Sharp Suits [Hardcover]

Eric Musgrave (Author), Richard James (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2010

The suit is still the uniform du jour for millions of men that can be seen everywhere from boardrooms to bawdy bars. It ranges from the anonymous and dignified dress of politicians and businessmen to the expression of dandified tendencies for the young or fashionable. This lushly illustrated review examines the fascinating history of the evolution of the modern suit from the days of the 19th-century tailor-made to the mass industrialization of the early part of the 20th century. The path whereby the dress of the ruling classes became the utilitarian outfit of the worker is also traced, along with a study of the progression of suit style over subsequent decades, including the fabrics and cuts used.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Eric Musgrave’s book Sharp Suits provides a very good overview of the development of the suit in the last 150 years . . . every clothes horse should own a copy of this marvelous book." —Gentleman's Gazette

About the Author

Eric Musgrave has been writing about fashion for more than 25 years. He served as the launch editor of the first men's magazine FHM, and has held senior positions at numerous fashion magazines, including Drapers, Men's Wear, International Textiles, Fashion Weekly, and Sportswear International.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Pavilion (January 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1862058520
• ISBN-13: 978-1862058521
• Product Dimensions: 0.9 x 9.1 x 11.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Musgrave has been writing about fashion for more than 30 years. He has worked for most of the major fashion industry magazines in the UK and also served stints on International Textiles (in Amsterdam) and Sportswear International (in Milan). He was business magazine editor of the year in the UK in 2003 for his work in merging the long-established Drapers Record and Menswear magazines to creating Drapers, the fashion industry weekly title. He is now a freelance writer. SHARP SUITS is his first book. He contributed the foreword to MENSWEAR. A full overview of his work can be found on www.ericmusgrave.co.uk

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous September 14, 2010

By TripsCallerDoh

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I pre-ordered this book because I can never get enough books celebrating the suit. The book is a feast for the eyes that easily surpases "Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion" by Bernhard Roetze in its beauty (a difficult feat. Gentleman: A Timeless Guide to Fashion (Lifestyle)Roetze's book is one of my favorites although its focus is not just on the suit.) This book reminded me of "100 Years of menswear" by Cally BlackmanOne Hundred Years of Menswear. Both books feature a photograph of David Bowie wearing an iconic yellow suit with a shawl collar (SS has a nice selection of Bowie's experimental suits.) That book was fantastic with, practically, the entire story of men's clothing told in photograph captions. The pictures were the focus of the book but the captions were so good that it elevated the book above a mere picture book. "Sharp Suits," has quality captions as well but it seems to focus the narative more in actual texts, exploring various themes over many pages. The book covers quite a lot about suits. It is not quite as exhaustive as Esquire's "Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's" Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions or "The Fairchild Encyclopedia of Menswear," The Fairchild Encyclopedia of Menswear but it still gets 98% of the information that most will be interested in about the suit. This book is also different than than those two reference works in that Sharp suits is more narative. It differs from Alan Flusser's work in that Mr. Flusser's work is much less illustrated (and especially less photographed, sadly) and somewhat more prescriptive (I don't mean this in a negative way. What I am trying to relay is that I think you read Mr. Flusser's books Clothes and the Man: The Principles of Fine Men's Dress to learn how to dress. He explains how to do this based on one's physical characteristics among other things.) Sharp Suits gets into the proportions of the suit but one probably doesn't go to this book to learn how to dress so much as to learn about the whole history and the mystique and vibe of the suit. This is a pleasure read more than a learning experience (even though I have enjoyed Flusser's books and found this one very educational as well.) The structure of the book is arbitrary, making it a poor go to reference unless your obscure query happens to be a section title. All in all, this is a must have for anyone who takes pleasure in reading about, or more importantly, looking at men's suits through the ages and as interpreted by various gifted and not so gifted practitioners of fashion. It is pretty enough to serve as a coffee table book but has enough content to allow you to hunker down for several hours of enjoyable reading.

Smart and pretty!! A must have for those who enjoy a beautiful book about suits. 5 stars.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful collection of images.... September 25, 2010

By J. Brown

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has some iconic images of well cut suits over the last 100 years. Some of the choices are unusual, but all are interesting to see.
For the person who wants to see what other writers talk about when it comes to Savile Row, or other 'schools' of tailoring...this book delivers. Although not definitive, it is a wonderful addition to any well dressed man's library.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Teacher's Guide March 3, 2013

By A. W. Bellais

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The book makes the movie make sense. The sections are great fun, from fashion to smoking and wering hats. All the men wear hats. But, there a pea under the matress -- it's called a woman in the boy's network. I like this book.