The Rake

The world’s preeminent publication dedicated to the renaissance in gentlemanly sophistication and style, THE RAKE recaptures the codes of classic men’s elegance. Inspired by icons such as Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, the Duke of Windsor, Gianni Agnelli, Sean Connery, and their contemporary counterparts, THE RAKE provides incisive, in-depth commentary on magnificent menswear, and the many other elements of gentlemanly living, from manners and ethics, to art and design, tasteful travel, health and well-being, the intellectual and philosophical, to homes, modes of transport, entertainment, food and drink. THE RAKE is the modern voice of classic elegance.

Letter from the Founder

Letter from the Editor

Contributors

arbiter • ACTOR, ATHLETE, AGRONOMIST; DOWN TO THE RIVIERA TO PRAY; SO TAKI; PAYNE AND GAIN; CULTURAL APPROPRIATION; CUTTING IT FINE; BIT PART IN BIGGER LIVES.

THE REAL MCKAY • Gardner McKay was the antithesis of the fame-hungry ’sleb that contemporary culture knows so well. He spurned heart-throb status for a life of adventure, literary achievement and existential restlessness…

SILVER LINING • When Florence is overrun in the summer months, Maremma — a.k.a. the Costa d’Argento — provides the Tuscan escape you’ve been dreaming of…

THE POOR LITTLE GREEK BOY GREW UP • Some of his journalism comes with a health warning, but, taken together, Taki Theodoracopulos’s work reads like a roman-fleuve, an affectionate tapestry in remembrance of things past. The precocious teenager of the fifties is now one of the last men standing from an era of authentic chivalry and elegance.

‘I HAVE MOMENTS — I WAS SITTING IN MY HOUSE IN L.A. LAST WEEK JUST SMILING, LIKE, THIS IS IT’ • With his major breakthrough in The Walking Dead, Tom Payne can finally relax (at least, when he’s not being recognised in New Zealand or Japan). The Essex-born actor talks to THE RAKE about trying to realise his American dream…

FROM THE LAND UP OVER • The American-as-apple-pie Australian Shepherd is a paradoxical but wonderfully congenial breed, says this issue’s canine columnist.

NORTHERN SOUL • Karl Matthews is the Creative Director of English Cut, a relative newcomer to London’s bespoke menswear scene.

BIRD OF SORROW • Dolores Moran was known for playing bad girls with gold in their morally flexible hearts. But in pre-enlightenment Hollywood, she suffered her worst typecasting off-screen, and seemed destined for bit parts in bigger lives…

atelier • INVESTMENT HANKER; TURNING THE SCREW; THE HEADMASTER WILL SEE YOU NOW; SPINNING A YARN.

INVEST • We are doing things a little differently in this issue: before you is the first Invest Watch Special, a compelling collection of watches that will provide succour for any occasion and any dress code. Not only that, they form the ultimate horological expression of taste and style.

FIT FOR A KING • There was no margin for error when the rake asked Turnbull & Asser — the holders of a royal warrant for the Prince of Wales — to produce a contemporary take on one of Charles’s signature styles: the safari shirt.

HATTERS GONNA HAT • The answer is: a bash fedora by Nick Fouquet for THE RAKE. And the question? The question is…

MEN OF THE CLOTH • Noble fibre must be treated with reverence if it is to fulfil its heavenly potential. It is in safe hands with the Italian masters Piacenza.

articles • SPLIT PERSONALITY; WHIPS AND SPURS; BAO DOWN; MODERN FAMILY; A DAY IN HARLEM; GOLDEN STATE OF MIND.

METHOD MAN • Ed Harris, one of the great method actors of our time, has thrown himself into some of the most compelling, chilling and deeply disturbing cinematic and stage characters ever created, and, as he tells RYAN THOMPSON , he doesn’t intend to curtail the fun any time soon…

ENGLAND, OUR...