Style guides

I've never understood why so many treat so-called style gurus like Alan Flusser with such reference, constantly referring to his opinions as if they were holy scripture. I've read his books, and personally, I'm not all that impressed. I find his writing overly ornamented and his tone effete. It's as if he has purposefully parodied himself as a rather Niles Crane-ish pompous ass While I did find parts of the book interesting, Flusser's tone is extremely off-putting, and shis tyle has always seemed to me to be overly conservative and more than a little too stuffy for my tastes. And his obsession with the trappings of class and wealth (what, doesn't everyone have a tailor in Milan?) mark him out to be a social climber and, by definition, a little class-less. I'm interested in what you all thought of Style and the Man and his other books, or those of other so-called gurus? Personally, I would recommend you read historical perspectives like the new Giorgio Armani book by Celant (although that book has some rather annoying features too) which seek to explain the appeal of a certain designer or style rather that proselytizing a rather limited religion.

The_Foxx and all, I think that we need to define the difference between fashion and style. A lot of you are fond of saying that style never changes, while fashion is fleeting. I agree wholeheartedly, if and only if by style you mean the air of a man, his presence. In that case, the distinguishing characteristics of a stylish man have nothing to do with what he is actually wearing or how he looks. In fact, the "rules" to being stylish can be summed up rather concisely: Command respect. Style has no bearing on whether you prefer the fashion of Dolce & Gabbana or that of Gieves & Hawkes, though if you worry too much about what you are wearing, you are, ironically, probably not all that stylish. (Just look at Patrick Bateman.) P.S. To the high school student who stated in a GQ forum post that as long as his parents paid his credit card bills, he would keep on wearing Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, etc... (the author actually listed his favorite designers) - You are definitely not stylish. I doubt that you have any self respect at all.