On a serene and pristine stretch of Clifford Street, in the heart of Mayfair, Audie Charles will be very happy to welcome you into one of the most pleasant men’s-wear shops in the world. Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery is the eight-year-old offshoot of the storied Savile Row tailor, which Charles stocks with shirting, trousers, knitwear, pajamas, umbrellas, and even flannel nightshirts. (Everything a man might need in life, really, except for those bespoke suits, which are handled at the brand’s atelier just around the corner.) Charles spent much of her career working alongside tailor Doug Hayward, and, after he passed away, she received a phone call from Anda Rowland, the owner of Anderson & Sheppard, who had recently procured the space for the Haberdashery. “I was a bit baffled, because I wasn’t 35 anymore, and so I said to Anda, ‘Are you sure you’ve got the right person?’” recalls Charles with a laugh. “But Anda can be very persuasive.” Beautiful clothing and accessories aside, the Haberdashery’s real attraction is Charles herself, who relishes the opportunity to sit on the sofa and share a cup of tea with strangers and longtime clients alike. “Pop in, have a chat, use the computer … just relax,” says Charles, who spends her downtime wandering among the parks near her home in the Barnes neighborhood of London, which she has inhabited for almost 50 years. “We’re always here.” Naturally, she has a firm grasp on the key components to the good life …
App: Audiobooks
Bag: A crossbody that holds my phone, earbuds, and a credit card—I’m ready for battle!
Bedtime: Early
Birthday: Lunch with friends and home with my dog, Mr. Chips
Breakfast, weekday: Mango and porridge
Breakfast, weekend: Poached eggs
Car: My 25-year-old red Figaro
Child: My five grandchildren
Cocktail: Margarita
Cocktail appetizer: Fried zucchini
Date: The feeling of playing hooky, like taking a midweek-afternoon trip to the cinema with my husband
Diet: Italian
Dinner, weekday: Linguini with clams and a glass of cold, dry white wine
Dinner, weekend: Oven-roasted branzino with rosemary potatoes and, in the summer, endless glasses of the palest of pales rosé de Provence
Disguise: Rock chic
MATCH:
Coffee and chocolate
Dress: Anything from my friend Maureen, at Egg on Kinnerton Street
Drive: Anywhere that ends at the sea
Enemy: Tiredness
Escape: My garden
ExcusE: “I need to get home to my dog”
First Lady/First Man: The Queen and David Attenborough
Fit: Relaxed
Flaw: Overthinking things
FriendS: The ones that are still alive
Hotel: Lone Star in Barbados
Jacket: A lovely English tweed
Last Meal: Fish and chips
Lunch, weekday: A bowl of soup and great bread
Lunch, weekend: A meal at the River Café
Movie: Anything with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn
Name: “Hey, you!”
Nonfiction book: Lady in Waiting, by Anne Glenconner
pants: Gray flannels
Podcast: Blamo!
President: Obama
Shoes: Velvet slippers
Singers: Ray Charles and Etta James
Storm: Snow
Television series: Brideshead Revisited
Vacation SPOT: Somewhere I can see the horizon
Wake-up time: As early as possible, with the dawn
Audie’s Essentials
