Charlie Gray / Courtesy of John Smedley
Are there any questions you’ve truly been stumped by?
I’ve had lots of questions I don’t know the answer to. There was a woman whose husband was convinced that she loved her house plants more than she loved him, and what should she do about that? And I don’t know about you, but I don’t really have an answer for that… Because you know, maybe it’s true. The danger is when you get to my age, that you get mistaken for someone who knows what to do. And you only have to take a look around the world to know that that’s absolutely not the case. So I hope I’ve made that clear. I’m good on the length of a shirt collar… You know, the important stuff. But life remains mysterious to a large degree.
What’s the best piece of life advice you’ve ever received?
When you get past 50, if you’re in a position where people ask you anything, they might say, “Have you any advice for the young?” And I always say, “Don’t take drugs and pay your taxes,” which is kind of funny, but it’s also true. I do feel that those are two things that I wish that I’d gotten around to not doing and to doing when I was young, because they wasted a lot of time. Somebody also said to me once, “Don’t accept reputations at face value, let them prove it.” Because reputations are often based on something a long time ago, which may or may not have happened. So, don’t be daunted by people’s reputations. Just quietly let them prove it to you.
As someone who is good at looking good in a suit, I’d appreciate some advice on that. Is there a trick to wearing a suit outside of a formal setting without it looking like an affectation?
I wore suits because when I was young and didn’t make much money, you’d get an acting job, and it would be a suit job. They would let you buy the suit at half price, or maybe they just let you walk away with it. I wouldn’t have any other clothes, but I would have a suit, and I would wear it to death. For quite a long time, I used to operate with only one set of clothes, not just because I didn’t have any money, but also because I was an average mess and I never got around to stuff.
How did that work?
I was often on tour, or I’d be working in different parts of the UK, hitchhiking, and I didn’t want to carry anything. I would take whatever book I was currently reading, and I would hit the road. I would only ever have one pair of shoes, which would always be a pair of dark brown Dr. Marten’s shoes, and I would wear them until they became perforated and started to squeak, so people could hear you coming. So suits were very convenient because you put a suit on and it’s job done.
So basically, just wear what you feel good in and what makes sense to you? And if it happens to be a suit, all the better?
I would never say to anybody, “What the fuck is that you’re wearing?” I would never do that, even if they’re wearing a rugby shirt with the collar turned up. I would let it roll because that’s their vibe and that’s what they want to do. It’s not for me to say it makes me want to kill myself, because that’s my problem, and I deal with it privately. The other thing is, for me, the suit was basically ironic dressing, because I’m an ancient Mod. When you get to my age and you put on a homburg and a suit, you just look like an old man in a hat, but originally it was supposed to be witty.
When you go into a tailor shop, what do you ask for?
The first thing I want is soft shoulders. The second thing I want is a single vent. I ask for a single pleat, although in more recent times I’ve asked for a double pleat like the old days. I always want a cuff, and I want the trousers to be proper trousers, not tight in any sense of the word. I want them to be generous, so that they drape, and when they arrive on the shoe, there’s a satisfying arrival. I’m not frightened of trousers, so I don’t want them to resemble jeans or anything. I want them to be proportionate to the jacket.
Do you go to the gym, and if so, what do you wear?
Ah, now this is an eternal question. If I happen to say that I’ve been to the gym, people always laugh. Which, okay, I get it. I’m a man of a certain age, and I don’t look like anybody who goes to a gym. But, you know, do you think I get on the treadmill in a two-piece lounge suit? No, I wear a pair of what I call “training trousers.” These are wide-legged, and they’re hard to find. I wear a pair of pomegranate Puma retro plimsoles and a series of large navy blue T-shirts from various places, including John Smedley.
