Definitive "Books on Menswear" Thread

[Fred G. Unn]

Anyone read the "Mr Porter Paperback, the Manual for a Stylish Life"? Just wondering if it's worth picking up or if it's basically just propaganda for their shop.
http://www.mrporter.com/product/360127

 

[dieworkwear]

Found this PhD student's recomended reading list. The list more covers the intersection of fashion/ clothing and urban studies, but there are some titles here I thought might be of interest to forum members. I'm putting it behind the cut because this is really long.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Anna, Susanne, and Gronbach, Eva, Editors, 2006, Generation Mode: Expedition Zu Den Modeschulen Der Welt/The Fashion Generation: Expedition to the Fashion Schools of the World, Düsseldorf: Stadtmuseum der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf and Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz Verlag.

Arnold, Rebecca, 2009, Fashion: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Arnold, Rebecca, 2009, The American Look: Fashion, Sportswear and the Image of Women in 1930s and 1940s New York, London and New York, NY: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd.

Aspelund, Karl, 2009, Fashioning Society: A Hundred Years of Haute Couture by Six Designers, New York, NY: Fairchild Books.

Ben Saad, Maria, Editor, 2008, Swedish Fashion: Exploring a New Identity, Stockholm: Swedish Institute. [Exhibition Catalogue]

Bernheim, Nele, 2008, Editor, Symposium 1: Modus Operandi, State of Affairs in Current Research on Belgian Fashion, Antwerp: MoMu – Fashion Museum Province of Antwerp.

Blaszczyk, Regina Lee, Editor, 2008, Producing Fashion: Commerce, Culture and Consumers, Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Press.

Brand, Jan, and Teunissen, José, Editors, 2006, Global Fashion, Local Tradition: On the Globalisation of Fashion, Arnhem: Uitgeverij Terra Lannoo BV. [Exhibition Catalogue]

Brand, Jan, Teunissen, José and van der Zwaag, Anne, Editors, 2006, The Power of Fashion: About Design and Meaning, Arnhem: Uitgeverij Terra Lannoo BV and ArtEZ Press.

Breward, Christopher and Gilbert, David, Editors, 2006, Fashion’s World Cities, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Bruzzi, Stella, and Church Gibson, Pamela, Editors, 2000, Fashion Cultures: Theories, Explorations and Analysis, London and New York, NY: Routledge.

Craik, Jennifer, 1993, The Face of Fashion: Cultural Studies in Fashion, London and New York: Routledge.

Craik, Jennifer, 2009, Fashion: The Key Concepts, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Currid, Elizabeth, 2007, The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art and Music Drive New York City, Princeton, NJ and Woodstock: Princeton University Press.

Deben, Leon, Heinemeijer, Willem, and van der Vaart, Dick, Editors, 2000, Understanding Amsterdam: Essays on Economic Vitality, City Life and Urban Form, Second Edition, Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis.

Debo, Kaat, and Bruloot, Geert, Editors, 2007, 6+ Antwerp Fashion, Ghent and Amsterdam: Ludion. [Exhibition Catalogue]

Derycke, Luc, and van de Veire, Sandra, Editors, 1999, Belgian Fashion Design, Ghent and Amsterdam: Ludion.

Entwistle, Joanne, 2009, The Aesthetic Economy of Fashion: Markets and Values in Clothing and Modelling, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Florida, Richard, 2004 (2002), The Rise of Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, New York, NY: Basic Books.

Florida, Richard, 2005, Cities and the Creative Class, London and New York, NY: Routledge.

Fusero, Paolo, 2008, E-City: Digital Networks and Cities of the Future, Barcelona: LISt Laboratorio Internazionale Editoriale and Actar D.

Glaeser, Edward, 2011, Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier and Happier, London, Basingstoke and Oxford: Macmillan.

Goodrum, Alison, 2005, The National Fabric: Fashion, Britishness, Globalization, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Gott, Suzanne, and Loughran, Kristyne, Editors, 2010, Contemporary African Fashion, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Hartley, John, Editor, 2005, Creative Industries, Malden, MA, Oxford and Carlton: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Huyssen, Andreas, 2008, Editor, Other Cities, Other Worlds: Urban Imaginaries in a Globalizing Age, Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press.

Ingram, Susan, and Sark, Katrina, 2011, Berliner Chic: A Locational History of Berlin Fashion, Bristol and Chicago, IL: Intellect.

Jacobs, Jane, 1992 [1961], The Death and Life of Great American Cities, New York, NY: Vintage.

Kawamura, Yuniya, 2004, The Japanese Revolution in Paris Fashion, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Landry, Charles, 2007 [2006], The Art of City Making, London and Sterling, VA: Earthscan.

Landry, Charles, 2008, The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators, London and Sterling, VA: Earthscan.

Lipovetsky, Gilles, Trans. Catherine Porter, 1994, The Empire of Fashion: Dressing Modern Democracy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Loschek, Ingrid, Trans. Dr. Lucinda Rennison, 2009, When Clothes Become Fashion: Design and Innovation Systems, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Malossi, Giannino, 1998, The Style Engine: Spectacle, Identity, Design and Business: How the Fashion Industry Uses Style to Create Wealth, New York: The Monacelli Press, Inc. and Florence: Pitti Immagine SRL.

Maynard, Margaret, 2001, Out of Line: Australian Women and Style, Sydney: University of New South Wales Press Ltd.

Maynard, Margaret, 2004, Dress and Globalisation, Manchester and New York, NY: Manchester University Press.

McRobbie, Angela, 1998, British Fashion Design: Rag Trade or Image Industry?, London and New York, NY: Routledge.

Meadows, Toby, 2009, How to Set Up and Run a Fashion Label, London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Morgan, Tony, 2008, Visual Merchandising: Window and in-store displays for retail, London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Niessen, Sandra, Leshkowich, Ann Marie, and Jones, Carla, Editors, 2003, Re-Orienting Fashion: The Globalization of Asian Dress, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

O’Byrne, Robert, 2009, Style City: How London Became a Fashion Capital, London: Frances Lincoln Limited.

Palmer, Alexandra, Editor, 2004, Fashion: A Canadian Perspective, Toronto, Buffalo, NY, and London: University of Toronto Press.

Paulicelli, Eugenia, and Clark, Hazel, Editors, 2008, The Fabric of Cultures: Fashion, Identity and Globalization, London and New York, NY: Routledge.

Potvin, John, Editor, 2009, The Places and Spaces of Fashion, 1800-2007, London and New York, NY: Routledge.

Rabine, Leslie W. 2002, The Global Circulation of African Fashion, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Reader, John, 2005 [2004], Cities, London: Vintage.

Rocamora, Agnès, 2009, Fashioning the City: Paris, Fashion and the Media, London and New York, NY: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd.

Sassen, Saskia, 2001, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo, Princeton, NJ and Woodstock: Princeton University Press.

Skov, Lise, and Riegels Melchior, Marie, Editors, 2011, Fashion Theory: Journal of Dress Body, and Culture, Volume 15, Issue 2, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Slade, Toby, 2009, Japanese Fashion: A Cultural History, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Spencer, Amy, 2005, DIY: The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture, London: Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd.

Steele, Valerie, 1998, Paris Fashion: A Cultural History, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Svendsen, Lars, Trans. John Irons, 2006, Fashion: A Philosophy, London: Reaktion Books Ltd.

Teunissen, José, Editor, 2006, Mode in Nederland, Arnhem: Uitgerverij Terra Lannoo BV.

Vinken, Barbara, Trans. Mark Hewson, 2005, Fashion Zeitgeist: Trends and Cycles in the Fashion System, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Wood, Phil, and Landry, Charles, 2008, The Intercultural City: Planning for Diversity Advantage, London and Sterling, VA: Earthscan.

Wu, Juanjuan, 2009, Chinese Fashion: From Mao to Now, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.

Zukin, Sharon, 1995, The Cultures of Cities, Malden, MA, Oxford, and Carlton: Blackwell Publishing.

Zukin, Sharon, 2011, Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places, Oxford and New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

Good thread. These books aren't strictly on menswear, but they are more illuminating on the history of menswear than several of the books in the current history list.

Anne Hollander, Sex and Suits. A historical demonstration that Western menswear in the past 1,000 years has been progressive and changing, while womenswear has been cyclical and followed menswear's lead. Menswear blazes in a straight line the trail that womenswear will eventually follow, with lots of spirals back to incorporate old men's styles. (E.g, Western women still wear gowns for ordinary daywear, while Western men gave that up 400 years ago).

Cunnington and Cunnington, Handbooks of English Costume. Their 19th Century Handbook will most interest SFers. It's a great book on the historical precursors of 20th century menswear. Great illustrations, and great descriptions of the details of cut and silhouette.

Alan Mansfield and Phillis Cunnington, Handbook of English Costume in the 20th Century, 1900-1950. Does the same as the C&C Handbooks for the first half of the 20th C.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

Also superb, and strictly on menswear:

Diana de Marly, Fashion for Men: An Illustrated History (1989). The development of Western men's fashion from about 1300 (the first buttoned and shaped coats) until about 1985 and the dominance of the Armani/droop silhouette. Beautifully illustrated, with excellent discussions of silhouette, color, pattern, material. Her focus is on the relationship between the changing fashions and the changing conception of the ideal man. There is a lot packed into these 190 pages.

 

[thestylishdevil]

I picked up "The Handbook of Style: A Man's Guide to Looking Good" from the editors of Esquire magazine. So far haven't read it fully; just quickly skimmed it and found it to be a good reference. I also like the book itself-- great compact size, minimal design, light, and also a good price.

Someone also gave me "**** Yeah Menswear" from the editors of FYMW. I skip around the sections when I read it for my leisure. I've had a couple good laughs and find the content humorous/satirical at times. Good coffee book for personal guests. They even have a "Style Glossary" at the back-- I died when I read their definition for "Uggs". Below is the definition...

Uggs [uhgz] n. A hot girl you won't admit to dating cause she wears Uggs.

 

[Blackhood]

My view on Esquire and GQ is the same as my view on religion; read the texts, keep abreast of the theory and direction of thought, but take care never to believe it.

A broad understanding if cultural context for clothing is good, but it is easy to become a victim of their marketing rubbish.

 

[poorsod]



Received Loos' Why a Man Should be Well-Dressed the other day. I've only read a few chapters and skimmed the rest, but would say it's overall not terribly recommendable. There are a few amusing paragraphs, and it's nice to hear someone's voice about this subject from over a hundred years ago, but the historical material is thin and there aren't any practical or useful tips. Neither Esquire's Encyclopedia nor Flusser's Dressing the Man. Not bad if you're fine with spending ~$15 for a book you can finish within two hours or so, but probably not something you'll ever pick up again for reference.

I am half way through the book. I find this interesting.

"well dressed, what does that actually mean? It means to be correctly dressed. . . It is all about being dressed in an inconspicuous manner. "

Vs

"a dandy is a person for whom clothes serve only one purpose: to stand out from the crowd. "

Sound familiar to anyone?

 

[Solosso]

I just put together my very own list of 100 menswear books, take a look.

This is a brilliant list, Sir. Thank you for putting it together, bookmarked quite a few of your tips for future reading.

 

[Solosso]

Great thread. While we've mentioned some of my personal favorites, many of them are too big of a bite for the beginner reader. When my friends ask me how to dress nicer, I point them to Barron's Dressing Like a Grownup and they love it. An easy and quick read, yet very informative for the young professionals just introducing themselves to the world of dressing with style.

People need something simple to get started. I find that if I recommend a 300 page style bible to a beginner, he'll put it aside indefinitely. It just seems too daunting, it takes too long until they extract the useful facts they need fast. Starting simple is actually a nice test. If they can finish this small book, I point them to Flusser and there is a good chance they will finish that one too.

Any other truly concise beginner books you guys can recommend?

 

[gotitwenineed]

this is a great threat... thank you

 

[cuongtelecoms]

This i a great list.Thank you

 

[Jaded Hedonist]

Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr., (Amazon Link) is pretty interesting . This is one of three or four coffee table books the local Nordstrom has lying around near the chairs and sofas in the mens suit department. It's insightful to see all the styles on the famous people from the era, even more so to get a look at how the rat pack dressed.

 

[dieworkwear]



Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr., (Amazon Link) is pretty interesting .  This is one of three or four coffee table books the local Nordstrom has lying around near the chairs and sofas in the mens suit department.  It's insightful to see all the styles on the famous people from the era, even more so to get a look at how the rat pack dressed.

That's awesome. Thanks. Sammy Davis Jr. was one of my first style inspirations, since I mostly fell in love with clothes through jazz music. Thanks for the link.

 

[J. Cogburn]



IReally, if someone is buying books just because they want to learn how to dress better, there's Flusser, Roetzel, and "Nicholas Antongiavanni." That's it. Beyond that, the other "how to" books get incredibly redundant. The interesting books at that point are more for hobbyist curiosity, IMO - people who want to learn about the history of men's dress, clothing construction, or maybe how men's dress relates to social issues, such as democracy, economic class, and citizenship.

I agree completely save for one thing; add to your list of excellent "how to dress better" books Charles Hix's Dressing Right (St. Martin's Press, 1978). The "do your own thing, there are no rules" vibe will certainly turn most of the SF tribe off. But once you put that aside, it's in many ways a better how to dress book than any of the holy trinity books. Hix is very thought provoking and offers in-depth discussions of a number of very interesting issues only cursorily addressed by Flusser, Roetzel, and Manton. It's a very beefy book.

I also have the highest regard for Anne Hollander's Sex and Suits (Kodansha, 1994). Lots of extremely rich socio-cultural history and theory (really, a light academic book) packed with nuggets that will clarify and illuminate a number of style-related issues often wrestled with here.

And while I like Hardie Amies' ABC book, I think his The Englishman's Suit is a better "how to dress" manual and is close to being put into our Mt. Rushmore of best introductory texts.

 

[J. Cogburn]



Potentially of interest: The Language of Clothes

Excellent book.