Businessman style Q&A

Businessman and PR guru Marcus Brewster shares his style secrets with us.

How would you describe your style?
Business casual. Although there may have been a time when I wore a T-shirt under a jacket or even a short-sleeved shirt in summer, I now only wear long-sleeved shirts to the office. I often wear jeans to work, but mostly on days when I only have internal meetings.

Is it important to have a sense of fashion style in your line of work? Why?
I don’t think being fashionable is as important as dressing to suit the client context. I always maintain that in PR, you must dress in a manner that in synch with your client. In that regard, your wardrobe has to be ambassadorial in that the PR professional is a representative of that brand. In this regard, I would dress very differently to visit a banking client compared to how I might dress for a site meeting with an architect client.

How does style relate to public relations and building a good personal brand?
I think no matter whether you are meeting in a bank or on a construction site, you want to create a favourable impression – and certainly being well-groomed and well-dressed contribute to being perceived as professional. It is specifically this attribute – being perceived as professional – that engenders confidence all the way up the stakeholder chain.

What should every man have in his wardrobe?
Every man should have a great pair of classic black brogues in his cupboard. A pair of quality shoes (and that does mean expensive) will lift any outfit. Then, a dark suit is very useful to travel with. You wear the jacket with jeans on the flight and you wear the suit to meetings the next day. Similarly for business travel, I always wear a classic slip-on driving shoe or moccasin. Finally, a great set of cufflinks. Nothing says you mean business like cufflinks, which can be worn with denim or black-tie.

Is there any item of clothing or an accessory that you can’t leave home without?
My sunglasses. Although I used to have multiple pairs in different colours to coordinate with whatever I was wearing, I now only wear my petrol blue Ray-Bans.

What is your most treasured item of clothing and why?
It changes with the seasons – right now I can’t bear to be separated from my woollen Ermenegildo Zegna jacket that I bought in Rome last year.

Do you have a style icon?
Cary Grant – always and forever.

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