David Watkins’ ABBEYDALE retail concept – a storefront tailored precisely to the uptown Charlotte market — and shares his luxe utilitarian style with us.
It is a rare occasion that you’ll see Charlotte native and House of ABBEYDALE founder, David Watkins not dressed to the nines or without a look of purpose on his face. So what is David so serious about all the time? According to him it’s “Simply to help men…especially in Charlotte, dress better.” This is so important to David because he believes that, “Dressing is vital as it is the fastest snapshot you can give someone that explains a little about yourself. We are all deeper than our clothing but some never get a chance to move closer with a bad first impression.”
David was introduced to style and fashion at a young age by his grandfather. “Always pressed…he made a concerted effort to look his best well into his old age. Inspiring.” We salute you grandpa because that inspiration is the driving force behind ABBEYDALE, which has quickly made its mark on the men’s fashion scene in Charlotte. David also draws inspiration from local style icons, Glen Taylor and Dick Pattison of Charlotte’s own and nationally recognized menswear store, Taylor Richard’s and Conger.
David’s core philosophy is fit over everything. “Start with the fit, get it perfect and everything will fall into place.” He draws inspiration from the US Armed Forces and believes they have done more for menswear in the US than anyone. This probably explains his “luxe utilitarian” look. Currently all of ABBEYDALE’s creations are custom made (suits, shirts, tuxedos, jackets, and trousers) but he is also working on a ready to wear collection as well as a line of neckwear and shoes. Abbeydale’s pieces tend to be soft structured easy wearing garments. A bit of a change of pace to the structured suiting you typically see in a banking town like Charlotte. “When someone slips on an unstructured ABBEYDALE garment their eyes widen. That probably makes it my favorite” , he says with a grin.
David has also created a website called Gentlemen’s Armory whose sole purpose is to inform and expose a younger generation to luxury brands. According to David, “It gives the gent in Iowa or South Dakota a shot at wearing something of incredible quality.” Most exciting for us all, David is working on a much needed retail concept that will be located uptown and is slated to open in mid-April of this year.
If you’re interested in getting your hands on a custom Abbeydale piece just visit www.houseofabbeydale.com for more info or give him a call. David’s process is simple and starts with a conversation. He likes to get to know his clients first to get a better understanding of their lifestyle and to make sure, you guessed it – Abbeydale is a “perfect fit.”
