Khaki: Cut from the Original Cloth [Hardcover]

David Fahey (Editor), Elton John (Preface), Richard Martin (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Like denim jeans and white T-shirts, khakis are a neutral American classic, and the wardrobes of movie stars and middle managers all likely hold at least one pair. In the introduction to this homage to the khaki pant (although the occasional skirt or pair of shorts does appear), cowriter Richard Martin states, "In war and peace, on campus and in cities, khakis as a wardrobe element have an easy sense of versatility; they are associated with a feel-good non-style." The book is filled with wonderful photographs by some of photography's greats--Eve Arnold, Mary Ellen Mark, André Kertész, Cecil Beaton, Weegee, and Robert Mapplethorpe among them--of a wild range of khaki-clad celebrities. Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Che Guevara, Amelia Earhart, Chet Baker, James Dean, Ernest Hemingway, Fidel Castro, and not a few Kennedys. What at first blush may seem to some readers a rather silly book is in fact a wonderfully focused record of a pop-culture trend. As all proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, readers indulging in this pleasant diversion will also be making a charitable contribution to a worthy cause. --Amra Brooks

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Arena Editions; First Edition edition (December 30, 1899)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892041146
• ISBN-13: 978-1892041142
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Its Subject, This Book Gets Better With Age, May 23, 2007

By 

H. F. Corbin "Foster Corbin" (ATLANTA, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Khaki: Cut from the Original Cloth (Hardcover)

Whoever would have believed that you could produce a beautiful, interesting book of photographs of people in khaki trousers, but here is is. KHAKI: CUT FROM THE ORIGINAL CLOTH is a collection of over 100 photographs by sixty-six photographers including George Platt Lynes, Duane Michaels, Herb Ritts, Weegee, Edward Weston, Annie Leibovitz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Claxton, Richard Gere, Allen Ginsberg, Greg Gorman, Milton H. Greene, Philippe Halsman, Robert Capa, George Hurrell et al. There are photographs of the rich and/or famous as well as ordinary souls: the Kennedys, Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, Paul Bowles, Teddy Roosevelt, Clark Gable (at least three times), General Douglas MacArthur, Marilyn Monroe (thought she isn't in khakis), Amelia Earhart et al.

What makes this volume so inviting is that the photographs are all so different and I wager that you would never guess the unifying theme of khaki trousers if you didn't know that already. Some of my favorites: William Faulker (photographer unknown, p. 125. He is dressed in a coat and tie with rumpled khakis that are all too familiar to us who live in them.) Christoper Isherwood photographed by George Platt Lynes. The natural side lighting makes this fine photograph (p. 44). The series of photographs by Duane Michaels, "John Takes His Pants Off" (pp. 2-3), and what I would call a narrative photograph on page 74 of soldiers in World War II getting their feet inspected by someone I assume is an officer. (The photographer is Hulton Getty; the date is January 1, 1943). Picasso strolling on the beach with his son and his mistress photographed by Robert Capa in 1951 (pp. 126-127). Finally the most mysterious photograph of all, "Night Duty," photographed in 1941 by Weegee (p. 116). The two men appear to be guards or police officers. They are carrying pistols and wearing only caps and khaki trousers.

Gallery owner and authority on photography David Fahey (co-designer of the enormously successful exhibit of Herb Ritts "WORK" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1997) edited this most entertaining book, Elton John wrote the preface, and Richard Martin wrote a brief essay on the history of khaki. KHAKI will both surprise and delight you.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent examples of classic casual style, October 14, 2011

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Khaki: Cut from the Original Cloth (Hardcover)

I probably should start by saying I mean no disparagement when I describe this as "just" a collection of photos, but that is what this is. It's not a history of khaki shirts and pants, a men's or women's wear styleguide, a study of traditional American, Ivy, or preppy dress, or any of the other things unobservant readers (like, well, me) might have expected this book to be. All of those elements are touched on briefly in the essay by Richard Martin that takes up all of three pages. After that, though, this book is "just" a collection of photos.

But what a nice collection of photos of people in khakis. Expertly chosen and well presented, these range from formal portraits to casual snapshots -- almost always of celebrities of one sort or another, but at least an international sampling of celebrities. I mourned, as I often do in photo collections, the fact that descriptive captions were banished to mousetype in the back of the book, until I realized the mousetype contained only the photographer's name, the title of the photo, and other basic curatorial information. So don't expect to learn much about who these people are or what they're doing in their khakis, just enjoy and even study the images themselves. For fans of the aforementioned Ivy, preppy, or trad styles, students of classic style, or people who just like interesting photos, "Khaki" might be a good book to have around.