Interview: menswear blogger Grey Fox

Pc: Mr Porter

"Why did you start blogging?"

A joke I always like to make is that within about 2 weeks of being my friend, you'll end up starting a blog. Believe me, so many of my friends have toyed with the idea of being a blogger when they meet me. When a website of just you mumbling for about 500 words becomes such a incredible part of your life, it really puts things into perspective when people are in awe of that. 

I started my blog over two years ago, as a bored, disenfranchised with life teen. Even back then, living in my bubble of Essex, there weren't many, well, guys like me who I could look up to. Bloggers such as David Evans, the refined mind behind the blog Grey Fox, was a blog I'd read in my bedroom, hoping that one day, I could be like him. Goodness, this post is becoming cheesier than a Nick Jonas song. 

After meeting him at a talk about the relevancy of men's fashion in the industry at the University of the Arts London, I was inspired. Age is but a number, as the adage goes, the apparent unacceptability of older men wearing, say coloured trousers makes no sense. I'm going to be rocking bow ties and coloured chinos for years to come. 

It's an odd feeling meeting someone who's entire perception you have is made of images on a laptop screen. The light of the drinks receptions was roughed and powdered, exchanging business cards, we chatted and talked with Lizzie by my side, airy champagne in hand. I asked to have a minute of his time to interview him. how could I pass up the chance?

J: Tell me a little about yourself?

D: I started my blog over three years ago to describe my search for a style as an older man. I think men over 40 or so are largely forgotten by the menswear industry, despite their affluence and numbers. My background is in law and teaching, so I have no fashion background at all, other than as a consumer, and that gives me a useful status as a blogger.

J: How did you find yourself pursuing blogging?

D: I wanted to write and thought that a blog would provide practice. I chose my search for style as a topic simply to give me something I could write about with some interest. I thought the blog would be finished within 6 months.

J: Do you find it difficult being a man in an industry dominated by women?

D: No. In menswear I meet plenty of men. In any event, I love the company of women so it gives me no problem at all.

J: How would you describe the 21st centrist fashion scene? 

D: Compared to previous decades, it is a little less definable. The current fashion scene is looking back to classics but using modern materials and manufacturing. Tailoring and detail and modern cuts prevent it from being pastiche. It's a good time for men of all ages to dress well.

J: How would you describe your own personal style, and who inspires you?

D: Classic, but willing to experiment and learn. I find it hard to identify who inspires me; it can be an image, such as from The Sartorialist,, a product display in a shop, or a well-dressed person in the street. I have no 'style icons' as such, it's a question is seeing and noting detail, wherever it can be found and whenever it inspires.

J: What do you think is the most undervalued item in menswear?

D: The sock.

J: Materialistically, what can't you live without in our bustling world?

D: A good vintage watch.

J: Emotionally, what can't you live without?

D: My family.

J: What advice would you give aspiring menswear bloggers? We need hope!

D: Find a niche . This is important as you have to differentiate your offering from many others. Just look at all the cloned womenswear blogs to see what happens if you don't do this. Also, be enthusiastic about what you do and be yourself, don't try to be too cool, it never works, real coolness comes from being yourself.

J: And finally, what's your goal for Grey Fox for 2015?

D: A blog redesign is overdue. I want to make over three years contents more accessible to readers. I'd like to be making a little from the blog. It's an expensive hobby and most brands are prepared to take much, much more than they give, understandably. However, I need some funding to keep the blog going forward while ensuring it stays as a blog in the traditional sense, of one person's thoughts, not a team of disparate writers.

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Meeting one of your icons will always be a strange experience for most. I only had a brief discussion with the silvered maverick, his tweed jacket perching on his denim shirt striking the eye. He's e genuine guy, and a role model for not just the way we should dress, but live as well. 

I mean come on, if being nice and dressing well is the secret to looking as good as he does, then plastic surgeons might as well put themsevles out of business.