I was very excited when Phil agreed to be interviewed for my blog because I feel like I'm always writing for a female audience and I'd like to think there are some blokes out there that read this (even though it's quite unlikely). Also I've recently become quite curious to understand how men dress themselves and want to be presented to the rest of the world. I think that we've all been lead into this idea that only women care about what they look like and if they're "trendy" or not. So here it is, fashion from a mans point of view...
How would you describe your style of clothing?
Usually, for me a lot of my clothing is practical. So there's a lot of trends that I think maybe look good on other people but I don't ever feel the need to wear them, so like, I've always been a baggy jean person I tried on a pair of skinny jeans once and I didn't feel like I could live with that, so I much prefer wearing stuff I feel comfortable in. I very rarely buy clothes in my normal everyday life in Bristol, so when I go somewhere I like looking at independent shops that I don't get the opportunity to see everywhere and buying something kind of like a souvenir. So a lot of the time clothing has a connection to place or a memory for me as well.
Have you always followed trends or just wore your own style?
I think I probably did a little bit when I was younger, I kind of grew up in the early nighties/late eighties I suppose, and so probably did follow a little bit of trend at the time I was listening to grunge music so I did wear my big dm boots and wore baggy jumpers full of holes and grew long hair. So I definitely did do that, I got my ear pierced a few times, but I guess since I've been in my early twenties I don't think I have followed any trends really. A lot of people maybe think that I have followed trends recently because the kind of 'folk' image is coming back, like I'll wear a flat cap a lot. But I've always done that, so sometimes I'm in trend and sometimes I'm out of trend but it's never a conscious decision
Looking back on yourself when you were younger did you ever feel like you had to dress the way that you did or was it more of a personal thing?
I didn't feel that I had to in the respect that I was put under pressure of anything but it was a time at my life when I was really struggling to have an identity. I started playing the guitar when I was 12/13 years old and I liked listening to loud,heavy,grungey,angry music and I wanted to dress in a way that expressed how I felt but I was never into heavy metal, and long coats and stuff. But I think I felt like I had to more like a rebellion against my parents - like most teenagers do, and probably against the conformity of my school or my college. So for me when I look back it I never felt like I had to wear this or that or wear anything or style myself in a certain way that didn't feel right for me because everyone else did. There was this phase where all I listened to was early american blues or early British like sixties rock'n'roll that was really inspired by american blues, like the kinks and the who and the rolling stones, but I never felt like I had to try and take on any elements of style from that genre 60 years ago. But it just felt natural to wear dm's and baggy jumpers.
Do you ever thing that it was harder for you as a boy when choosing your style?
The only thing I've ever thought about and I don't think this very often, is that there is so much less options for guys. Fashion for women is so much more interesting and so much more scope and I guess that's because with guys you've only got a tshirt and a pair of trousers.
But does it ever feel like you're suppressed to only wear jeans and a tshirt, for instance a girl can wear a tux if she doesn't want to wear a dress but if a man didn't want to wear a tux it would be frowned on if he wore a dress?
Yeah, well that's a really good example. I went to university in Bristol and we'd have balls every year, which I never really liked that formal dressing up kind of thing, but one of the things I hated about it is that if you're a guy and you're going to a ball you have to wear a suit, because that's all you really have to wear and if you go to far from the norm you might not get entrance to the event. Whereas if you're a woman and you wear a tux that's fantastic or if you wear a cocktail dress or any other type of smart dress but me can only wear a trouser suit, which I find pretty boring.
Do you think that boys get the same amount of trouble from their parents as girls do with the whole "you're not going out like that" issue?
I think it does but from a very different perspective, I think the parents concern about the daughter is just about protection, but maybe for guys it's just to do with the representation of the family and they're a representative of the parents and they don't want that them going out and being misrepresented in that way. But I don't think it's the same thing for girls.
Do you think that the musician side of you is completely different to the everyday dad side of you?
For me having a kid immediately changes the way you chose your clothes, it becomes very very difficult, especially for the first year because you couldn't wear anything that you're not afraid of getting poo,wee or sick on. Also having a kid means that the washing machine is always on the go so you can't prioritise certain things so you have to be flexible about it. So the dad side of me is not precious about anything but when I gig I think there is a couple of things I do. I like to have something that forms my identity as a performer something that people can recognise, so the hat is something I get noticed for quite a lot because I'm never really without a hat and if i'm out without a hat on a lot of people quite often don't recognise who I am because they've only seen me preforming in a hat and a shirt. But occasionally when I have a big gig I'll put a suit with a waist coat and a trilby and I think the process of getting ready gets me a bit more revved up, it feels like more of a special occasion.
So in the news recently there has been a lot of discussion about kids wearing clothes that are too grown-up for them - for instance primark were selling padded bras for eight year old children, so the way you dress your son would it be a big issue for you if he was wearing some of the clothes that have been shunned recently?
I think that it's a really big moral issue dressing up children like that. I didn't know that they were selling the stuff you were talking about, that's really quite horrific, but one of the things that has really bugged me is big slogans on very young kids like 1,2,3,4 year olds. I saw a little girl that had 'porn star in training' written across her jumper and the parents or somebody has obviously bought that for her and immediately you're thinking "what are you thinking?". But even the ones which aren't as offensive as that like 'mama's little angel' I just find that very strange that you would want to put your child in that. It's very difficult as well because we get bought a hell of a lot of stuff for him and we get a lot of clothes which we then have to censor ourselves. But when we're buying stuff I just try to make it plain, which is really hard because it's very hard to find plain children's clothes, I don't know if you've ever been to mothercare but when you go in, one side of the shop is pink, red and yellow and the other side is black, grey and blue so if you're trying to buy something for a year old boy it's either going to be white,blue, grey or black and that's it.
And finally, have you ever been inspired by anyone or anything in particular that has changed the way you dress?
I think the thing that I like the most is when somebody embodies what they're wearing, completely comfortably and that could be a very plain thing or a very flamboyant thing. One of the things I hate seeing is people wearing something and looking uncomfortable. Like if you go out around here on a Friday/Saturday night you'll see girls walking around in really high heels looking like they're almost in pain. People who are comfortable with what they're wearing always look good.
Ok - I hoped you all liked that. If you couldn't tell from the interview Phil is an amazing musician who does tours all over the place so if you ever get a chance - check him out.
His website
http://www.phil-king.net/
B.x
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