Be A Brit, Will You?

There’s something absolutely charming about the British, in spite of their rather dry wit. Possibly there’s something regal, even aristocratic about the British, their humour, their work, their writing.
I remember the days when My Best Friend and I used to take English Literature. We’d be reading Austen and imagining how George Knightley would look like, and what a drawing room felt like. Or how Emma would look like and the tosses of her head, the words she’d speak. And how devoid of sex the whole novel would be yet it scintillated just the right amount.
I grew up reading Enid Blyton so that’s another Brit. At the impressionable age of 8, who wouldn’t want to have midnight feasts in the dorm with scones and such? Scores of young girls would have BEGGED their families to enrol into boarding schools (My Best Friend was nearly packed off to England but ultimately she was ‘saved’ as she was the baby of the family and her mom couldn’t bear to send her daughter off to boarding school). Only later we found out how lucky we were. Boarding schools were not as fun as Blyton wrote about. But Blyton was a true blue Brit who wrote passionately about everything that was familiar to her.
And then there’s James Bond. The suave hero who never gets his Savile Row suit blemished, not even when he was fighting some baddies who mostly looked like oversized Russian peasants with newfound weapons. He never huffs or puffs and never has a hair out of place. And he gets the ladies all tingly inside.
There’s also something elegant, even beautiful about the Royal Family despite the strange tragedies which have befallen them. Isn’t Diana’s death, sad as it may be, some sort of unreal fairytale poem? That the beautiful and the innocent die young? The British monarchy have lasted this long because they represented an era where the British were mighty and strong. Never mind that their national food now might be chicken tikka instead of the good old Brit grub.
This symbolism of Britain and all that it represents, outside of its geographical areas, is what makes being a Brit special. It’s not only now but a symbolism of all Brits past, their tumultous past intertwined with culture, war, bloodbaths, kings who’ve eloped, barbaric acts, and more have made being Brit all the more charming.
Their famous stiff upper lip for example. Or how about the indescribable accent? Their accents can be highly seductive after all the American accents we get day in and day out. Do we really wonder why we like Hugh Grant, besides the fact that he looks ravishing in a silly-boy manner? Or why Robbie Williams is almost God-like? And countless other Brits have charmed the world, once they open their mouths and it – their accent – gives them away?
Today, I found something absolutely dashing online. Being the granddaughter of a rather famous tailor in Penang (yes, I am showing my roots off now…), I think I can lay claim that this has got to be the best blog of the day, from a sartorial point of view of course.
Thomas Mahon is a bespoke Savile Row tailor, London, and he writes his blog ‘English Cut’ in the most adoring manner. Again, the trademark Brit wit is never far off. Mahon makes great reading (and great suits…think classic suits which fit…none of those polyester off the supermarket racks which makes everyone look like they’ve just hopped off the boat from mainland China) and has the charm of James Bond to match.
If there was an English hero, my guess is that he would be a tailor, something like Mahon. Even if you don’t like wearing suits (but think what a dashing hero you’d be if you wore a suit, dahling) in this tropical weather, think what it’ll do to women. Women get tingly and swoon at men who look polished, impeccable and sharp. I know I do. (Big tip: For you men who don’t know what else you can do to impress your woman, try a suit. A bespoke suit, if you can.)
Don’t just take my word for it. Try reading Mahon’s English Cut and come away feeling terribly smart and fashionable.
After all, classic doesn’t go out of style.

2 thoughts on “Be A Brit, Will You?”

  1. glanced thru this blog….so deeep that i hv to allocate another session to it. bloody hell, i must really buck up otherwise my shallowness will be revealed and being a wannabe is not more an ambition.
    i will be back!

    Reply

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