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When it comes to his
outerwear attire, King Charles has long channelled two of the titles he has
earned during almost 60 years of public service: best-dressed man and climate
campaigner.
While the King, who
topped men's magazine Esquire's best-dressed list in 2009 - beating the
likes of Roger Federer and Barack
Obama to the number one spot - cuts a dashing figure
in his bespoke tweed overcoat, its longevity points to something more profound
than Charles's style credentials.
For the King has
owned the coat in question - a tweed, double-breasted number with
deep pockets and a turn-back cuff - not for a few years but for a few decades,
betraying a rejection of fast fashion and its negative impact on the
planet.
Charles has long
been a keen advocate of make do and mend, although that's perhaps a little
easier to do if your clothes are made on Savile Row.
One of the first times the then-Prince of Wales wore his tweed coat was for a photocall at Sandringham on 3 January 1988 with Princess Diana and a three-year-old Prince Harry. Harry and Diana are also dressed for the winter weather with the young prince wearing a powder blue peacoat by Catherine Walker and his mother dressed in a cashmere and wool coat with synthetic beaver fur by Arabella Pollen
Cut by the
Mayfair-based tailor Anderson & Sheppard and clearly made to
last, Charles's coat was a mainstay of his wardrobe when he was married to
Princess Diana.
And, photographed in
it on 26 November of this year while attending the Sunday service at St.
Mary Magdalene church in
While it's unclear
what the then Prince Charles would have paid for the coat originally, if the
King wanted to replace it now, a spokesperson told MailOnline a similar coat
would cost £6,894.
On
One of the first
times Charles was seen in the tweed coat was on
The young Prince
Harry is dressed in a powder blue peacoat by Catherine Walker while his mother
is wearing a cashmere and wool coat with synthetic beaver fur by
designer Arabella Pollen.
Charles was again
seen in his tweed coat on Christmas Day in 1998 when he was accompanied by both
Prince William and Prince Harry at the annual service at
Charles continued to
wear the coat to public engagements throughout the 2000s and beyond, once
pairing it with a hi-vis vest while viewing renovation work at Llwynywormwood
in
But, while it's
undoubtedly one of the King's most distinctive items of clothing, the tweed
coat isn't the only item that Charles has managed to keep hold of for
decades.
In 2018, Charles
revealed that he was still walking around in a pair of shoes that he bought 47
years previously in 1971.
Although it is
unclear which pair of shoes had stood the test of time, Charles has worn a pair
of mahogany brogues consistently from 1971.
He made the admission in a rare question and answer session with the Australian Financial Review Magazine, which was published online.
Charles said: 'I
have always believed in trying to keep as many of my clothes and shoes going
for as long as possible (some go back to 1971 and one jacket to 1969!) -
through patches and repairs - and in this way I tend to be in fashion once
every 25 years.
'It is extraordinary
how fashions change and, speaking as someone who, on the whole, hates throwing
away things without finding another use for them or mending them, I couldn't be
more delighted if, at last, there is a growing awareness of the urgent need to
get away from the 'throwaway society' and to move towards a more 'circular
economy'.'
Writing for FEMAIL, Liz Jones noted:
'The collar, originally dark brown velvet or cord, is now fawn. And while the
pockets still have their stud fastenings, they have clearly been patched up
(and even the patches now have holes).'
Indeed, if most people who profess to be climate-conscious manage to recycle an item of clothing for a few years, Charles has shown himself to be much more committed to the cause.
