Customer Reviews

HISTORY OF MEN'S FASHION: What the Well Dressed Man is Wearing

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, what fun! A handbook of all the well-dressed gentleman must know...how to wear it, how to buy it and the even where to buy it!

The title, though, is misleading: "History of Men's Fashion." It should be called, "The Guide to the Modern Gentleman's Essentials." I should have read the SUBTITLE--"What the Well-Dressed Man is Wearing." This is indeed a contradiction. Fashion guide for the modern man OR a history of fashion?

I took this to be a *history* of men's fashion. What the main label says is not is what is in the tin. I expected a history of modern menswear dating from, say, the 1500s to the modern day. Not so. This is a how-to book on modern men's traditional garb: the suit, the waistcoat, trousers, etc. This book discusses modern clothing with snippets of history contributing to modern menswear.

That said, it is a marvelous compendium of the minutiae of the essential items of the well-dressed man--no item escapes discussion, even down to the pocket handkerchief.

There are sprinklings of history along the way. But--tsk, tsk--to write a book on the history of men's fashion and fail to mention the Count D'Orsay, an influential fashion trend-setter of the first third of the 19th century, is tragic. (One might have expected a discussion of the Count's signature turn-back cuffs next to the picture of the cocktail cuff.) On the other hand, there is much discussion of the earlier George "Beau" Brummell, who is the patron saint of the modern three-piece suit.

A very nice, amusing and well-organized guide for the modern man and I give it 5 stars as a rating--with a caveat. This is NOT a history of men's clothing but mainly a style guide.