This volume puts male sexuality on the catwalk. It is a designed and illustrated celebration of men throught the ages who have dressed extravagently in order to show their power, to express their sexuality, to set themselves apart from the conformist herd - or simply out of joie de vivre. The author charts the male's stylish and self-confident course through history, from the medieval knights, with their lavish heraldic dress, to the stuffed and codpieced Elizabethans, the fops, incroyables, bucks, dandies and swells, to the aesthetes, zooties, mods, hippies and punks of the 20th-century. McDowell discusses the influence of sport, class, movies and popular music on later generations and focuses on figures such as royalty, cowboys, sportsmen and screen idols - who have provided role models for the 20th-century. The metamorphosis of the late 20th-century fashionable man is considered, with reference to the influence of fashion photographers and the influence of gay culture. It also looks at the new generation of menswear designers - Versace, Armani, Ralph Lauren and Gaultier.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of pretty pictures,
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This review is from: The Man of Fashion: Peacock Males and Perfect Gentlemen (Hardcover)
Admittedly, this book is a fun coffee-table read. I think that is all it aims to be.
I found the scholarship hard to reference (I would have liked to have seen an impressive bibliography and had trouble sourcing both images and facts) but just thumbing through the book and looking at the clothing is sheer eye candy. Too much of contemporary dress is based on conformity, and seeing some designers having fun with textures, colours and history is a treat. The men wearing these designs would need not only sheer guts but a sense of fun, too. That said, this book belongs in the "for fun" category, but not on the scholar's bookshelf for the history of men's dress.
0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Witty Decadence,
By Mark (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Man of Fashion: Peacock Males and Perfect Gentlemen (Hardcover)
I picked up a signed copy of this while living in London and was thrilled to finally find a book that addressed exuberance in masculine attire. Since then, I have discovered the extensive exuberance of male costume throughout the World and this book seems less impressive. It covers male clothing from Christian cultures, and is heavily influenced by the anti-luxury and anti-sex stance of Christianity. In other words, much of the clothing in this book comes across as naughty and scandalous rather than fun and life-affirming. There are some interesting pictures, but the overall feeling is one of cynicism.
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