Power Dressing: Fred Hervey
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Fred Hervey, 39, is managing director and co-head of UK private banking at Berenberg Bank, where he has worked for three years. He was previously with Barclays.
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Suit by Dress 2 Kill
This is a lightweight blue wool suit with a weave in it. I buy almost all my suits from this company and a number of them are seven years old or more, so I know they last. This suit is about a year old. As I’m a private banker my suits are conservative but they’ll always have little touches of personality, such as the lining – which on this one is deep burgundy. But nothing crazy: I meet so many different sorts of people and you want to make everyone feel at ease. It shows respect to some and instils comfort in others: there’s a professionalism to people wearing suits.
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Shirt by Dress 2 Kill
I’m tall and I have long arms so I get shirts made to fit. Dress 2 Kill does a great service in a multitude of different cuts: bespoke without being super-expensive. I think people get put off by bespoke because they think they will have to remortgage their house but these are actually quite affordable.
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Tie by Hermès
This is blue and red silk and, now that I’m looking at it, I realise the pattern is letters; Hs and Qs. Hermès ties suit my style because they are discreet. I’m not very good at shopping at airports but I bought this in Zürich airport since I travel back and forth to our Swiss office. I insist on buying my own ties. My wife has tried to on occasion. We agree on almost everything apart from the choice of my ties.
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Cufflinks by Sammy Duder
These are square and sterling silver, each has a fingerprint of my two children and their names. To be honest, I wear these almost every day. They were given to me for Father's day last year. They remind me to go home more often.
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Watch by IWC
For someone who doesn’t like shopping in airports, it’s funny I have two things on from an airport. I got this in Hong Kong airport before I joined Berenberg as a “good luck in your new job” present from my wife. I have a number of watches but this is my favourite. It’s a large black-faced watch with traditional leather straps. The brand is not one of those instantly recognisable ones. People who know watches would recognise it but otherwise it’s not well known, and I quite like that, and they make a nice product. I’m always sort of slightly looking out for a watch.
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Shoes by Harrys of London
These are simple, classic black lace-ups. Harrys is another brand I really like. They are traditional and handmade but have a technical aspect. These have injected rubber soles, which means my feet are always dry. It is a full leather sole but this weird injecting thing they’ve done works well living in London. This pair is quite new but I have three or four pairs of their shoes now.
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