Here is my list of the twenty great books on classic men's clothing and style of the past fifty years. Most of them are out of print but I've found copies and you can too. In no particular order:
- Scottish Estate Tweeds, E.P. Harrison. A history of tweed with photos of the great estate patterns.
- Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions, O. E. Schoeffler & William Gale. Esquire was once a style leader and the Encyclopedia covers what it thought about every category of men's clothing from the turn of the century through the 1970's. On the required reading list for every budding menswear designer and ferociously expensive.
- Men in Style, Woody Hochswender & Kim Johnson Gross. Learn how men dressed during the Golden Age from these Apparel Arts & Esquire illustrations.
- The 85 Ways to Tie a Tie, Thomas Fink & Yong Mao. Tired of your four-in hand? Here are all the options.
- The Englishman's Suit, Hardy Amies. How the western world came to dress like the English aristocracy, and how it still can. Expensive, if you can find a copy.
- Handmade Shoes for Men, Laszlo Vass. All about shoes made as they should be made.
- The Boutonniere: Style in One's Lapel, Umberto Angeloni. How to wear a flower in your lapel.
- The Elegant Man: How to Construct the Ideal Wardrobe, Ricardo Villarosa & Giuliano Angeli. Interesting overview with perhaps the best section on cloth that's been in print.
- Hatless Jack, Neil Steinberg. What you'll care to know about the hat.
- Eminently Suitable: The Elements of Style in Business Attire, G. Bruce Boyer. Well written and comprehensive look at the suit.
- Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion, Alan J. Flusser. Big and beautiful review of how to dress.
- Clothes and the Man: The Principles of Fine Men's Dress, Alan J. Flusser. The visuals aren't as good as the ones in Dressing the Man but the text is better.
- The Book of Ties, Francois Chaille. Just about all you need to know about neckwear.
- Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion, Berhard Roetzel. Well illustrated. Less on suits and more on a variety of accessories for the gentleman's lifestyle.
8 comments:
Great entry Will.
Much of my own sartorial knowlege comes from these books, not to mention this blog. They are on my shelf and I consult them frequently.
Men in Style is great, too bad it's out of print and used copies cost between $300-400. However, the library at my office was able to borrow me a copy for a few weeks at no cost. The library is a great way to get some of these books.
Another favorite of mine is Nicholas Antongiovanni's The Suit: A Machiavellian Guide to Men's Style. The autor's adapation of aMachiavelli's style of prose to writing about ment's atire is reason enough to enjoy it.
Great post Will. I have many of these books at home but some I do not have including Men In Style. I guess thatwill be my next purchase.
Wonderful idea for a post and most informative, thank you. I'm jealous that you have a copy of Esquire's Encyclopedia. I used to give copies of Men in Style away as gifts (my store sold them.) Fortunatley I kept a copy on my shelf. Great stuff.
Chris
Will, what do you think about The Suit by Nicholas Antongiavanni? I've encountered much discussion about the book, but mostly from people who are already inclined to like it.
I enjoyed reading The Suit and the author is a friend.
As a reference, it lacks the illustrations of Flusser, Roetzel and Villarosa.
Thanks t othis post I picked up swome of these books. I was not familiar with all of them before. I purchased the shoe book at Rizzoli on 57th Street and sent away for Gentleman A Timeless Fashion which I have since received and thought was a great book. I have just ordered the Villarosa book which I am looking forward to reading.
Have you read ABC of Men's Fashion by Hardy Amies? It's inexpensive and very recently published, but I don't think I've seen any reviews on AAAC or SF.
Karim, I reviewed it October 27.
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