The Beginning
Our founders Livia and Paul Jakob opened the store in 2023, in Aix La Chapelle, Germany.
The Story
The history behind Monsieur Charles is a very personal one.
Both of our founders have always loved the practice of designing and sewing. But they saw it more as a passion than a profession. Individually they never thought about making it their job one time.
Were they not bold enough to believe in themselves ? Or did they just need a nudge in the right direction? The question was soon to be answered, when they met for the first time on a rainy summer evening in 2022.
It took only few time that they had discovered they share the passion of dreaming up clothes. At first they were scared of the idea to open up their own boutique. But their dreams and equal encouragement grew bigger than the fear of failure.
Our founders share a distinct type of boredom towards the current fashion landscape. Are T-Shirts and hoodies, jeans and sneakers really everything that the 21st century had to offer?
Their believe of what should define a modern wardrobe was different. Early on in they're lifes they seperately developed the same admiration for clothing of the 1920s. The flamboyant garments shown in classical Hollywood movies or during the Harlem Renaissance were much more exciting than everyhting that surrounds them today. How could one bring these vibrant designs back and tailor them to the modern Zeitgeist?
The philosophy of Monsieur Charles since has been to creatively expand upon classical garments. Always with the aspiration to not simply copy exisiting designs, but infuse them with a breath of modernity.
In the Overture Assemblage our founders started with their reimagination of neckwear. Offering a fresh twist on what defines a tie.
The Vision
The fashion landscape has become dreary.
Since the 90s streetwear is the predominant style category in fashion. The pullover, T-shirt and jeans have become the standard garments for a majority of people in the 21st century. "Streetwear Brands", that recreate these garments are desperately trying to become trendy, to sell their version of the ever-same designs.
Our two founders wanted to take quite a different approach.
Monsieur Charles doesn't detest streetwear. It's quite the opposite. Our brand makes clothes that are meant to be worn on the streets as well. But it's our aim to elevate streetwear to a level of urban chic elegance. A standard of clothing how it could be once observed in the ballrooms and on the streets of the 1920s.
It isn't however our goal to wish those times back and have everybody dressed in a boring suit again. Monsieur Charles aims to expand upon classical garments in a contemporary, creative way, that realizes the cultural circumstances of the 21st century.
Urban chic clothing is meant as an antidote to the present fashion landscape. One, that is delineated by a constant urge to jump on the latest trend. Monsieur Charles is an ambassador of slow fashion.
Our Charta
Everything that is done at Monsieur Charles follows our 3 fundamental principles.
- Originality
Monsieur Charles does not seek to create replacable garments that one could just buy anywhere else. It is not our belive that a brand name, which is put on a T-Shirt resembles a design. Monsieur Charles draws it's inspiration from the wholeness of fashion history to design unique garments that fit the current Zeitgeist. - Quality
Unfortunately it isn't true anymore to assume that designer brands and prices guarantee a certain standard of quality. Fashion design has become a primarily profit-oriented industry. Designers are put under tremendous pressure and quality often suffers from all of that. Monsieur Charles is dedicated to lasting quality. Only the finest materials are selected for our garments and each of them is put together by experienced hands. - Empowerment
What Monsieur Charles understands as empowerment is rather different from how the term is used today. The idea is simple: Clothes that are created in our boutique are made for people. Fashion can be art, but garments alone don't hold any particular meaning.
They can only be of meaning through the people who wear them - Through You. Fashion is a way to express and uphold our values. Monsieur Charles is here to equip you with the right tools.