Dating a perfect gentleman

www.moneynews.co.uk > Dating a perfect gentleman

Dating a perfect gentleman

Tue 5th Feb 2013

Without sounding like one of those tiresome pundits who bemoan the decline of traditional standards in masculinity, it can be hard for the modern man to act like a gentleman.

So many of the hallmarks of 'gentlemanly' or chivalrous behaviour - paying for a meal, holding out a lady's chair, viciously assaulting any other man who so much as glances at her - are now considered outmoded or even patronising.

Nevertheless, it seems UK women still enjoy some of the traditional traits of a gentleman, with a survey from Johnson Cleaners published by Female First indicating that almost nine out of ten females still consider acting in a chivalrous fashion important for a man.

The poll also identified its top modern gents, with future king Prince William topping the list.

Johnson Cleaners managing director Paul Ogle said: "He has impeccable breeding and immaculate dress sense, with perfectly turned out clothes no matter what the occasion. As the old saying goes - the clothes maketh the man."

While it is impressive that Mr Ogle has progressed from his role as a Victorian haberdasher to become the managing director of a dry-cleaning company, we're going to take a look at some of the celebs who made the top five.

Prince William

Prince William possesses the most important characteristic for being a gentleman - money, and lots of it. He's good-looking in a kind of chinless, never-worked-a-day-in-his-life, balding way, and seems as if he would have the kind of easy charm the royal family have cultivated down the years.

If anybody was rude to you he could probably arrange to have them detained in the Tower of London or set the hounds on them, which is an additional bonus.

Furthermore, he probably wins some votes when compared to his younger brother Harry, who has had his gentleman card permanently revoked following some unseemly peccadilloes.

Daniel Craig

This is interesting, because Daniel Craig never really struck me as a gentleman. He's certainly got a nice way with a vowel, and he wears expensive clothes with panache, but couldn't that make him an Earl of Rochester-style cad instead?

One area where Daniel would probably excel in the gentleman stakes is the defending-his-lady's-honour one, because of the frozen lake of anger behind his eyes.

On the other hand, the gentlemanly way is presumably to floor the offending fellow with one swift right hook before leading your (swooning) partner away, whereas Craig looks like he might linger over his downed rival with a bar-stool.

Michael Buble

Michael Buble is so much of a gentleman that it almost seems tempting to speculate that he has some kind of dark secret hiding behind his smooth, charming exterior, like a haunted house with a beautiful façade,

He's become the favourite of housewives across the UK through his various TV appearances, as well as hitting the charts with albums like It's Time and Call Me Irresponsible.

The Italian-Canadian crooner seems like he would instantly become the most likeable person in a room - he's charming and sweet without seeming wet or sleazy, arguably an attitude that is central to the idea of gentlemanly appeal.

Peter Andre

Andre has a reputation as something of a womaniser, but that doesn't prevent him from entering the gentleman's club.

He's a remarkably well-groomed man - his eyebrows in particular suggest many long hours spent with a pair of tweezers and a compact mirror - and this, of course, is a crucial component of taking up the chivalrous mantle.

Indeed, Andre launched his own grooming range in 2010, following this up by becoming the shiny, orange face of male tanning product Fake Bake earlier this year.

Gary Barlow

Barlow, along with Prince William, is one of the names on this list that actually seem like they could have been gentlemen in the Victorian era.

Except the X-Factor judge and former Take That singer would be one of those Dickensian characters that have made their money through slightly dubious means - hiring out chimney-sweeps, running a shoe-polish operation - and are treated with a disdain by the old-school aristocracy.

His Burton Menswear, dropping-the-kids-off-at-school charm is certainly appreciated by a generation of middle-aged women, though, and that's why Barlow definitely deserves his place.