Style and the Man

Product Features

• ISBN13: 9780061976155
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

From the Editors

<p> Alan Flusser believes that dressing well is something every man can readily accomplish. In this newly abridged and updated edition of <i>Style and the Man</i>, Flusser shares his vast knowledge of men's clothes and provides essential information for anyone interested in savvy attire. This elegantly written treatise will arm any man with a connoisseur's knowledge of the dos and don'ts of buying and wearing quality clothes and how much they should cost, from dinnerwear to casual sportswear. This book is also a veritable encyclopedia on individualizing questions about fabric, quality, and fit, as well as the appreciable and qualitative distinctions between clothes of different prices and makes. Open <i>Style and the Man</i> to discover: </p> <ul> <li>the difference between a $395 and a $1,000 suit</li> <li>what two words to look for on a costly dress shirt's label</li> <li>why the folds in a cummerbund should always be worn facing up</li> </ul> <p> From the tuxedo to the Top-Sider, Alan Flusser explains the sartorial origins and modern applications of haberdashery. All a man has to do is tuck this book into a corner of his suitcase or back pocket, and he'll be armed with an insider's knowledge of how to guide the tailor or salesperson in fitting or choosing those clothes that will become long-term players in his maturing wardrobe and personal style. </p>
Product Description

Customer Response

A Handbook, not a Tomb
This version is a very utilitarian handbook on how the major aspects of a gentleman's formal wardrobe should be tailored and fit. It is little else.

Taken for what it is, the book is fairly useful and does what many style books do not by suggesting alternatives for an identical man. To clarify, Flusser writes that many aspects of a gentleman's tailoring should be tailored to his facial appearance--skin, hair, et cetera--and his body shape--tall, portly, et cetera. This is best summarized in the many type-specific lists that conclude chapters and serve as even quicker references (and are perhaps the best value in the book). However, for a light skinned, gray haired, portly man (hypothetically), he sometimes intentionally makes contradictory recommendations. This is interesting, and again done on purpose, but lacks some depth because there is seldom explanation for the options. How can a tall man look ideal in both single-breasted three button and double-breasted, 6x2 suits?

Honestly, I was expecting more in some form or another. Flusser is among rarified air in today's men's style world, so I am in no position to question his pronouncements. But, I would like more explanation and more obvious thought put into the directives I am given here. Alternatively, more illustrations or information on fabric, weave, and such--the book really does only address cut and color. Something. However, that perhaps goes beyond the point of the book, which is to serve as a quick reference to Alan Flusser's style, not as a guidebook for creating your own or as a stand-alone project or one for the uneducated in the ways of fashion.

I will certainly purchase another Flusser, Dressing the Man, but will probably not look back to this book very often.

If this is what you're looking for, you will be well pleased. If not, you should look elsewhere.

An outstanding guide updated and reissued
I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of Style & The Man and have to say, it's good to have Mr. Flusser back on the bookshelf. More than any other menswear writer, he understands what it takes to dress well at a personal level. Genuine style is what matters and that kind of style is a very personal thing. Your skin tone, hair color, eye color, face shape, body type and even your neck height, all play a part in finding the colors, patterns and styles that work for you. Are you short or tall, heavy or trim? Once you understand your own profile, you know what to look for when you go out to hit the stores. Flusser has spent his life figuring this stuff out and dressing some of the sharpest guys to walk down any street. There is a reason Ralph Lauren says he's one of the most knowledgeable experts on men's fashion.

The book is an updated take on the first half of the original Style & The Man - an outstanding book on its own. He's removed the extensive shopping guide that comprised the original book's second half. But that's OK because what we are left with is a straightforward guide on dressing well, fully updated for life in 2010. It's a trim, easily portable volume of 137 pages that's packed with great advice.

So many of these style "guide books" are just generic shopping guides filled with bland advice like where to buy a gray suit and get a big watch. Slim suits might be in right now, but you look bad in one, it's irrelevant. Flusser points out that dressing well is a skill that can be taught, and with the price of fine clothing only going up, men need to take charge of their wardrobes. He discuses what to look for with shirts, shoes and neck wear; explains the importance of a suit's shoulders fitting properly, why lapel width matters or what you get with a custom suit and why it's usually worth the money. Did you know that good foot wear and a hand rolled pocket square can make any outfit look better; do you know why? This is the practical yet elusive advice that makes a real difference.

Get this book and use it. Actually, get this book and read it because there are not a whole lot of pictures. This is a book that tells you how to dress well, dress for your body and personal style. You'll learn what to look for when you shop, how to wear your clothes and how to pull it all together with panache. Glossy pics of designer outfits may be cool, but they can't do all that. An excellent Father's Day gift.

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