Michael Koropisz is not your average 24-year-old.
Despite fitting neatly into the millennial age bracket, Michael, a professional portrait painter, insists on living life in the past by dressing only in Victorian clothes from the 19th century and redecorating his home with antiques.
Michael writes in quill and ink, refuses to watch television, and travelled everywhere on an old-fashion bicycle until it was stolen.
And yes, he’s single.
He does receive some odd looks from strangers and judgement from friends and family, but Michael wouldn’t want to live his life any other way.
Michael said: ‘I have always been fascinated by the history that surrounds me – I have been dressing the way I do for as long as I can remember.
‘My earliest memory is seeing a top hat for sale in the window of a shop and asking my mother to buy it for me.
‘I dedicate my life to the era and have spent tens of thousands of pounds on clothing and furnishings – I don’t have a budget for my passion for history.
‘My friends and family don’t share my interest and the way I choose to live my life, but that doesn’t matter to me.’
Michael claims that his love for the past initially begun when he studied the Victorian era in primary school, even though his brother Bob, 20, would desperately try to get Michael to join in a game of football.
Michael added: ‘Most people looked at the class as boring history, but I really connected with it – I felt as though I really understood it and the way people were.
‘After learning about the era I began to base my life around it.
‘I adore everything from the era: the fashion, the morals, the aesthetics of furniture and even the music.
‘I base my personality on that of a Victorian – I am very much a gentleman and always polite.
‘People have always told me how polite I am ever since childhood.
‘I detest ill humour or anything dirty in conversation and I never swear either.
‘I only listen to music written before 1900 and I attend the opera many times a year, often in my own private box.
‘I also play the piano to a high standard and therefore relate to the music more.’
Michael hasn’t commented on whether he also holds the Victorian view of medicine, racism, and sexuality, and he doesn’t appear to have yet been struck down by smallpox.
He is keen, however, to chat about why it’s so important for him to wear only clothes from the olden times, explaining that people are so ‘spoilt’ with mass-produced clothing that what you wear is, sadly, no longer ‘a way of promoting one’s status or wealth’. Perish the thought.
‘I adore the clothing for its delicacy and ornate nature – clothes were very expensive and people would always wear their best when outdoors,’ says Michael.
‘I spend an entire week’s wage on a coat – and the average age of my clothes is 120 years old.
‘My most expensive item is a tailored dressing gown and night shirt I had made for my fit in Germany, which cost well over £700.’
That does sound cosier than the old, holey T-shirt we sleep in, to be fair.
Michael is currently transforming his house into a Victorian haven, having already restored his bedroom with oil lamps, a grandfather clock and a gramophone.
Shutting out the modern world comes at a price – the portrait painter says that redoing his room cost well over £8,000.
‘I hope that once the house is finished people will feel as though they have stepped back in time once they walk in,’ he says.
‘Even my job is tailored around my love for the past as I paint custom portraits in an older style.
‘People buy my art not just for what it is but also for the artist who creates it so I always make sure I’m dressed in dinner tails when I unveil a portrait.’
While many of us might refuse to date a man who can’t take a great plandid, Michael says his gentlemanly ways leave him inundated with offers for potential partners.
Sure, Michael.
If you’ve got your eye on bedding the bachelor, you’ll need to eschew the trappings of a modern woman and swap that Boohoo dress for a bustle. As we said, he doesn’t watch TV, so we don’t think you’d have a relationship filled with cosy nights in watching Love Island (yes, there’s a winter edition now).
He said: ‘I am currently not in a relationship, but I can assure you I am not unwanted.
‘I am one of the most eligible bachelors for miles around.
‘When I do decide to marry, I would prefer someone like me – a lady who wears a bustle and feathers in her hat, and who could accompany me with her singing as I play the piano late into the evening.
‘My career as an artist is far more important to me than love – I spend each day thinking of new ideas, painting and being creative.
‘I never get the time to work on my emotions.
‘But – when the time is right – I know I will be a perfect suitor.
‘And, as I base everything I do on that of the Victorian era, I would love to have a woman to share this with one day also.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/04/millennial-man-lives-life-victorian-era-painting-portraits-instead-taking-selfies-11268664/
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