AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
‘You’ve gotta walk into a place looking like something,’ says Dennis E. Armstead, the United States’ most dashing septuagenarian. ‘Aim to provoke an emotion from people who are scared to dress.’ From those who are scared to dress. Competition closed: the rake has its new mantra.
POCKET GUIDE
by aleksandar cvetkovic photography luke carby
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1. Dennis has worn this Paul Stuart collar pin for decades. He ‘guards it with his life’, prizing its unusually slim and delicate design. He’s searched in vain for a comparable example.
style of the American jazz greats. A happy find in New & Lingwood some years ago when George Glasgow of Cleverley was still working there, no small effort has been exhausted to keep them so pristine.
2. A loyal Anderson & Sheppard customer, Dennis always requests a broad peaked lapel with a deep point. Its poise holds a unique appeal, as does its comparative rarity when compared with the ubiquitous notch.
6. Dennis’s shirts are made by Turnbull & Asser. This rounded collar is a bespoke design created for him; go into Turnbull & Asser and you can actually ask for ‘Dennis’s collar’…
3. This vintage Rolex was a gift from Dennis’s sons, and their initials are engraved for him on the back of the case. He takes great pride in it, hence its immaculate condition.
7. Braces are a necessity for Dennis; he lays claim to ‘a collection and a half’. This vintage Thurston pair features a cheeky nude motif — a nod to his funloving character.
4. Dennis has no qualms about proclaiming himself a fan of Barack Obama. ‘I’m American, baby,’ he says. The presence of his patriotic lapel pin is, it seems, self-explanatory.
8. These bracelets have deep personal significance for Dennis. Civil rights activist Kimako Baraka made him the first. The other was made during his time in Nigeria with Fela Kuti. Dennis says ‘they represent African Africa and American Africa’, and their interlinking serves as a reminder of Dennis’s identity.
5. Dennis’s correspondents reflect his penchant for the
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fter spending an afternoon with the effervescent septuagenarian jazz hipcat and all-round bon vivant Dennis E. Armstead, you might be tricked into thinking you’re in the company of the most vivacious of twentysomething epicureans. With his youthful charm, a wardrobe capable of challenging that of our magazine’s dear founder, and possessing a generosity of spirit to match, Mr. Armstead is the embodiment of everything The Rake admires.
Dressing confidently is hugely important to Dennis. ‘You’ve gotta walk into a place looking like something,’ he says. ‘Aim to provoke an emotion from people who are scared to dress.’ Certainly, matching a chocolatebrown triple-stripe suit to a soft-pink Oxford shirt takes strength of character.
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