The Duke of Windsor

Edward, the Duke of Windsor was considered one of the best dressed men in the world and his influence on men’s fashion is still seen today. Fern Mallis, the director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America once said; ''The Duke was sort of like Princess Di in contemporary times, a fashion icon for the monarchy.

In 1936 King Edward the VIII abdicated the English throne to marry American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. The people of England apparently would never accept Simpson as the Queen so Edward abdicated to his younger brother George VI and was given the title Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The Duke of Windsor loved to mix and match patterns and colours. He would layer checks on stripes on patterns of all contrasting colours. Edward pretty much invented relaxed clothing for men. He was a great fan of zippers and elastic waistbands especially for sports and country wear. The Duke also liked a good tailored suit and he would customise his suits to make him appear more prominent as he actually had quite a small build.

In 1998 the belongings and wardrobe of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor went to action at Sotheby’s fetching US$23.4 million.




Images: Flickr