Appropriate Styles That Will Last
That's the whole point of Flusser's latest book, Dressing the Man: The Art of Permanent Fashion: finding appropriate styles that flatter a man, and will last. Flusser's book is copiously illustrated, with a combination of vintage photographs of the usual suspects (Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, the Duke of Windsor, Lucius Beebe, etc.), newly photographed men in a plethora of styles, and classic illustrations from the golden era of such publications such as Apparel Arts (GQ's predecessor) and Esquire.
I don't want to give the impression that Flusser's book is merely a photo-heavy coffee table book without substance. Like his previous books (and frankly, if you own Clothes and the Man, you might want to thumb through Dressing the Man before buying it, unless you get obsessive over this stuff like I do), Flusser has lots of practical advice on his subject.
For example, most books on menswear (and I've collected a few of the better ones over the years) go into the basics of what suit types, and what suit shapes are available, which will go the distance, and which will wind up growing cobwebs in the back of the closet. Flusser's latest is no exception. However, Flusser combines chosing suits, shirts and ties with some excellent suggestions about mating colors with skin tone, hair color, and body type.
Curiously though, unlike his previous books, hats are given remarkably short shrift. I don't mean baseball caps with Caterpillar Tractor logos on them--I'm referring to fedoras, Homburgs, Trilbies, Panama Optimos and other classic bits of haberdashery. They certainly come in handy for us fellows whose hairlines are gradually heading towards the North Pole. And mating the right hat to the right suit is becoming a lost art--one whose banishment to obscurity is not helped by the lack of detail in Flusser's latest book.
Still, there's so much other information here, it more than makes up for that curious omission. At eight and a half by 11 inches and 320 pages, it makes an excellent coffee table book, not to mention a great Christmas gift. Give one to a friend--or husband--who's sartorially challenged. You'll both appreciate the difference it makes.
And you don't even need to flash the super-secret American dandies membership card to buy a copy!
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Great Ed, I've got some interviews myself to dress for.
2 - Earl Adams
You write, "...most books on menswear (and I've collected a few of the better ones over the years)...". Would you please name a few of these books.
Earl
3 - Ed Driscoll
Earl,
Here are some of the better ones on my bookshelf:
Flussers' previous books, which include his first book, Making the Man, the afore mentioned Clothes and the Man, and his next book, Style and the Man.
Paul Keers' A Gentleman's Wardrobe is a fun mid-1980s look at classic Saville Row style. If you're an Anglophile when it comes to clothes, then this is your book.
Speaking of which, I picked up a copy of The Duke of Windsor's late 1950s' book, Windsor Revisited from Bookfinder.com last year. While it proports to be an autobiography, it's really a look at his taste in clothes and the styles he introduced. Lots of fun.
Bernhard Roetzel's Gentlemen: A Timeless Fashion, makes a nice companion to Flusser's latest book. Similarly coffee table-sized, It has a more European slant to the clothes presented.
And finally, if you're never read Tom Wolfe's essay from around 1964, where he first outed himself as a dandy, "The Secret Vice", it's available in his first book, The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby.
Those should keep you buy for a little while!
Regards,
Ed
4 - Ed Driscoll
Earl,
Oops--Freudian slip there. Buy=busy. But you knew that.
Regards,
Ed
5 - Duane Gran
Nice review. I have also read the book and lament the downturn in men's fashion as of late. I appreciate the tip on the Duke's book. I was not aware of that resource.