Music & Menswear: King Charles

By Vanessa Lynn, Men’s Style Editor
“Your own pair of trousers look better on me.” -King Charles, lyrics from Ivory Road.

So I’ve basically been doing happy dance circles around my apartment since the May release of King Charles’s album, LoveBlood. I waited so long for it’s release and it lives up to all of my expectations and more. Everything about King Charles is just cool. For starters, he seems to know absolutely everyone there is to know in the UK music scene. I’ll be watching what I thought was just some random music video and then bam, there he is. And I have a feeling he is going to blowup in the States just like Mumford and Sons did two years ago.

I also love that he has a persona that he puts on, maybe not to Die Antwoord‘s proportions but a character nonetheless. Anyway, anyone who plays glam folk (and I don’t mean Vince Noir’s version although that’s grand as well), frequently makes Oscar Wilde references in his songs, and has hair kinda like this guy is winning in my book.

But I digress. King Charles has a really great personal style with a strong vintage vibe. He acts like a king and definitely dresses the part. You can pull inspiration from his wardrobe through the attitude of your own clothing. First decide if you want to wear a suit or unmatched separates. If you opt for a suit and want to go all out in King Charles glory, find a black suit with tails or an all white suit. Underneath, wear a white button down with a mandarin collar or a bib front tuxedo shirt. Coordinate either of these options with velvet slippers or loafers fit for a king.

If separates are more your style, you have a lot of options. If you want to wear a suit jacket, look for one that has a shawl collar and you can easily pair said jacket with a waistcoat, the shirt styles mentioned above, and a pair of black trousers.

For another option, try a pair of navy trousers (velvet is a bonus) and match with a blue button down. After cuffing your sleeves, try putting on a light colored belt to break up the blue. If you are super daring, you could even try a cummerbund as the King wears them often. However, proceed with caution, because this look requires the style level of “awesome” for one to pull off and not look either really silly or like you work at a hotel (or perhaps both). With the blue separates look, wear brown or cream leather shoes that come to a point at the toe. Try finding shoes that have interesting stitch details.

To finish off your look you could try a paisley scarf, wearing it either cravat style or loose around your neck. And because King Charles is often pictured with a cane, you could accessorize your look by carrying a walking umbrella if rain is in the forecast. Just remember to think British thoughts and perhaps add some Union Jack cuff-links and you’re good to go. Oh. And you may want to start growing your hair out because if you ever want to come even close to emulating King Charles’s voluminous ‘do, you best get started now because it will take awhile.