Customer Reviews

The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men's Style

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

A couple of months ago, the bespoke tailors of London's famed Savile Row, including directors of its most renowned and venerable firms, took to the street (most discreetly and properly, of course) to demonstrate against increases in rent and taxes that threaten this historic English institution. The rise in property-related costs is fueled in part by the desire of multinational fashion corporations to appropriate the prestige of this fabled address for their mass-produced, no-size-fits-any products. The Westminster City Council has responded with zoning plans and other recommendations to help the home of fine tailoring continue to flourish. Whether it can long withstand powerful institutions and market forces is another question.

This feeling that the barbarians are at the gate would have been familiar to the author of The Prince. Spain was newly united and expansionist, France was meddling again, and the great Lorenzo de'Medici was dead. Florence warred with itself as power swung from royalists to republicans and back. Machiavelli feared for the state's survival. Personally, he cared less for whom he worked, and more that he merely be allowed to serve his city. The advice in his little treatise emphasized that the man of virtú - the strong and effective individual - could change the course of history.

Nicholas Antongiavanni clearly sympathizes with this view. His delightful book stands with those who build (or want to build) a personal style based on good fit and one of several aesthetic traditions, rather than being at the mercy of corporate accountants, fickle designers, and depressing statistics about average body measurements. As other reviewers have noted, the book displays wit as well as the deeper pleasures of intelligent parody, including the pleasure of ideas in conversation across disciplines and centuries. The book is indeed a personal project, and that is its virtue. It is not generic.

Antongiavanni has obviously read Flusser and Boyer, and knows both men. So why would he write a book like theirs? The Suit credits its readers with the sense to know that no single book makes an education in any field. Readers will benefit from testing Antongiavanni's propositions against Flusser's illustrations, and from considering the points where authors differ. Antongiavanni's opinions are strongly flavored and forcefully stated. In part this results from the demands of his parodic template, and no doubt in part from his own inclination. Again, this seems to me a feature rather than a flaw.

The Suit is a refreshing addition to the discourse on men's dress. It has two important strengths: First, it is a book that can speak to men with more serious things to do than flip through picture books, and whose worldview is more complex than that of John T. Molloy. Second, it offers those very men, as well as those without experience, a reliable set of principles on which to build an effective personal style of dress. No garment or ensemble praised in this book will ever embarrass its wearer, assuming it is worn on the appropriate occasion. Many things proscribed in this book can, in fact, be both appropriate and stylish on the right man in the right circumstances. But here's a secret: the author knows this. When the reader understands himself, his culture, and the materials and techniques of clothing well enough, he can use the rules or break them--or make them himself. He will then embody the man of virtú.

For those of us on the way, The Suit is entertaining and informative. Its rhetorical stance of infallible authority (and that of its Florentine model) is like the perfectly draped chest or exquisitely shaped shoulder of a well-cut jacket: a noble lie. Beneath is the human frame with its imperfections. But in the hands of a skilled tailor, both ideas and flesh are made to seem - more than in their naked state - truly themselves.

Unlike, most other reviewers I am going to base this review on the fact if you have NOT yet read the Prince but are a devotee of sartorial arts.

I have not read the Prince and as such cannot compare its writing style. However, I will comment on its content. This is a book certainly aimed for (at least somewhat) advanced readers with a passion for fine men's apparel. The advice given in this book is top-rate & is in the very best of taste, though often it may appear (especially to new readers) as highly subjective or opinionated. The rules and laws explained in this book... that govern the field of men's business wear... are correct and in accordance with how they were established during the golden era of men's wear. You may (as a reader in 21st century) opt to discard these old rules and that is perfectly fine... in fact the author often suggests it. But in any case, you need to know the basics before you can properly discard them and this book provides a decent dose of historic info too.

It's greatest shortcoming is only that WHAT COULD NOT made it into the book, such as lavish illustrations and pictures (but the price certainly reflects this also). But whatever DID made it into this book is (for the most part) as first rate as it gets.

Naturally you would like to ask... how am I suppose to know that the advice is indeed first rate? Well, should you find yourself shopping in the most reputable of men's stores... (may that be your Haberdasher on 5th Ave or your esteemed tailor on Savile Row) discuss with them some of the concepts explained in this book and chances are most of the time... a knowledgeable sales person or your tailor will echo exactly what is said in the book.

I am not a man, and I don't play one on T.V. but I could not put this book down. It is a great read even if you are not familiar with Machiavelli's Prince but, if you are, it is a pleasure of the highest order. My husband is not in any way familiar with Machiavelli (except through common ethnicity) but he found the advice most helpful on a recent shopping excusion. Antongiavanni presents a beaux ideal of what a well-dressed man should look like (taking into account as many particulars as can be examined--even down to deformities) and leaves the application of those rules up to the virtue of the reader. His rules are demanding but virtue is not an easy thing and no good thing is acquired without it. If you cannot accept all his rules or accomodate your virtue to every particular, you will still be a better dressed man for the effort. As a matter of social commentary, most readers will appreciate Antongiavanni's discussion of the difference between style and fashion--the former being the thing to emulate the latter being the thing to eschew. Read it and buy one for a friend. You will have given him (or even her) a better gift than gold.

Extremely clever and quite enjoyable... really a refreshing change of pace for those of us who like to read about Men's fashion.

Antongiavanni's dry wit might not be fully appreciated by those who are not devotees to the work of Machiavelli but the parody is hilarious to the well read gent with a grasp of matters sartorial.

How refreshing to see a book on mens clothing not targeted to the recent grad on his first interview!

Great read, well thought out and quite entertaining. Antongiavanni pulls off a neat trick by making the book entertaining and useful for those who HAVEN'T read Machiavelli while leaving those who have to marvel at his ability to parody such divergent topics. Well done!

This is NOT:
* a book for people who want/need everything in bullet points
* a one-stop book for people who are just starting out with style
* a book for people who react negatively to strong opinions about what looks good

This IS:
* an enjoyable read, combining parody and insight
* a wonderful addition to an all-too-small canon of books on men's style
* a real tonic for readers who LIKE strong opinions and can put them in context

As has been noted, this is a very particular book. It is stylistically unique, not heavily illustrated and forcefully states opinions on what is and is not 'proper'. I like that it has the feel of a personal project - there is passion in it, and I think its unique angle will actually help draw in some readers who might otherwise skip books on style.

The writing is very arch in tone, and for some this may become grating. I personally loved it, but did feel that if I did not have a basic grasp of clothing terminology, I might have gotten lost.

If you are passionate about clothes, this book is well worth the cost of admission. The author gives a wonderfully thorough tour of the ins and outs of an elegant style that will carry most men through life with great aplomb. He does some things better and in more depth than other books on the shelves and presents a cogent case for a certain aesthetic.

The opinions given are stated in the absolute, and you may not agree with them, but they ought to be food for thought. I actually like it when the author states an opinion strongly - in doing so, he forces me to figure out where I stand.

If you are looking for a simple, direct guide to 'dressing for success' I would push you towards other books. The Chic Simple series and Flusser's Dressing the Man are heavily illustrated and fairly usable expressions of a similar aesthetic, and are easy to grasp.

This book is best for a sophisticated reader with his own style, but an openness to being challenged. Even for someone just starting out, it is a great complement to one of the basic books -- Antongiovanni does a few areas better than even the greats, and reading it in this new light can help cement what you do and don't like about your own aesthetic.

I have been sampling 'The Suit' in small doses for the past few months since I first got it, not because it's unpalatable, but because it's delicious and like a fine meal, I don't want to finish this small book too quickly.
The author is not only very knowledgeable about style, he is quick to point out the differences between fashion and style at every turn. Something I think he needs to do because most men don't understand the difference or that there is even one. He is also brazen enough (though not enough to use his real name!) to name names, to point out disappointing examples of those men in America who seem to spoil it for the rest, being as they are, so-called role models. He also judiciously proffers praise to the appropriate models of ultimate style as well, so it's a balanced book.
His language is a big tortorous and bombastic, but since it forces the reader to pay attention, I don't count this too much against the author.
5 well-deserved stars.

I bought this book for my husband and didn't imagine that I would enjoy reading it as well!

I always have thought that the topic of men's formal clothing was dull, too full of arcane details and pretty much irrelevant in this era. (Which is odd, considering that I absolutely love the style of Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, et al.) But this book really opened my eyes - it educated me about a way of thinking about dress that seems to be fast disappearing - without people (like me) realizing what a sad loss this is! I also took in so much useful information, even though I'm not likely to be visiting a Neapolitan tailor or Saville Row, I've found that I'm already looking at men's clothes with a more educated eye.

The funny thing is that, even if you think you don't pay attention to clothes, most of the assessments the author makes about public figures will probably ring true for you - making you realize how much clothes do actually communicate subliminally. There's something about how this book shows the links between dress and culture, and what/how clothes communicate, that made it seem like a sort of necessary part of a cultural education.

This book will either confound or delight, depending upon one's tolerance for highly stylized prose and the literally superficial topic of men's attire.

I was delighted. It makes for a superb read and I found that I was pacing myself so as not to race through it and gorge myself on Anton's plump periods and sinuous syntax.

As for the superficiality of the subject matter -- a critical grasp of the difference between appearance and essence is the foundation of all metaphysics. The author's light touch is clearly the antidote to the forelock tugging of the inveterately politicized.

Most enjoyable to me is the fact that the book offers a degree of incredible specificity and clarity about subtle, tacit details of bespoke tailoring, details I would have thought only the most inbred of Savile Row initiates would appreciate and convey with the garment in hand.

A fine performance!

As a professional in the field, I have probably read the majority of available books on the subject. "The Suit" is without equal. Not only a fresh approach by an extremely knowledgeable author, but one which through its unbelievably comprehensive parody of Machiavelli's "The Prince" holds the reader spellbound throughout. Antongiavanni's perspective on clothing is one of practical approach understandable by all. His pull-no-punches attitude offers the upwardly-dressing man a no-nonsense guide to proper sartorial demeanor. This is a must read both for those who think they have their style "together" ... as well as newcomers to proper men's dressing. Recommended without reservation!

This is a fascinating book. Far different from the run-of-the-mill fashion guide, The Suit is a thoughtful, intelligent, witty, sometimes provocative look at clothes and the man. At one level, it gives the reader a very solid history of present clothing styles and conventions and sets some very clear standards for the well-dressed man..."rules" one should clearly understand even if one ultimately chooses to bend or break them. At a deeper level, the book is an exploration of clothes in contemporary society, of how others see us, and of how we see ourselves. In adopting the approach of Machiavelli's The Prince, Mr, Antongiavanni has taken some risk. I personally found the approach rather clever, but I suspect that the author intended it to be more than just an engaging literary device. It allows him to express his point of view in clear and unambiguous terms yet at the same time stimulate real thought as to his words and to the place of attire in today's world. It's not often one finds such literate and thought-provoking texts on the Style section shelf of your local bookstore.