Living with history in Simon Carter’s home
Simon Carter is recounting the history of his collection of canada goose coat 1000 mid-century glass which glows ruby red in the spring sunshine. “All the pieces are made by Whitefriars. I find the company fascinating because there’s something quintessentially English about its rise and fall. It began in 1717 and by the mid-20th century they were producing thousands of designs. But when cheaper imports started to flood the market in the 1970s it couldn’t compete. Instead of re-inventing related site, it collapsed.”
The tale resonates with Carter, who may not be a household name in menswear design, but whose business has weathered two recessions with its range of Liberty shirts, trim tweeds and cufflinks. “We don’t do glossy ads or expensive shows. Ours is an unashamedly middle-class brand. We appeal to customers who don’t care about fashion, but appreciate good design,” he says. “I’m also reasonably good at business, which is where so many designers fail.”
Home is similarly unassuming: a 19th-century terrace house in south London which he bought 20 years ago. “The previous owners lived here for 37 years. I’d see the husband pottering along on his Norton motorcycle. It had a romance to it,” says Carter, who lives with his husband, Derek Taylor. “There’s no style diktat; it’s comfortable, not cool.”
There’s no style diktat here; it’s comfortable, not cool. I like things average price for a canada goose jacket that are worn around the edges
The house has a new-meets-old feel, with walls covered in original Anaglypta, knotty floorboards and stained-glass doors throwing jewelled shadows. A tinkly pull bell announces visitors who come into a hallway where the carpet is red and the walls are painted in greens, apricots and a punchy marigold inspired by eau de cologne packaging: “I took the box into the paint shop and they copied the colour for me,” says Carter.
Similar pragmatism lies behind the kitchen. “The carcasses of the units are Ikea, the doors from Howdens. I think it’s stood the test of time.” Handles, with hand-written labels, were inspired by vintage shop fittings, the shelving is made from surplus worktop and a pair of angels from a deconsecrated church frame hover overhead.
It’s here that you find Taylor baking cakes for the couple’s joint venture, the award-winning Dalhousie coffee house in Crystal Palace, south London. “Derek’s Victoria sponge has made him a local celebrity,” says Carter. The couple married two years ago and Taylor, whose taste is for the “clean and modern”, is putting his mark on the house, such as a new shiny range to replace a 1957 cooker. “We had one of our frank exchanges about the cooker,” smiles Taylor.
“I like things that are a bit worn around the edges, like old friends,” says Carter. Things such as the leather armchairs which sit under a Victorian farm clock. Two lamps are made from gun butts rescued from a closing-down London gunsmith near Carter’s Mayfair shop; “It’s on the site of the original May Fair.” A Cocteau plate perches on a shelf and there is a dash of “pretentious grandeur” in a salvaged Edwardian door portico.
Upstairs, an old propeller blade came from Eat Your Heart Out, the vintage shop in Chelsea where Carter worked as a student in the 1980s. “One day, someone brought in a 1930s brooch which I took instead of wages. I got it copied and trudged up and down the King’s Road in my pixie boots until I managed to persuade one rather grand jeweller to buy 50. It was a turning point. After that, I designed accessories before moving into menswear. I was in my early 20s, buy canada goose jacket uk canada goose coat 1000 calorie bariatric diet but everything seemed easier: lower overheads, no risk assessments.”
He points out a recent acquisition, a set of Edwardian walnut shutters reinvented as wardrobe doors. “They came from the French ambassador’s house in London. I’m pleased they’ve found a new home… Longevity is key. I love it when I see someone wearing one of my suits that they’ve had for years. I’d hate to design something that people only wore for one season. I’d think I had failed.” simoncarter.net