Personal Style [Hardcover]

James Wagenvoord (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Flusser is a menswear designer and the author of Making the Man (S. & S., 1981) . Clothes and the Man is a detailed look at selecting, fitting, and wearing men's clothing. Flusser articulately em phasizes natural fabrics, proper fit, and classic styles. Clear illustrations sup plement the text. Considerable atten tion is given to business attire, with the chapter on sportswear the weakest part of the book. The price of the book seems high; recommended, with this reservation. Personal Style covers more territory. Although Wagenvoord discusses cloth ing for men, he also deals with groom ing, hair care, diet and exercise, travel, and entertaining. He spends less time than Flusser on clothing styles, more on caring for garments, and is more supportive of fabric blends as an alter native to natural fibers. All the subjects he covers are handled adequately, but not in depth, and advice from knowl edgeable people is included. For public libraries. Wendy Allex, Central Ar kansas Lib. System, Little Rock
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co; 1 edition (August 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 003004068X
• ISBN-13: 978-0030040689
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,392,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Fashion & Image

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Feel comfortable in your own skin, April 18, 2003

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Personal Style (Hardcover)

I find it fascinating that the Library Journal review on this page should contrast "Personal Style" with Alan Flusser's great book, "Clothes and the Man," because I acquired both these titles at about the same time. And while Flusser's book was very influential on my then-developing sense of dress and style, the impact of Wagenvoord's book was much more limited and fleeting.

This is interesting, because "Personal Style" sets out to cover an awful lot of ground, broadly but not especially deeply -- not only principles of men's clothing, but also issues of hygiene, diet and exercise, how to iron a shirt or pack a jacket into a suitcase without getting it all wrinkled, how to host a dinner party at home or order with confidence from a restaurant menu, and quite a lot more. The key to developing a distinctive personal style, he argues, is simply to feel comfortable about yourself, take good care of yourself and your possessions, and know how to handle yourself in a variety of situations. Nothing really all that complex.

The book is a decent guide for what it sets out to do. But there's another element to it as well. It's a commercial for Grey Flannel.

This title must have been commissioned by Geoffrey Beene, because not only does the man himself provide the introduction and the back-cover blurb, but the section on grooming, especially, is liberally illustrated with drawings of Grey Flannel products: deodorant, aftershave, shampoo, soap-on-a-rope, and so on. To its credit, the copy itself doesn't flog Grey Flannel. But the line's presence is still rather obvious. If this isn't a problem for you, you may well find some things in here moderately useful.