A new book. What do you think?

[thinman]

I was browsing the local Border's last weekend and I saw a new fashion book, "Dressing the Man You Love". The target audience seemed to be women who want to elevate the dress of men in their lives who have no interest in quality clothing. I gave it a quick scan and found no egregious errors, but nothing really unique either. It all seemed very derivative, though quite concise. If others have seen it, what do you think?

 

[dirk diggler]

I think I know the one you are referring to. I liked it, but my wife would never buy it since she thinks it would only fuel my obsession. It would make a nice gift for the spouses of colleagues whom I feel need to "step up" their game.

 

[Gradstudent78]

I kind of find it a little demeaning. I mean, the feeling I get from the media is that straight men can't dress themselves, we need either gay men or woman (our wives) to do it for us. The large majority of woman that I've known don't know anything about men's clothing.

Having said that, the book may be very good, I haven't seen it though. It has certainly received good reviews on amazon (3 five star reviews).

 

[designprofessor]

Not to disrupt Thinman's thread, but can you image the men giving the women such a book? You'd be sleepin' on the sofa!

 

[Lucky Strike]

Originally Posted by designprofessor

Not to disrupt Thinman's thread, but can you image the men giving the women such a book? You'd be sleepin' on the sofa!

Now there's an idea: "Dressing the Woman You Love"...

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by Lucky Strike

Now there's an idea: "Dressing the Woman You Love"...

How about "Undressing the Woman You Love"?

dprof, I don't see this as a book men give to women, it strikes me as a book women give to their friends. You know...clean up the bum.

 

[designprofessor]

Originally Posted by thinman

How about "Undressing the Woman You Love"?

dprof, I don't see this as a book men give to women, it strikes me as a book women give to their friends. You know...clean up the bum.

I'm sure you're right. someone here may know exactly, I think statistically the percentage of women who dress / shop for their men is still considerable even in this day and age.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by Gradstudent78

The large majority of woman that I've known don't know anything about men's clothing.

Most don't know anything about clothing, except what's in at the moment. They seem to really love shiny black shoes, black suits, and matching tie/pocket squares. At least in my experience.

As far as the book though - while it may be bland, it could serve as a stepping stone for those who wish to know more about clothing, and not simply as the final step to dressing well.

 

[Histrion]

Originally Posted by VersaceMan

Most don't know anything about clothing, except what's in at the moment. They seem to really love shiny black shoes, black suits, and matching tie/pocket squares. At least in my experience.

I was once browsing the web in my university's library and a girl friend of mine was sitting just beside me. I decided to make a little test. I showed her an EG shoe which she dismissed because she thought the toes were too pointy and not really masculine. So I then showed her an absolutly horrible Kenneth Cole, black with the biggest square-toe ever. She was in awe, her eyes were sparkling and she said these were some of the most gorgeous shoes ever.

What is even more alarming is that this girl is usually well-dressed. But she totally dig the Am-Jack look. What a shame.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by Histrion

What is even more alarming is that this girl is usually well-dressed. But she totally dig the Am-Jack look. What a shame.

Why do you think all the tools like to wear the AmJack look? Because they actually care about clothes? Or, because all the girls like it?

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by Histrion

I was once browsing the web in my university's library and a girl friend of mine was sitting just beside me. I decided to make a little test. I showed her an EG shoe which she dismissed because she thought the toes were too pointy and not really masculine. So I then showed her an absolutly horrible Kenneth Cole, black with the biggest square-toe ever. She was in awe, her eyes were sparkling and she said these were some of the most gorgeous shoes ever.

What is even more alarming is that this girl is usually well-dressed. But she totally dig the Am-Jack look. What a shame.
And you immediately dropped her like a hot potato, right?

 

[Histrion]

Originally Posted by VersaceMan

Why do you think all the tools like to wear the AmJack look? Because they actually care about clothes? Or, because all the girls like it?

Hmm, yeah, good point. Still, I would have expected girls with no sense of style to like it, and girls with style to think that it is ubiquitous as well as ugly.

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

And you immediately dropped her like a hot potato, right?

Hah! Let's just say that I dismissed her opinion and told her how ugly I found the Kenneth Cole shoe to be.

 

[JLibourel]

Originally Posted by thinman

I was browsing the local Border's last weekend and I saw a new fashion book, "Dressing the Man You Love". The target audience seemed to be women who want to elevate the dress of men in their lives who have no interest in quality clothing. I gave it a quick scan and found no egregious errors, but nothing really unique either. It all seemed very derivative, though quite concise. If others have seen it, what do you think?

Hey, Thinman! You were with Andy Gilchrist and me at Carroll & Co. nine days ago. Maybe you were off looking at other stuff when the manager (at least that's what I think he was, anyway) showed Andy and me that book and praised it quite highly. If the manager at what is, in all probability, the finest independent menswear store in SoCal approves of it, I probably should add it to my library.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by JLibourel

Hey, Thinman! You were with Andy Gilchrist and me at Carroll & Co. nine days ago. Maybe you were off looking at other stuff when the manager (at least that's what I think he was, anyway) showed Andy and me that book and praised it quite highly. If the manager at what is, in all probability, the finest independent menswear store in SoCal approves of it, I probably should add it to my library.

Jan, I did notice that he had a copy, but I didn't hear the discussion. Having seen it in Carroll & Co. was what impelled me to pick it up and look at it in Border's. I'm not sure it contains anything not in Flusser's "Dressing the Man" except for some sketches of different fabric types: herringbone, birdseye, etc. It is much more concisely written, however (and I vaguely recall seeing very similar sketches in another book that I can't locate right now).

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Impression from Amazon only.

Its table of contents is impressive. However, it focuses largely on business attire, which isn't the area that most women care to "fix." Also, the text starts with some questionable advice. To quote from a section about "The String Bean - Tall and Weedy"

When shopping with your man, check that the cut of his jacket provides:
Wider lapels to balance his lean frame.

That would make sense only if the section also recommended ample shoulder padding, which is not mentioned there. What's strange is that, elsewhere, the author gives good advice about proportions

Maybe later, after purchase or browsing in person, the perception will change and you'll hear more about it