MY FAVOURITE LOOK by Ali Howard, Sunday Herald 25/01/09

Interview by Ali Howard

Photograph by Kirsty Anderson

Frank To, fine artist

I've always been into post- Victorian/ 1920s fashion, as reflected in the style of my bag and shoes. I like the gentlemen image. There's no point looking like a behemoth with paint on my clothes; I maybe an artist, but I still know how to present myself. So I have a casual- smart look that works both for attending meetings with people and painting in my studio. I like to shop at Zara and Gap as their sizes fit me well, and H&M do nice textile fabrics in shirts. But stuff in charity shops can also catch my eye

My sister Florence made this shirt for me for my birthday. She's a Masters graduate of Fashion at Glasgow School of Art and is currently making a new collection of menswear clothing. This shirt is based on the idea of metamorphosis, the idea of "changing" or "mutating" from one form to another. I like it as it's quite loose, but elegantly made.

Even when I was at university, I dressed smart. This also means that the bag has to be right for me- smart and functional. I found this bag on eBay. It was fierce bidding as it was a vintage item. I stayed awake the entire night making sure I would win. Luckily, the guy bidding against me realised I wasn't going to back down and gave up.

I bought this waistcoat from Zara as something smart for my show opening. It's not too confining and it's cool to wear.

This TAG Heuer watch was given to me by my mother on my 21st birthday. I think my mother knows that I've got conservative taste. The memory that it was given for my 21st birthday makes it more special.

I'm always working in a rough- floored environment, so whenever I kneel down, there's a strong possibility that I'll encourage holes in my jeans. After art school I realised the more money I invested in jeans and trousers, the more robust they'd be- and that I'd save money in the long term. I bought these Levi's jeans a year ago and they're still going strong.

When I was travelling to London a year ago, as I got off the train the stitching of my shoes broke, Luckily I was staying close to Portobello Market. I went to find some good cheap shoes and immediately fell in love with these boots. They're robust as they're made of old leather.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.