PRINCE CHARLES: MAKING THE CASE FOR CAMEL FOR DECADES
The muchmaligned coat is due a revisit, says
It’s been a week of polarising opposites in terms of men’s style. The Oscars showcased the most elegant and most ridiculous realms of tailoring – for every Brad Pitt in pin-sharp Brioni velvet there was a Queer
Eye presenter in a Spanish bullfighter number.
And while much was made of Joaquin Phoenix’s solemn pledge to wear the same Stella Mccartney tuxedo the whole way through awards season as a message about waste (credit where credit’s due, although a drop in the ocean of carbon footprints), later on in the week, the same ethos was applied without the pomp or press release.
Prince Charles has always quietly and steadfastly adhered to the very
British sensibility of
“make do and mend” in how he dresses.
While today’s millennials talk about buying less and better as if it were a groundbreaking concept, the
Prince of Wales (like many brought up in the post-war years) has done just that because it’s second nature, not a fashion statement.
As a case in point, he wore a camel coat this week during an outing in Leicester with the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It’s an item he’s worn several times over the last few years, courtesy of Marylebone tailor Steven Hitchcock, though his frequent fondness for this camel coat is nothing compared to his trusty Anderson & Sheppard tweed coat, which first appeared in the Seventies. As Britain is gripped by more arctic weather, the need for a solid coat shows no sign of abating just yet. Despite the efforts of HRH, there’s still a certain reticence about the classic camel coat in the world of menswear. Some of us might think of Richard Gere in American Gigolo, suave in soft-fit Giorgio Armani, but for most of us Brits, Arthur Daley in Minder springs to mind. Fashion might re-make the camel coat every winter, but the whiff of small-time gangster wheelerdealing hangs heavy. Which is a shame, because it’s a smart item that’s not as severe as funereal black and the one coat that can work fluidly between town and country. The Prince wears his in typically formal fashion, with Savile Row tailoring, but it can also look on point with more casual looks.
In fact, if you’re remotely concerned about the negative connotations, it’s perhaps best to steer it away from the suit and tie.
Camel – along with other colours in that soft, neutral spectrum – is an informed way to wear this kind of coat; just add a creamcoloured polo neck and a biscuit-hued pair of trousers and avoid muddy puddles. Likewise greys and blacks with camels can add a more minimalist, smarter feel.
Look for subtle details, too – a contrasting lapel, or a lapel in a soft, shawl shape as opposed to the more ubiquitous square or peak. You could even go the full Richard Gere with a fluid belted number; whatever steers it in the direction of
sprezzatura style and away from west London dodgy dealers.