often misunderstood as quirky.

When asked about his outfit for his son Harry’s wedding, Vogue asked him if he’d considered having a new suit tailored. The answer: “I’ve thought about it. But in the case of this particular one morning coats I only wear it a few times a year, in the summer.” He just wears his clothes as long as he can still fit in them. And further: “I’m one of those people who hate throwing things away. That’s why I prefer to have them taken care of, even repaired if necessary, before I throw them away.”

Sometimes, however, Charles’s servants don’t seem to be as quick to keep up with darning his wardrobe, as was seen during a visit to a mosque in London in early February. When the king took off his shoes, one of his socks had a hole in it. That happened to the then World Bank boss Paul Wolfowitz in Turkey in 2007. With Charles, however, the performance led to his very own interpretations.

Wardrobe as old as the family crest

The Daily Telegraph saw this as the king’s discreet class consciousness. Under the headline “Hole socks and other features of an upper-class wardrobe” it was explained that the contents of the wardrobe should be as old as the family crest.

“The aristocracy buys good clothes and then wears them to death, whether it’s tailored suits or shoes,” says British men’s tailor Jeremy Hackett. “Although they may look unkempt, what they are wearing was the best quality available when it was made.” Apparently, clothes that look too new are considered vulgar in polite circles. The small patch on the king’s favorite gray double-breasted suit becomes a means of distinction.

Just like the accent, which immediately reveals any class or origin, sometimes even to the right boarding school, to the sensitive ears of British society, such rules are not recorded in any style bible for the right wardrobe for a gentleman, because you can’t just get the “look”. .

In better circles, a TV pocket square, i.e. a straight folded handkerchief, is considered an indication of a less elitist origin. The connoisseur wears his handkerchief draped like a cloud with no visible corners. Only the late Duke of Edinburgh was forgiven for his straight handkerchiefs. Gladly provided with the explanation that after all he was Greek.

A memorable opportunity to study these small differences up close was offered by a reception given by the then Prince of Wales at St. James Palace in London in 2012, where he gave a speech on his philosophy of style that is still much quoted today. At the opening of the first British men’s fashion week “London Collections Men”, the future monarch invited fashion designers and the international press, including WELT AM SONNTAG, to the reception.

Charles in worn out shoes

The invitation asked for a “lounge suit” as the dress code, i.e. a classic day suit of the kind worn in business life. However, the invited fashion world only wanted to adhere to this to a limited extent and could not resist the temptation to dress up a little too much for a royal invitation to a palace. Tom Ford, for example, appeared in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie, as if he were coming from a funeral – or even worse, if he were the waiter from the restaurant next door.

Prince Charles’ well-worn blue double-breasted suit with light blue striped shirt and paisley tie, on the other hand, looked soberingly casual for a fashion event. According to the newspaper the next day, his black John Lobb shoes, which were visibly worn out, were already 43 years old. With their brittle but highly polished leather, his shoes acted as an accompaniment to his speech.

It took him 63 bloody years to become a fashion icon, and over the years he’s dragged himself from the best-dressed lists to the worst-dressed lists and back, the prince explained, he’s something of a “fashion’s stopped clock.” , which shows the correct time every 25 years”.

Even then, he urged the designers present to use British wool, which was so important to the survival of the farmers and ultimately the maintenance of the kingdom’s landscape. “Wool doesn’t catch fire that easily either,” he added very emphatically, and somehow one felt transported to the chimney of one of those draughty British castles without central heating – perhaps the last places for which a tweed jacket is still essential, um not to shiver on the back.

Pioneer of a new generation

The King has long promoted the preservation of old trades that have become unprofitable in a globalized world through various initiatives, such as visiting Barbour’s old jacket repair department. Another time, in one of his projects, he tried to make the opening of a mending and darning service palatable to young trainees as a sustainable business idea.

In a country where supply chains are collapsing after Brexit, maybe not a bad idea. Charles never made a secret of his disgust at the throwaway society, advocated organic farming early on and was initially ridiculed for it. Today Charles is therefore being rediscovered by young people as a pioneer of a movement.

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At the same time, Charles’ old upper-class virtues have developed into a new fashion trend. Under the headline “Your flawless Hermès bag looks ordinary to some”, the “New York Times” just explained why a Birkin bag should show clear signs of wear and even better a history spanning generations, so as not to be considered tasteless nouveau riche. A visibly battered Birkin is the best way to transcend the status associated with the bag and set yourself apart from the Kardashians of the world.

The “Wall Street Journal” also just described the phenomenon of an “old money aesthetic” that is trending on TikTok with 566 million hits with pictures from the Sloane Ranger phase of the young Diana Spencer and the matching hashtag #oldmoney.

A timeless fashion with no visible logos or recognizable status symbols, a kind normcore the upper class, which of course is also a status symbol. In this context, Charles’ socks, which will probably soon be visibly darned, seem like a sign of an insider’s style that fits in perfectly with the times and for which too much effort was always a sign of a lack of coolness.