A fitting setting for your life story

Earlier this month I mentioned that your wardrobe really is much more than a piece of furniture. My chat with Patrick Grant over his E. Tautz label first made me see that a wardrobe is a story telling medium, with your life's style being playing the starring role. The contents should therefore deserve to be housed in something special. It is difficult to see your wardrobe as anything more than a cheap piece of furniture if like mine at home, it is tiny and poorly made. During my weekend trip to Antwerp I was fortunate enough to find, use and fall in love with my dream wardrobe. Ordinarily during a short city break I live out of my suitcase, hanging up the odd shirt which screams to be cared for a little more carefully and leaving the rest (somewhat erratically) folded up or tossed together in my bulging case. The B&B we stayed in this long weekend was wonderfully decorated and furnished (we spent the first hour or two taking all of the antiques and knick-knacks in) and our his&her double wardrobes were really something special. So special in fact that before exploring the city and nabbing the odd stock sale bargain we took great pleasure in hanging up and neatly folding each item. The Valet wardrobe was an impressive size complete with separate compartments which were beautifully labelled. My favourite features were the trouser rack (so much better than hanging four pairs of trousers on one hanger) and the compartments reserved for items less favoured today including collars and studs. Everything had its place and it all made sense. It really was a wardrobe fit to tell the life story of any man. Returning home, my packed wardrobe looked even more inadequate. For my next wardrobe I think I'll have to venture further a field than the Ikea on the outskirts of Wembley.