Gentleman from Portugal
António Sérgio Rosa de Carvalho was born in Lisbon (1953). For years now he moved to the Netherlands because of the love of his life. He is an architectural historian and writes public papers for Público, a Portuguese newspaper, as well. Besides that, he’s the founder of Tweedland, The Gentlemen’s Club. A club of like-minded. In this club, one is not allowed to speak about money and business.
Communication
The first time I met António Sérgio was during a TweedRide in Amsterdam. On that summer day, he was not wearing tweeds but a summery seersucker suit. António Sérgio: “Fashion and apparel are nowadays seen as appearance, but it is much more than that. Clothing is a form of communication. It is a symbolic framing. All attributes are a strategy to align with yourself.”
Be yourself
Clothing has nothing to do with power games, it’s not just appearance. It is important that your inner is in accordance with your appearance. That is also an important difference between a dandy and a gentleman. I love style and quality, style is the DNA of your identity. Oscar Wilde has said it nicely:“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken’
Second hand
‘Today I’m wearing a Colbert by Cordings. It’s a good quality’ mid-season fabric. I bought it on Portobello Road in London. In Amsterdam, Tommy Page’s shop is my favorite. To me, accessories like braces and ties are very important. I wear only second-hand clothes. And in our home, there are many second-hand items that we have saved.”
Gentleman
“I regret very much that many people are polite in private and committed to quality. But they have been stopped to maintain these codes in public. But let’s be optimistic, maybe that will be beneficial again.” When ready with photographing, António Sérgio insisted to accompany me to the nearest tram stop. It started to rain, but he took his umbrella. He maintained it above my head. What a kind man he is, a real gentleman!
