How To Dress Well: Paddington Bear
Yes, he's a bear. But he's also a dapper style inspiration for the coming cold days.
As the April rains plummet and the cooler season approaches, our city streets start to resemble London’s, all puddled footpaths and smothering grey. On the brighter side, this is the ideal opportunity to dress all dapper and cool-like. As Woody Allen often said, “The sun is the bane of my existence.” It’s kind of impossible to look good in our regular climate, when the pounding heat forces us to don t-shirts, thongs and douchebag sunglasses. To borrow a quote from Yves Saint Laurent: “Style begins and ends with a coat.” (I just blatantly made that quote up, but it seems like something he’d say).
When I think of cold weather and rainy days, I think of Paddington Bear, that lovable creature from Darkest Peru, created by British author Michael Bond. There have been many incarnations of Paddington Bear since Bond’s first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published in 1958, but the most iconic is the BBC’s 1975 television series, Paddington, which featured some colourful cardboard cut-out sets and a stop-motion Paddington Bear who just stared blankly at things and stumbled around like a standard drunk. Here’s Paddington’s classic homage to Gene Kelly’s Singin’ In The Rain:
The centrepiece of Paddington’s wardrobe is his navy duffle coat. A classic duffle coat or pea coat is a timeless staple for the cooler months. Button it up, lightly pop up the collar, and you can feel like an ol’ timey Navy sailor from World War II, breathing in that salty air as you stand on the stern of your ship and think about your lonely young wife back home. If you stick a fake cigarette in your mouth and squint coolly while you wear it, you might even look like that classic photo of James Dean wandering down a wet New York street.
Matching Paddington’s hat is a challenge, though. It appears to be an oversized, oddly misshapen ol’ Peruvian bowler hat, with its brim upturned to stay out of his beady little eyes. If you own any sort of old black felt hat, maybe you could just step on it a bit or chuck it against a wall repeatedly, until it looks dusty, rustic and casually beaten up. An alternative could be a vintage sou’wester, the kinda floppy bucket hats that fishermen wear while navigating stormy seas. If you’re rich, here’s an awesome Amish hat that’s only $545.
Of course, Paddington doesn’t wear pants. Obviously, the way you choose to handle this stage of the outfit is your own prerogative, although it pays to be aware of the public nudity laws in your local area. Similarly, if you’d like to emulate Paddington’s fuzzy look, maybe just don’t shave for a few days. You won’t look anywhere near as warm and cuddly as Paddington, but sadly, there are some stylistic ideas that just don’t translate well across the species.
The final accessory is a battered brown leather suitcase, given to Paddington by his Aunt Lucy, when she first sent him aboard a ship to London. You can stick whatever you want in it (uppity work things like graph paper and computer tablets), but be aware that Paddington awesomely used it to store a spare marmalade sandwich and some bacon (for emergencies).
Navy Wolf duffle coat from Jack London: $329
Black floppy felt bowler hat from Etsy: $29
Brown vintage leather suitcase from Etsy: $55
Frank Cooper’s vintage Oxford marmalade from David Jones: $9.50