British men in for fashion shake-up

Press, 30 March 1989, Page 9

British men in for fashion shake-up

By

TONY VERDON

in London

Middle-aged men in comfy cardigans and cavalry twills are set to become the next battleground for the British fashion industry.

High Street men’s wear shops plan to compete for their custom, and potential consumers have been warned that their particular section of the clothing trade is known as “the grey market.” Two big British clothing chains are updating their image with new stores aimed at wooing older customers, as the age population of Britain continues to swing towards the over-50s. The head of Cabicci Fashions and a council

member of the British Clothing Industries Association, Mr Alex Pyser, says older men are no longer content to be fobbed off with ill-fitting suits and sombre sweaters.

“The recognition generally that older people can no longer be relegated to the scrap heap is beginning to be reflected in the clothing business,” he says.

“Role models such as Terry Wogen (television chat show host) and Prince Charles are showing the way,” Mr Pyser told “The Daily Telegraph” in London. The magazine for men, “GQ,” which recently launched a British edition, claims it receives a Targe postbag from older frnen

demanding fashion advice.

Mr Pyser says the middle-aged Englishman, for so long the butt of jokes about his dismal attire, may even be setting something of a trend.

“The French and Italians are looking to Britain for style leadership, and it isn’t the young jeans-wearers they are interested in — the fashion on the Continent is brogues and hacking jackets, reminiscent of the country gentleman,” he says. The publisher of “GQ,” Mr Stephen Quinn, says the mature man is now dressing for himself, not for his wife or his boss.

“It is no longer foppish for men to care about their appearance,” he says.