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<\/div>\nIt started in India and spread around the globe. Well-turned-out men in the sun, by the pool, in resorts, on beaches. In printed shorts, knit polos, a splash of color here, a bold print there. Orlebar Brown began with an observation: on vacation in Rajasthan for a friend\u2019s birthday, founder Adam Brown witnessed the women in chic swimwear<\/a> and cover-ups moving easily and elegantly from pool to lunch, while the men, in their sodden, shapeless swim shorts\u2026 did not.\u00a0<\/p>\n So Brown, at that point a photographer, created a quick-drying short that could be worn anywhere \u2013 less a swim short, more a short you could swim in \u2013 and in so doing, birthed a new category of male resort wear.\u00a0<\/p>\n The brand\u2019s tailored swimmers remain best in class, but now, two decades later, OB supplies the vacation wardrobe \u2013 everything from knit polos and blazers to easy trousers and accessories \u2013 of an international traveling cohort of men as they move from yacht to tender to beachside restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n There have been many milestones \u2013 from on-screen endorsements (not least by Daniel Craig as Bond in Skyfall<\/em>) to OB boutiques becoming a fixture in glamorous locations and the best hotels, to being acquired by Chanel<\/a>. Post acquisition, Brown, 61, who lives in North Yorkshire, England, with his husband Tom, is less hands-on but still very much involved, and is, he says, thinking about the future. \u201cIt\u2019s about ambition, opportunity, and longevity. I want to look back on Orlebar Brown\u2019s success in another 20 years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n See also: The Swimwear Brands to Know This Summer<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n What matters to you in life?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n That I get up in the morning with a spring in my step. I have too many friends who don\u2019t enjoy their jobs, or aren\u2019t happy in their family lives. I\u2019m not particularly financially motivated, I just need to be content with myself. I\u2019m very aware of what I enjoy doing and try to step away from what I don\u2019t. And in style? Individuality, and the opportunity to express yourself. Clothes are things to enjoy; I love materiality, color, and fabric. When I moved to the country there was this whole palette, a whole way of dressing. It\u2019s much more fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n What was the first item of clothing you fell in love with?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n When I was a teenager, I thought I was a punk. I used to buy checked shirts and cut the sleeves off. Then I got some suede winklepickers from Shelly\u2019s on the Kings Road in London. I thought I was absolutely killing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n What do you collect?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Golf balls. I was walking down the beach in Cornwall, 18, 20 years ago, thinking the company was going to go bust. And there was a golf ball lying in the water. I picked it up and thought, \u201cIf I find another one, I\u2019ll keep going with the business. It\u2019ll be a sign.\u201d It was just one of those stupid things you say to yourself. And I found three more. Since then, I pick up golf balls from hedgerows or on walks and put them in a bowl in my office. I find them in the weirdest places. I\u2019ve got about 35 now.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s always in your carry on?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Navy T-shirts and underwear. I once spilled my whole tray on my trousers during a flight, and had to sit there in wet pants. So now I always have spares in my carry-on. And there\u2019s always a book, a pack of cards, or a backgammon set if I\u2019m on vacation.\u00a0<\/p>\n See also: The Soprano Bringing Couture Elegance to Opera\u2019s Biggest Stages<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n What do you do every day?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n If I\u2019m in the country, I do the whole juicing thing and then yoga. I work for a few hours and then take the dog out onto the moors for a walk. In London, it\u2019s eight hours in the same room in consecutive meetings. What do you wear most often? I don\u2019t wear OB head to foot. My go-to is a navy crew-neck cashmere jumper, of which I have probably 25, from brands like Thomas Meyer, Trunk, Jil Sander, as well as OB. I look after them like valued friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where\u2019s your favorite place to travel?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Between April and October I\u2019ll stay up north in Yorkshire. It\u2019s so beautiful, it\u2019s like being on vacation. But last winter I went to Uruguay and Cape Town<\/a>. And every year I like having an adventure. You had Namibia <\/a>on your cover recently [Elite Traveler <\/em>Winter 2025<\/a>] \u2013 I went a couple of years ago and loved it, the most amazing place. I had no idea the word desert could be interpreted in so many different ways.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Almost 20 years after reinventing the swim short, the Orlebar Brown founder talks travel, personal style, and the everyday rituals that keep him inspired.\u00a0 It started in India and spread around the globe. Well-turned-out men in the sun, by the pool, in resorts, on beaches. In printed shorts, knit polos, a splash of color here, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/elitetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/06\/orlebar_brown_lookbook_4972_under4mb-1.jpg\")
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