Paul Stafford on keeping his mettle as the most flamboyant dresser in Belfast for the last thirty years. Photos by Lee Mitchell.
Are you Belfast born and bred?
I was born and bred in Belfast, growing up on the Falls Road in the west of the city. Carnaby Street it was not, but in spite of the ongoing political and social issues, the area – and in fact the city – was rich with music and fashion, and I’m led to believe that there was a smattering of Bowie clones and glam rockers hiding behind barricades. But it was Punk that really set the city alight; okay, maybe a bad analogy when talking about Belfast, but in this case appropriate.
The famous line attributed to Terry Hooley, the Belfast godfather of punk, is ‘New York had the haircuts, London had the trousers but Belfast had the reason’. My parents moved to the south of Ireland in the late 70s, just as the mod revival then two-tone were kicking off, and when I returned to Belfast at weekends all my friends had suddenly become fully fledged mods and rude boys. Living in a small border town, I felt like I’d missed out on this really exciting movement, so set about reinventing my own image, first by copying the dress sense of my friends but gradually being more drawn to the emerging new romantic scene.
Does Belfast boast many emporia of gentlemanly raiment, whether new or vintage?
The mecca of menswear in Belfast is undoubtedly The Bureau. As you can imagine by the name, it takes its roots from a modernist background and has been at the forefront of menswear in Ireland for over three decades. Their styling has moved considerably over the years from its original focus towards a more Japanese workwear and utilitarian streetwear look, but still has that modernist Ivy League sensibility. My go-to tailor in Belfast is Patricia Grogan at The Cut, a trained tailor with impeccable taste and a great idea for detail. Her signature styles are modern takes on Great Gatsby 1920s three-piece suits with beautiful features and luxury cloths at about a third of the cost of a Savile Row suit.
What proportion of your clothing do you have to look further afield than the UK for?
Recently I’ve started to buy more things from Japan, just because the quality, cost and fit are better overall. I love Dry Bones, and I’ve found Kazuki Kodaka at Adjustable Costume very reliable at getting things to you quickly. Claudio at DNA is another reliable source of great value and new ideas, and has a brilliant eye for detail; Lorenzo at Capirari is another who always surprises me by the quality he can provide at very affordable prices.
What is your favourite spot in Belfast for a well-dressed passegiatta?
My instagram account is more of a diary than a platform for dressing up; a record of my love affair with Belfast. It’s a very one-sided relationship in some ways. Belfast is a tough city, you need to be thick skinned, resilient and driven to make a success of your life here, and there are the wounds and battle scars, as well as the fresh shoots of hope that make the city the juxtaposition it really is. When we shoot the City Streets series, I didn’t want to just ponce around in a beautifully cut Mark Powell suit (though I certainly do that regularly); I wanted use the city as a backdrop to who am and what these areas or people are to me. I try to convey the different aspects of the city that make it truly unique, or the things that people wouldn’t expect, the underlying stories of what Belfast was; its great inventors, architects, poets and writers, but also its rebels, villains and victims. There are ugly scorched waste grounds where there was once industry and people, and there are soulless grey concrete boxes where there was once breathtaking architecture. But then there is that Belfast attitude that it will all be okay in the end.
What is the general reaction from the good people of Belfast to you in your vast array of fabulous outfits?
I suppose dressing up is the same for everyone: if you wear a pair of spectator shoes or a hat you are sort of asking for trouble, especially if you are just wandering around Tesco at 10 am. By and large, people are pretty complimentary, but then Belfast is small and I know most people, as we’ve been in the hair industry for nearly 40 years. Of course I often get the Peaky Blinders comments, or ‘is the circus in town’ from the lads outside the pub, but it isn’t as bad as the 1980s, when you’d get chased by a bunch of skinheads or football thugs for wearing a bit of eyeliner. The weirdest moment recently was a bunch of goth kids sitting outside the city hall, with the usual green hair, black lips and piercings, sitting exactly where we used to sit many years ago as young mods or rockabillies. I suddenly heard one of them say “Weirdo!” out loud to me! You never lose it!
Which is the city in the world with the largest quantity of stylish men, in your view?
London is best-dressed city in the world. The street culture, the music, that English eccentric aesthetic, the multicultural influence and of course just far too many cool people doing wonderful things. My trips to London always include a visit to the king of Soho, Mark Powell, an original if ever there was one. I also love to have a mooch around Hunky Dory, Levinsons and Blackout Vintage, plus a few of the dealers in Camden who have goodies hidden away. I love Thomas Farthing – vintage styling that does not look like costume, and a visit to Lock & Co in St James’s is always dangerous.
Who are the historical personages who have most inspired you sartorially?
My first real style hero was Elvis Presley. That period of 1954-1962 was without a doubt his most sartorially influential period, though his 1960s wardrobe was not without its merits; even as he veered towards the 1970s full-blown Vegas look, his off-stage gear was still pretty cool. Then Bowie’s Young Americans period, almost kitsch but so ahead of its time: glam 1950s-inspired suiting or sports jackets with wide open-collared shirts and balloon pegs, and then that haircut: prototype wedge, blow-dried to perfection and almost breathing… it lives! Kevin Rowland is a true stylist, who is not only cool but also truly fearless, as was Ian Dury. True Dandies one and all!
This interview first appeared in CHAP Summer 22
