Aw… my Dad’s first clothing shop – Frank B Earnest in Gardens Centre, Cape Town. I remember helping to paint that amazing floor when I was a little kiddo. The last time I popped round, over 10 years ago, there was a new store there but they’d kept the beautiful painted floor. Those old leather couches and the Persian rug used to be in our livingroom…

When I was a really teeny weeny he worked for the House of Monatic where he started the Carducci label. I remember spending hours with my brother at the office, scooting wheelie chairs all over the building, up and down the elevators, spinning around and around for hours… sniffing suit fabric swatches, gluing and stapling fabric and paper together into strange things. I remember the office windows were floor to ceiling and the entire building smelled heavily of brand new fabric and carpeting. Now that I think about it I was probably always high on fumes… oh and those permanent markers… and spinning round and round and round… He was always away on business trips. I remember particularly when he went to Italy and Japan and would come back loaded up with crazy toys I’d never seen in South Africa. He was a fun dad and I missed him a lot when he was away. Back then and for years I thought “Overseas” was a country people visited on business trips and rich kids went skiing with their parents, and “South Africa” was where everyone really lived. An entire classroom of laughing kids enlightened me to reality. That happened often.

After Frank B. Earnest closed he broke away from the traditional elegance and went boldly into a new direction with Wylde Oscar – unbelievably colourful edgy fabrics and fun styles. Only a few items of each kind kept it special. I remember his first store close to Greenmarket Square in Cape Town – it was tiny but so cleverly designed, packed with old retro toys hanging from every corner, peering at me. I scoured the web looking for a photo of it, or the one that eventually opened at the V&A Waterfront but came up with nothing. Maybe some of you old Capetonians will remember it.

These days you can spot him at his newly opened store BlueCollarWhiteCollar at the Kloof Lifestyle Center in Tamboerskloof. He makes gorgeous bespoke shirts for men and women. It’s been so long since I’ve been home to Cape Town I haven’t even been inside yet. If you run into my dad Paul, or his business partner Aidie, please say hi from me!!