Feature - Dale Ted Watkins Interview

Text / Images by Jamie Harrison // Published Friday 31 December 2010

Dale Ted Watkins is a leading educator of men’s hairdressers and barbering. He brings the highest level of passion and creativity to the undervalued area of men’s hairdressing, and it his mission to bring the same level of quality to men’s hair as women’s.
 
Dale recently recorded two men’s haircuts for MyHairDressers.com, each reflecting the kind of bespoke tailoring that Dale is known for, yet each possessing classic, youthful and rebellious qualities.
 
Dale spoke to MyHairDressers.com and discussed his inspiration, influences and very particular passionate ethos towards men’s hairdressing.
 

What is it about men’s hairdressing?

I feel it’s an untapped market, and I’m an explorer in a new world. Not a lot of people got into the men’s market - a lot of the talent went into women’s hairdressing, and I respect them for that. To me it’s exciting and fresh and it’s evolving much more so than ladies hairdressing. It’s just so diverse right now.
 

From where do you find your inspiration?

I’m very inspired by street culture, especially sixties street culture - the mod, ska or the Ivy League scene. I’m influenced by something that’s got soul, and that could be a picture, a movement, a piece of clothing or a sound. Generally “image” is soulless. I’m not interested in getting four good-looking boys with their chests out and hair they wouldn’t normally have. I’d rather pluck someone out of a street culture or a scene they’re into and use them as a whole, because they’re real, it’s not make believe. I want to take something they’re into and make it commercial.
 

Tell us some more about your ethos

I consider myself as a craftsperson, and relate it more to tailoring. You could buy a £35 suit or buy a £3000 suit. They’re both suits, they both have the same purpose, but there’s a different theory behind each. A beautifully tailored suit is made by a craftsperson, who understands the body, understands the cloth, understands that different stitching can make a man look more masculine. It’s about understanding hair is a cloth, the stitching is the detail, it all relates to different genres of hairdressing. Understanding the detail, hair textures, head shape, face shape, and tailor-making it for your client, making them feel special, is what it’s all about.
 

You use a lot of traditional techniques

I do, because there are many that are not used very often. Take the fifties, there’s some amazing haircuts from that period - very harsh, very raw, very masculine, very angular, very square. Then the sixties came along and hair got longer, then 70s hair went more natural. I think men as a rule have lost their way a little bit regarding how they should look, how they should dress. Men’s grooming is very masculine, it’s not effeminate and it was masculine up to the fifties. Men would go to the barbershops and get a wet shave on a regular basis. They used grooming products, aftershave. It was a masculine trait to be well groomed. That’s got lost over the decades. Men have forgotten how to dress, how to look smart. That’s why I’m into the mod and the ska scene, it’s still edgy but it’s very smart. The guys I hang around with care about the suit, get excited about the detail on the shirt, tell me where the cravat’s from, tell me about the history of the shoes they wear. It’s a sign that a man cares about his looks, how he appears to the world.

 
Who are your influences?

I’m influenced by people with a passion for what they do and are knowledgeable about their subject. I’m very influenced by my friend Dean Chalkley, the photographer, who has amazing attention to detail. His imagery’s got soul, it has reality.
 
Of course I admire people like Vidal Sassoon, but I’ve never met him, I can only be influenced by people I meet. I’m very fortunate to work with people with an eye for detail, who are passionate. That’s what influences me, mankind.
 

Who’s your style icon?

Winston Churchill. He’s an iconic figure, a great man. It’s not so much about style, it’s greatness.

 
Do you have a favourite technique?

Scissor and clipper over comb, little attentions to detail. Like a great tailor has a certain stitch, the scissor-over-comb technique and clipper-over-comb are my trademarks.

 
What’s hot?

Ivy League is red hot right now. It’s very structured, very manly, Ivy League is super hot.

 
Do you have a favourite product or tool?

It would have to be the good old clippers. I make my living with clippers, using them to refine and pay attention to the details.

 
Do you have any top tips to share?

Education is vital, be educated. Don’t buy into natural talent, it’s nonsense - they’ve just worked harder than you. If you want to be as good anyone you look up to, then work hard. Work harder and get better. I like the saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you always get what you’ve always got”, so if your unhappy with something change it by learning more and working hard.
 

What’s your opinion of online education?

It’s massively important. Society is so mobile now, we all have PC’s, we all know how to use the internet. It’s the future and has a massive place in people’s development and growth. You have fantastic people on MyHairDressers.com and great talent. If you’re working with genius how can you not be inspired?