The Style Guy [Paperback]

Glenn O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2000

"Style isn't fashion.
Fashion is about what everybody's doing, what everybody's wearing.
Style is about what you're doing, what you're wearing."

As the no-nonsense columnist for Details magazine, Glenn O'Brien has helped thousands of guys naturally develop their own unique sense of style. Now he can help you. Here is practical, down-to-earth advice on dress, manners, sex, grooming, and dating--including cigar and cell-phone etiquette, tips on ordering wine in restaurants, and the cold, hard facts on cutoff jeans, ribbed tank tops, black shoes with white socks, and the age-old conundrum: boxers or briefs.

What's the difference between a ticket pocket and a fob pocket? A raconteur and a loudmouth?
Does slipping a maitre d' a tip like they do in the movies get you a better table?
How do you tell your date that she has spinach in her teeth?
What's the best thing to say to someone when you've prematurely ejaculated?
What do you wear with a brown suit?

If guys (and their girlfriends) are wondering about it, then O'Brien has the answers. Having style was never so easy!

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"Style isn't fashion.
Fashion is about what everybody's doing, what everybody's wearing.
Style is about what you're doing, what you're wearing."

As the no-nonsense columnist for Details magazine, Glenn O'Brien has helped thousands of guys naturally develop their own unique sense of style. Now he can help you. Here is practical, down-to-earth advice on dress, manners, sex, grooming, and dating--including cigar and cell-phone etiquette, tips on ordering wine in restaurants, and the cold, hard facts on cutoff jeans, ribbed tank tops, black shoes with white socks, and the age-old conundrum: boxers or briefs.

What's the difference between a ticket pocket and a fob pocket? A raconteur and a loudmouth?
Does slipping a maitre d' a tip like they do in the movies get you a better table?
How do you tell your date that she has spinach in her teeth?
What's the best thing to say to someone when you've prematurely ejaculated?
What do you wear with a brown suit?

If guys (and their girlfriends) are wondering about it, then O'Brien has the answers. Having style was never so easy!

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (May 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345427270
• ISBN-13: 978-0345427274
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,100,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True to form., September 10, 2001

By 

"a-mar" (Middletown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Style Guy (Paperback)

Firstly, you have to like Glenn O'Brien's sarcastic attitude to enjoy his book. Pick up a GQ and read his column first, if you haven't already.

My only critcism is that he spends too much time talking about things other than clothing, when there's still so much more that could be explained. I'm not sure this is entirely his fault, as he set out to print the answers to his most frequently asked questions. Still, often the things we need answered the most are the questions we never even thought to ask.

What I do like, and what makes the book a worthwhile purchase, is that O'Brien represents clearly for us the difference between style and fashion. Most people who would buy this book already have a subscription to GQ, at least. This guide helps us steer clear of the latest faux pas the fashion world is trying to sell.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Well-Rounded Guide for Gentlemen at large, May 13, 2000

By 

Jason R. Nickel (Southern California, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Style Guy (Paperback)

Mr. Glenn O'Brien has written a book that will hopefully help shape the way many people look at style. O'Brien shows the reader common sense answers to all of life's style inquires. Women are touched- metaphorically, of course-as well as topics including how men who perspire greatly should avoid deoderants with alluminum. The book is featured in a question/answer format, with O'Brien supplying anecdotes in between. This book falls a tad short of being a complete guide, but I don't think it was meant to be one. O'Brien's, "The Style Guy," won't instruct the proper way to tie a tie, but it will give you answers to some frequently asked questions, as well as a good laugh. Pick this one up, you won't regret it.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Come On, O'Brien's Great, November 7, 2004

By 

Jim 'n Em (Law-Law Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Style Guy (Paperback)

I have had this book for a while, but I feel obligated to defend it when I see these other poor reviews.

I must admit to being a big fan of "The Style Guy" and that I always flip to his column while I stand in line in the store, GQ in hand. But I'm a fan because of his wit and sense; he's good.

This book is valuable because it does offer practical advice for business or business casual and will be helpful to any young guy starting out.

If you would enjoy a fairly literate book with pretty conservative but contemporary views on style then you would like this. If you are more interested in a Tom Ford worldview than you might want to look elsewhere, but I would have no idea where.