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Tom Rogers doesn’t often wear hats – a good thing, too, as if he did he’d have to have a few on at once.
As his day job, Tom works as the founder and director of a London-based PR agency that boasts some of the most exciting restaurants in the UK on its books – a considerable undertaking even if you didn’t count his passion project, running an influential food and drink Instagram account with a five-figure follower count.
Added to that, Tom recently became a father for the first time, and is learning first-hand about the joys of fatherhood and how to balance an already packed lifestyle around his son Oscar.
As you’ll find below, it’s something he does with a smile on his face, and almost always with a flash of colour on his person…
On style inspirations
Most of my style is passed down from my dad and my uncle. It's all about colour. It's literally the brightest thing you can wear to stand out in a crowd. Nothing too formal. We've never been as a family into sort of formal attire, but it's nice to get dressed up every now and then.
On his work attire
I dress pretty casually at the office: jeans, T-shirt, pair of trainers. You can probably tell what my mood is based on what colour I'm wearing. If it gets a bit darker, the mood's gone a bit darker. If it gets brighter, it's to cheer everyone else up as well. If I've got an event or awards, there's a good selection of really brightly coloured trousers in my wardrobe to make everything stand out.
On style essentials
Three things every guy's gotta have: a good watch, a good wallet, and a suit that's ideally had a little bit of tailoring to ensure a proper fit.
On the joys of colour
You can tell if someone's wearing something they're not comfortable in, it definitely shows. Equally people are afraid to wear, for instance, colour. But if you're confident with it, people just like it. I have a really bright colour bicycle. For example, people stop me and tell me they like it as I cycle to work. If you had a normal one, no one would say anything. It's the same. If we wear a bright coloured pair of trousers, people tend to stop. They like it. It's a bit of fun. It cheers me up. It cheers them up. It's just a bit different.
On inheriting his dad's style
I've adapted his style a little bit, hopefully modernised it where I can. He's got a thing with wearing polo shirts with the collar up – I don't know where that's come from! I don't know if he thinks it's cool but it's different. And corduroy trousers, which is another one that I'm not sure I'd adopt.
On the style mavericks of his family
Dad does what he wants. He'd be invited to somewhere like a members' club and they'd say, 'you have to wear a tie'. Dad has collarless shirts specifically so he doesn't have to wear ties. My uncle was the same: he would tie a tie in a bow tie.
On Ted Baker
I love Ted Baker. There's a lot of colour in the shop, it's a mix of formal and casual. There's something for everyone. Even my dad would be happy in here! I'd be happy in here. It's definitely our style.
On inherited traits
Growing up, you think a lot of things your dad does are crazy. And now I see myself doing so many things that my dad used to do when I was a kid, either with my son or generally. Telling you what characteristics he's given me is like telling you my favourite restaurant – there's too many. It's impossible. I am a miniature version of him in a way. And yeah, it's a great thing.
On the family Rolex
My dad is the kind of person that would quite happily live out of a suitcase. He doesn't necessarily want to collect things. But along the way he's been successful and he's bought himself some nice things. He has a vintage Rolex that he got when he was really, really young. When I went to live in America for a year, I took the watch with me. He gave it to me just to borrow. You feel like you have him with you, you feel grown up. It was great. So when I came back for my 21st, they bought me a similar vintage Rolex, which hopefully one day I'll pass on to my son.
On fatherhood
My son Oscar was born almost a year ago. He was born the week that restaurants reopened after the pandemic, which wasn't ideal timing because I work in restaurants. So I had to go straight back to work. Having a son's great. It's a complete whirlwind. I definitely choose my outfits a little bit more based on that. Wearing cream trousers might not be too safe around him.
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