Trying to look stylish on crutches!

Moving around on crutches limits the range of clothing a man can wear. I can, very gingerly, get on a pair of trousers without too much discomfort, so here's the result.

Overshirt - Rohan, crew neck - vintage submariner's jersey, trousers - Boden, suede brogues - Rockport, glasses - Ray Ban, hair (model's own) - Cirrus, watch - model's own, teeth - model's own, socks and underwear - Marks and Spencers (where else?), leg brace and crutches - supplied by our wonderful (for the moment) National Health Service.

Lower down the page you can see some famous faces wearing crutches - are they looking stylish?

2000 visits - let's celebrate with a Fair Isle jumper and a Beatle

This blog's first post was seven weeks ago and today I'm pleased and amazed to welcome the 2000th visitor (only eight days after I welcomed 1000 visits). People view an average of 2.6 pages and stay for well over 3 minutes, so I hope this means that they like what they see. I realise this is chickenfeed in comparison with the most successful style blogs, but it's a start for a minority sector of the fashion world; furthermore, I'm enjoying it!

My journey searching for style in my mid-years is in its very early stages and I'm still learning. Please stick around to share the experience. Thank you to everyone who has visited and sent messages of support and suggestions - please keep them coming! If you would like to contribute in any way, or would like me to review or write about anything that may be of interest please don't hesitate to get in touch. I have interviews and more lined up over the next few months, so please call back. If you would like to be informed about new posts here please follow me on Twitter. Follow @GreyFoxBlog 

Here's a Beatle picture to celebrate with -

The older man - the secrets of dressing well

In my post of 23rd January in which I commented on The Sartorial Geniuses - aged 60 plus I showed a picture of the colourful gentleman illustrating the Telegraph article. 

It isn't necessary to go to these extremes of colour and style to be a stylish dresser.  To illustrate this, here are some shots showing the confident and unselfconscious use of more muted classic styles by older men.

I suggest that they succeed because they are dressing for themselves and not to follow latest fashions. Years of doing this has given them a confidence which is clear from their attitude and bearing. Compare these to the sometimes uncomfortable-looking younger men snapped wearing the height of fashion at the recent events in Milan and Paris and you'll see what I mean (I don't show any of those below). Is it possible that they, in their race to follow catwalk fashions, have forgotten the importance of expressing one's own individuality when dressing well? 

Let me know what you think.

The Sartorialist

Photo The Italian Cut (I think)

The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist

Middle-aged man buys vintage tweed suit shock

I've been wanting a tweed suit for a while and last year got as far as visiting a local tailor to discuss being measured for one. It didn't happen, but idly browsing eBay one day I noticed one in my size, or thereabouts. A modest bid secured it and it turned out to be in excellent condition.

It's an oatmeal Harris Tweed suit of, I would guess, sixties or seventies vintage from the cut and label. It doesn't seem to have been worn much, although the material is so robust it would probably take several years of continuous wear before it showed any signs of use! The jacket is waisted with wide lapels.

A few alterations were needed, jacket shortened and shoulders taken in, trousers slightly altered and turn-ups fitted. I bought some new leather buttons as some were missing. One day I'll post a picture of Grey Fox wearing it.

Retro Girls - photographs with style by Carole Evans

My very talented sister, Carole Evans, is a photographer whose project, Retro Girls, is being exhibited at Silverprint, 12 Valentine Place, London, SE1 8QH, telephone 020 7620 0844.

Retro Girls is a series of portraits of women who dress in the style of the 1940s and 50s. Reminiscent of high street portraiture of the era, the photographs are about style, nostalgia and female identity. For more information visit Carole's website and blog and Silverprint.

(All photographs courtesy Carole Evans who retains all rights to them - )

Elegant brown brogues - ideal classics for the older man

Brogues finish off a man's outfit better than any other type of shoe because they look so elegant both on and off the foot. Wear with suit or jeans. As classics they are ideal for the older man.

The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist

Video Report from Milan & Paris shows - MR PORTER

OK, I know that we middle aged and older men aren't meant to be slavish (dedicated?) followers of fashion (see yesterday's post for example) but we acknowledge that current styles may, at the very least, be a source of inspiration.

In my search for style in middle age I see much to admire and much to reject on the catwalks of the shows (not that I spend much time looking at them, but Mr Porter and other sites and blogs have useful summaries of developments. In case you're open to such sources of ideas, I'll cover the ways you can keep in touch without feeling you're a total fashion junky in a future post.).

Looking at the video, I would go for the tweeds, country styles and the velvet slippers but probably pass over the more extremes of printed styles, camouflage and the baggy trousers! It's interesting to see how fashions go round; as a child I remember men wearing roll-neck sweaters under jackets in the early seventies. See what you think -

The sartorial geniuses - aged 60-plus - Telegraph

Any man over 40 must read this wonderful piece from the Daily Telegraph of 19th January. It struck a chord with me and gives great encouragement to older men who feel that fashion is too youth-orientated. The thing is that it doesn 't matter - a well-dressed older may dress more successfully than a younger man because he's doing it for himself (and see my post, "Trying too Hard").

Click here for the article - The sartorial geniuses - aged 60-plus - Telegraph

Photo Tommy Ton

Even if the clothes sense of the gentleman in this picture by Tommy Ton is not too your taste, he is undeniably expressing his individuality with confidence and style - and, if you're reading this blog, that may be what you are trying to do too. You don't need to be young to dress well and, as an older man, as the Telegraph argues, you can have advantages when it comes too putting together a successful look.

You don't have to go to the extremes of colour and style of this man, using more conventional and classic clothes you could still achieve a truly unique style of your own - and it is the ways of doing that I am looking for here. Here is my favourite excerpt from the Telegraph article -

" Unlike younger gents, men over 50 aren't dressing to be noticed. It's genuinely a part of their nature to want to dress up, and they have an eye for detail that has been refined over many years. They have no interest in adopting the latest trends, in contrast to the younger generation who are bombarded with so much imagery, culture and technology day to day that it affects their need to change constantly."

A vintage man bag - a 1944 "Satchel Signal"

By "vintage man bag" I mean that the bag is vintage, not the man!

I'm laid up with a fractured knee following a cycling accident and using crutches means that I need a bag to hang around my neck to carry book, newspapers, phone etc. around the house. I have to thank my assistant for helping me get this post online.

What better than my vintage military "Satchel Signal - ZA 6282", bought at a cycle jumble a few years ago. I suspect it was used by motorbike messengers during the war. Maybe something for Nigel Cabourn to reproduce?

P.S. Having written the above I Googled "Satchel Signal" and, would you believe it, found a mine of information. Is there anything somebody DOESN'T collect? Apparently it would have been usually used for headsets for radios. Here's a link if you want to know more.

Grey Fox blog has exceeded 1000 visits!

To remind you, I have set out on a very personal mission to explore style and fashion for the older man - in middle age and after. To my delight the blog welcomed its 1000th visitor last night; a landmark only some seven weeks after the first post at the beginning of December last year. It's really cheered me up at a time when I'm holed up after my cycling accident earlier this week. I can't sit for long with the laptop at the moment so will ease up for a while, although I may post a few pieces I happened to prepare before the injury!

Many thanks to those visitors; I hope the blog will continue to grow. Many thanks also to The Sartorialist, who influenced this journey.

Please keep in touch with comments and suggestions here or through Twitter.

Suits to die for video - classics for older and younger men

I make no apologies for showing another excellent Mr Porter video. The two checked suits (the brown tweed and Prince of Wales) at the beginning and end of the video are stunning examples of the classic tailoring that is ideal for the older man seeking stylish clothes. See how they are matched with the shirts and ties and worn with quality shoes - great stuff!

Trying too hard - rejecting affectation in fashion

In looking around for inspiration in my search for style in middle age I've found myself put off by the artificial appearance of those who try too hard. I don't like affectation and one sees too much of it in fashion. However, I recognise that this may result from the often inflexible and reactionary nature of middle age.

Some things that grate with me - men in brogues not wearing socks (why not wear deck shoes and why make your best shoes all smelly and sweaty?), wearing a shirt and tie but with tie undone (why bother with the tie?), hats pushed too far back (wide boy), white socks with anything other than sports clothes (yuck) and finally wearing sunglasses indoors or at night (why?).

I recognise that these things sometimes result from error or forgetfulness - and that's often forgiveable. What is unacceptable, though, is doing these things and thinking it's cool (although I'm now going to admit that I have a sneaking admiration for the wearer of the odd brogues worn above with no socks).

Please take all this with a pinch of salt; but have a look at the photos and you'll see that I'm right -

Interesting touches - another video from Mr Porter

The perils of cycling on frosty roads early in the morning hit me hard on Monday when my bike went right as I went left on an icy roundabout and I fractured my left patella.

I'm not comfortable sitting at the laptop for too long, so will take the easy way out and post one of Mr Porter's excellent videos. I'm a great fan of Sir Paul Smith, as an older man of style and a keen cyclist he gets my vote on two counts - see if you can spot the cycling touches on his person and in his office (no prizes, it's not hard).

I posted another Mr Porter video a some days ago - have a look at that as well and see their excellent website.

Scott of the Antarctic - 100 years ago today

One hundred years ago today Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his party of explorers reached the South Pole to find that they had been beaten by the Norwegian, Roald Amunsden's expedition.

I am always struck by the expressions of sheer exhaustion and disappointment tinged with determination on the faces of Scott's men as they are photographed shortly after their arrival at the Pole, where they found the Norwegian flag already in place. We know, of course, that all these men died on the return journey, adding such poignancy to the picture.

And here are photographs of Scott taken in happier times. Long may the spirit of courageous exploration live on!

A hat - a must for the older man

I was interested to see from GQ magazine's photos of this year's Pitti Uomo (see my post of 14th January) how many men were wearing hats similar to the trilby which I bought in Dorset a couple of weeks ago. I doubt that the fashion world is rushing to emulate my purchase and assume that I have unwittingly hit a trend at the right moment.

But I realise now that a hat has many advantages as a man thins on top. The warmth is welcome on a cold day and the brim's shadow hides many a blemish.

Anyway, here is Grey Fox walking the dog and wearing a brown rabbit fur trilby (full story of the hat here). Jacket is Ralph Lauren, brogues Loake Chester 2, English tweed scarf and (ancient) jeans both from Marks and Spencers (can we mention them in fashion blogs?).  Below are pictures courtesy of Tommy Ton and GQ.