We found the beautifully written Grey Fox Blog just under a year ago and it's become one of our favourite fashion blogs (definitely one for your reading list). Through the blog David takes us on his personal journey to find style as an older gentleman, which has led to him becoming an ambassador for entrepreneurs manufacturing goods in Britain.
We wanted to learn more about David, so we though we'd ask him a few questions about his blog, style and buying British.
Q: Please tell us a little about yourself and your blog?
I blog at www.greyfoxblog.com about my search for style and fashion as an older man (I’m in my mid fifties).
Q: What prompted you to start The Grey Fox Blog?
I wanted to write and considered starting a blog but couldn’t decide what to write about. I thought of the things that affect me as an older man and the difficulty of knowing what clothes to dress in and how to dress as an older man interested me. The shops are full of clothes for younger men and the fashion industry seems to forget that older men are just (potentially) just as interested in fashion, but need more classically designed clothes.
Q: What has been your most memorable moment/best experience you've had since starting Grey Fox?
Meeting so many interesting and new people – particularly the young entrepreneurs like you who so bravely and passionately start businesses to pursue a dream and an interest.
Q:You seem to have become a voice for entrepreneurs of Made in England companies, what have you learned from them about their products and industry that you think everyone should know about?
Well I think you have overstated my very modest and small role here, but I would like more people to know that there is a group of dedicated and often young people who are reviving many lost skills to rebuild the UK’s often obsolescent menswear manufacturing industries. For so many economic and environmental reasons we should buy more home-produced products – clothing and accessories. UK-made products are becoming competitive in price as we buy more and as many foreign industries find their costs increase. We will never make everything here, but we can make more here - and in doing so we revive many almost-lost skills.
Q: What advice would you give someone looking to buy a British made product? (why should they buy it, how can they find them?)
First stop would be my blog for a list of suppliers of UK-made menswear. If you are really wanting something British-made check with the supplier that it has been made here, rather than simply assembled here from parts made outside the UK, as sometimes happens with shoes.
Q: Describe your personal style, (has your personal style changed since starting the blog)?
I find this question very hard to answer as I’m still searching for a personal style. Classic with a twist is what I’m after but I’m not sure I’ve yet achieved it.
Q: What is the most treasured item you own and why? (how and where did you get it?)
An oil painting of a horse painted in the nineteenth century by a then-renowned artist and ancestor.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration? (blogs/sites/magazines)?
Everywhere – blogs like The Sartorialist, art galleries, shops, photographers, London generally.
Q: What 3 key items should every man over 40 own?
A sense of humour, a good pair of British-made brogues and a toothbrush.
Q: What can we expect from you in the near future?
Who knows? I’d like to do some collaborations with designers, menswear retailers on good ‘classic with a twist’ products that would appeal to stylish men of all ages. I’d also like to see more older-male models advertising men’s fashions - so I may be doing a little more cage-rattling around that issue. It strikes me as totally inexplicable that the fashion industry ignores a demographic as large and affluent as men over forty.