The world is full of unlikely style icons. Some might say that the most stylish find inspiration in the strangest of places and that is what we aim to bring to you with the start of a new series of Get Their Style.
Our first unlikely style icon is Boris Johnson. You may think this a bit far fetched but dwell on it for a moment and you will see why the London Mayor, fresh from his triumph at the Conservative party conference, has been hailed as a fashion icon. Who better to present Britain’s sartorial heritage well on the international stage.
A celebrity stylist recently commented, “He’s got “sprezzatura”, unlike his politician leader peers who seem to all look the same and who follow a ‘politician uniform formula’.
Boris has won the support from the unlikeliest of quarters – a London’s fashionista. Despite his trademark messy hair and typically unkempt demeanour, the London Mayor has been hailed as embodying something the Italians term ‘sprezzatura’; a scruffiness that is at the heart of classic British style, by celebrity tailor and stylist James Harvey Kelly.
Mr Harvey Kelly, who is Creative Director at men’s personal styling website The Chapar highlights that historically, as a country we understand that clothes are most elegant when they’re comfortable and worn without too much consideration which is why he believes Boris is “a shining beacon in a landscape littered with political dullards who live their lives in a uniform.”
James Harvey-Kelly, Head of Personal Styling at The Chapar has put together for Boris
Boris new look:
· LBM unconstructed soft blazer
· Brooks Brothers light blue button down oxford shirt
· Hentsch Man Joe Cord in a mustard yellow
· Brooks Brothers striped tie
· Church’s Brogue
The thinking behind the selection is:
“The idea behind this look is that the combined outfit would not be a complete sartorial rebirth for Boris, rather small tweaks that would smarted him up whilst retaining his zany outlook. The outfit is full of classics: the navy LBM soft blazer frames the classic light blue Brooks Brothers shirt. The blue theme reflects the prerequisite that politicians must be showing their colours at all times. However, the yellow Hentsch Man cords offer Boris an opportunity to reveal his character and perhaps his more liberal persuasions. In true Boris fashion, the button-down collar is worn unbuttoned, naturally.”
James has put together key styling tweaks to achieve a quintessentially Italian sprezzatura look:
· Button down collar buttons unbottoned (Gianni Agnelli, the godfather of italian sprezzatura, was famous for this).
· Tie length with tail slightly longer than front and a ‘four in hand knot’ slightly twisted.
· Cuff buttons left unbuttoned
· Maybe also nice to add cotton handkerchief not too carefully folded but just shoved in.
