Style and uniqueness have a price. For Michael Attree it is 25 minutes a day of meticulous moustache grooming.

With a look better suited to Edwardian times, antique dealer moustachioed Michael cannot help but catch his customers off-guard.

The former TV production director's facial hair and dress sense are more than mere eccentricity - he loves all things old.

Sitting at his antiques stall in Snooper's Paradise in Kensington Gardens, Brighton, well-spoken Michael said: "My 'tache makes me feel olde worlde and I very much like the Edwardian era. It enhances the atmosphere I like to be in."

Michael has to ensure he sleeps with a net across his face and prepares a beeswax and turpentine concoction for the "main body" of his facial furniture.

Sometimes things go wrong and excessive trimming left the 37-year-old with "a Hitler". His current moustache is only nine months old.

He said: "Grooming can take quite a while. You have to pick a few hairs, tweak the ends and it has to look just right. The more conceited you are, the longer the grooming."

Fending off an age of goatee beards, he said: "People laugh at me but I think I'm having the last laugh.

"It's so uncool to have a 'tache but if they can get past that, they are people I'm happy to know.

"But it is remarkable how many people take it with good humour. Generally, they come up, shake hands and say, 'splendid tash'."

Michael decided Salvador Dali-style whiskers were a must after seeing comedian Jimmy Edwards, founder of the Handlebars Club. The London-based club, started in 1947, has 110 members, who raise funds for RAF veterans.

Now, thanks to an appearance on TV breakfast show RI:SE, Michael will represent Britain in the European Beard and Moustache Championships tomorrow.

The championships, being held near Milan, Italy, attract hundreds of eccentric-looking gents.

The event runs every two years and facial hair fans pose and posture to win various titles.

Michael fought off some hairy competition to win a place on the British Beard and Moustache Team, a flight to Italy and hotel accommodation.

He said: "I imagine it must have been rigged, some of the other chaps put me to shame. They had penny-farthings hanging off their faces."