Dress Casually for Success. . .For Men [Paperback]

Mark Weber (Author), The Van Heusen Creative Group (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996

In offices across the country, dressing casually for work is the norm, not the exception, every day of the week, not just Fridays. But what are the rules for business casual? How can men figure out what's appropriate and what's not, without sacrificing or compromising their personal style? Over the past year, GQ, The New York Times, and even Fortune Magazine have all offered advice and counsel about making this transition--but this worrisome and universal problem still poses a fashion challenge for most men. So how can today's businessmen dress without getting a dressing down? Dress Casually for Success. . .for Men answers those questions, and helps men figure out how to dress with authority, style, and comfort, without breaking the rules. It shows readers how to handle the new fashion edicts, guides them through the intricacies of fabrics, patterns, accessories, and colors, and ultimately will help them project just the right image at work and at play, from power lunches to job interviews, to business-related nights on the town. In today's offices and boardrooms, it's the subleties that can make or break a look. Complete with black-and-white and color photos, easy-to-use charts, and quick references for Fashion Do's and Don't, here is the first and only guide to going corporate casual with flair and confidence.

Editorial Reviews

Review

``On casual Fridays, how does a man appear to be serious about his career, and not as though he's about to go fishing? "The key is remembering that competition in the boardroom does not disappear with the removal of the jacket and tie," says Mark Weber, Vice Chairman of Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. and author of Dress Casually for Success. . .for Men, a simple, common-sense approach to Friday dressing. Weber's book can be found at all major bookstores throughout the U.S.'' (Style Agenda 19970221)

``A book especially for the man stuck between his white shirt and tie and his favorite football jersey. Dress Casually for Success. . .For Men not only gives the do's and don'ts and the how-to's of business casual dressing, but it also includes a chapter titled ``Clothes 101'' that is a primer on fabrics, fibers and jacket, shirt and pants styles.'' (Atlanta Journal 19961021)

``The author covers the basics and details of dressing appropriately and stylishly in the 1990s. . .with dashes of wit. . .this is a very practical and easy-reading book'' (Rowe, Jeff The Orange County Register 19961018)

``In ``Dress Casually for Success. . .for Men'' (McGraw-Hill, $17), author Mark Weber points out that ``nine out of 10 companies have some form of casual dressing, [including] IBM, Dun & Bradstreet, Burger King, Ford Motor Co., General Motors. . the dressing down of the American workplace isn't a new phenomenon--just one that's gathering steam in the form of media coverage and the fashion industry's capitulation'' (Johnson, Marilyn Atlanta Constitution 19961015)

``Amid all this confusion comes Dress Casual for Success. . .For Men (McGraw-Hill, $16.95), which makes sense of this thing called ``casual workplace dressing.'' A ton of books and videos purport to solve the problem facing millions of fashion-impaired chaps who stand before their closets each morning crying, ``Oh, dear, what am I supposed to wear?'' First, Dress Casual acknowledges that it's OK not to embrace a casual style at work. For those who want to look casual and professional, however, here is a dandy primer for figuring out how to strike the balance without breaking the bank. The book contains plenty of what you-need-in-your-wardrobe lists, too: top 10 lists for ``a dress-down casual business look,'' ``a more formal business casual look,'' ``a more dress-up business casual look.'' Dress Casual for Success is a valuable read. Buy it, read it, live it.'' (Hood, Marshall Columbus Dispatch )

From the Back Cover

On Dress-down days, are you confused about how casually to dress? Want to feel comfortable and look great every day! Am a projecting the image I want? Suite or Jacket?; Jacket or Sweater?; Tie or Turtleneck?; Slacks, Jeans, Khakis, or Corduroys?; Loafers or Lugsoles?; Earring or not?' Your clothes convey your image. Look right and you'll be successful. Achieving the casual look you want is a matter of knowing yourself and following a few guidelines. Let Dress Casually for Success. . .for Men help you make the fashion decisions that tell the world exactly who you are. Instructive and entertaining, this guide shows today's businessman how to dress down without sacrificing authority and style. With expert advice from the Van Heusen Creative Design Group, the leader in corporate casual sportwear, it guides you from head to toe in projecting the image you want. Along with ideas and tips for developing your own "business casual" style, you'll enjoy pages of photos, easy-to-use charts, and quick references for Fashion Do's and Don'ts. (19970801)

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070016224
• ISBN-13: 978-0070016224
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,102,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Fashion & Image

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not enough information to make it worth it, April 12, 2002

By 

Justus Pendleton (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dress Casually for Success. . .For Men (Paperback)

Luckily this book can be read in a sitting...big text and few pages. Too bad there isn't enough information to make it worth sitting long enough to read. This book commits the single biggest mistake that any fashion book can commit: it doesn't have pictures (especially color pictures) of the things it is talking about. Wonder what worsted wool gabardine is? I sure do! They give a definition but no picture is present for me to understand how this is different from some other kind of lightweight wool.

The book does a few guidelines about kinds of clothing to consider wearing and ways to care for them. However, we're talking about a few dozen pages of information. That's the kind of thing I would expect to find on a webpage for free.

The biggest problem is they don't offer a lot of guidelines and never seem to tell you what things you absolutely shouldn't do. So what you're left with is a few ideas but not really enough to build a wardrobe on. You'd do just as well browsing through a few GQ magazines while waiting in line at the supermarket and then heading to a nice clothing store to figure out what worsted wool gabardine is on your own.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A book that definitely needs improvement, December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dress Casually for Success. . .For Men (Paperback)

While this book does a good job telling you ABOUT clothes, fabrics, care, it does next to nothing when it comes to suggestions on starting a person's wardrobe, a dress scheme or plan, etc. Sure, they dedicate a chapter to those subjects, but they just end up rambling about concepts rather than some concrete suggestions. This book is kind of a dissapointment and not worth a purchase.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent job on an obscure subject., September 10, 2001

By 

"a-mar" (Middletown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dress Casually for Success. . .For Men (Paperback)

The first third or half of the book is a waste of time. But the rest makes it worth buying.

Most books only give a passing explanation on casual friday. This one analyzes it to death. They give names for four different types of casual dress, and give guides and even wardrobe lists for each of those styles. It definitely helped me figure out what image I want to present.

My criticism is that like many magazines, movie reviews, entertainment shows, etc, it hates to say "don't." There are too many "you could try this" or "some would prefer that" type answers, and it doesn't really tell about the gaffes people might commit. Also, more and colored photos would help, but most any book on the subject would likely have that same flaw.

I don't believe there to be a better resource on business casual dress, and to the Van Heusen group's credit they don't plug their stores much at all (aside from a few Bass Weejun mentions). Buy it, tear out the first 3-4 chapters, and be happy.