Esquire The Handbook of Style: A Man's Guide to Looking Good [Hardcover]

The Editors of Esquire Magazine (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2009

Each year, the editors of Esquire produce a special issue of the magazine devoted to men’s style called The Big Black Book, which has been wildly successful. Using the same pragmatic, highly illustrated approach, and laced with Esquire’s trademark humor, Esquire The Handbook of Style brings readers vital information on every aspect of a man’s wardrobe, from suits and shirts, to shoes and neckties, to watches and other accessories. The style-minded reader will find useful advice on suit fabrics and cuts, the right kind of trousers for his build, the essential outerwear to own, how to dress properly for an occasion, how to tie a tie, how to pack for a trip, grooming strategies, and much, much more. A compact and sophisticated accessory in its own right, Esquire The Handbook of Style will be the style bible for the well-dressed man for years to come.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hearst (January 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588167461
• ISBN-13: 978-1588167460
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.2 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Beauty & Fashion

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book but the absence of color photos undermines it, November 1, 2009

By 

Gravenimages (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Esquire The Handbook of Style: A Man's Guide to Looking Good (Hardcover)

Solid, if quite general, information on basic mens style. The writing is good, occasionally snarky, and the advice offered will still be relevant several years from now. The layout is well put together and the celebrity images run from vintage to recent. And I disagree with other reviews dismissing this range as dated. There is a certain classicism represented in the choices, and I appreciate a restraint which avoids too many trendy faces that will be forgotten in a year or two.

Unfortunately what weakens this edition from four to three stars is the omission of any color photos. One cannot properly compare dark brown and black shoes in a B&W photo. A page that purports to guide the reader in pairing shirts, trousers, and jackets is ineffectual as a grayscale reproduction. Fashion in our daily lives always exists in full color, and any book claiming to be a style guide should mirror this reality.

The publisher should correct this in future editions.

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An instant classic, get one for yourself and one for your sons., January 5, 2009

By 

Cesareo Tongco ""Bob"" (Perrysburg, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Esquire The Handbook of Style: A Man's Guide to Looking Good (Hardcover)

If you like to dress up, then this book is for you. It is packed with valuable advice and is fully illustrated throughout. Chapters are intuitively chosen; the book starts by discussing the finer points of buying a suit. It then goes through shirts, pants, even personal care, and ends with a chapter on building a wardrobe. Each page is filled with tips, pictures of fashion icons, and notes for investing in your clothes. I personally found the Accessories chapter to be a fun read, especially since I am a fan of vintage watches and bow ties.

Are you old enough to know what the Preppy Handbook is? If so, this is an updated and less-snobbish version of the classic. In fact, this is the new Preppy Handbook, occasionally with a similar tongue-in-cheek approach. There are several other books in the market, but none are as easy to read as this. The focus is on men's clothes in general, not just suits and formal wear as in Alan Flusser's Dressing the Man. And though brands and specialty stores are mentioned, the emphasis is on how to distinguish well-made clothes, not just where to buy them.

Unlike other fashion books that will become outdated, this is one is not about trends, but really about style. You will pass this on to your sons in the future, so do them a favor and buy them one each. Give it the day they leave for college, or as an 18th birthday present.

If you read GQ or Esquire for their buying guides, do yourself a favor and pick up this book. It would take years of subscribing to magazines to come up with all the info between the covers.

Overall, an entertaining, informative, and essential guide for any man who cares about the way he looks.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utilitarian guide full of valuable information, July 11, 2009

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Esquire The Handbook of Style: A Man's Guide to Looking Good (Hardcover)

There are some books on how to dress well -- books like Russell Smith's Men's Style: The Thinking Man's Guide to Dress -- that are heavy on theory, you might say: not only how to observe the principles of timeless style, but why those principles are correct in the first place. I tend to enjoy reading those kinds of books, and was a little disappointed at first to see that this book from Esquire did not really spend a lot of time in explanations and philosophical discussion. But the more I read, the more it became clear that the man who is really interested in learning these things can pick up a lot from "The Handbook of Style." Esquire has packed a lot into this small-ish book, and most of it is quite good.

It is, as I say, a small book, and it is quite densely packed. I probably would have preferred a larger format, which would have in turn allowed for larger type, larger illustrations with clearer detail, more white space, and a layout generally more friendly to aging male eyes. But then, maybe this is intended primarily for younger men -- an audience I certainly encourage to study this book closely. The authors embrace the classic and traditional in men's style, navigating by the light from, among others, the holy trinity of Astaire, Grant, and Windsor. (Jay-Z and André 3000 are cited as modern exemplars, and while I don't follow their careers well enough to know, I'll take Esquire's word for it.)

For men in, or just out of, college or otherwise looking to define their own style -- a time when guides like this were pretty influential on me -- they or their loved ones could do much worse than to track down a copy of this book and begin studying it. There's a lot older men can take away from this too. I admit I was a little skeptical to begin with, but now I'm convinced this is one of the better utilitarian guides to come along in many years. It certainly deserves a place on many men's shelves.