Men in Style

[alliswell]

I know that Will recommends the book 'Men in Style' by Woody Hochswender as one of his twenty best books. (Here). It's out of print and very expensive, however, so I was wondering what other people's opinion of it is before I try to track it down.

 

[Manton]

I like it a lot. But:

1) It's way too short.

2) A lot of the prints (1/3 to half) are in B&W even though the originals were in color.

3) Some of the choices are unfortunate.

4) The format is much smaller than were the original illustrations.

5) There is no "added value" commentary beyond a short introduction.

Objections 1-4 are serious. I'm glad I got mine at retail way back when, because it would piss me off to pay a lot of money for it now.

 

[spectre]

Agreed.

I'm sure I paid more than you did, but it's price has since skyrocketed. It's not worth the money by any means. If you could find a decent way of printing out etutee's illustrations from his London Lounge features you'd have a much better range of pix.

 

[why18]

Is this book really costing $200? I can't believe it. I bought it here in Singapore about 10 years ago at a cost of equivalent to US$10.

Amazing.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

that book isnt worth having for the current price unless you write about clothes and/or style and want references.

 

[A Harris]

Had a copy once. It's worth flipping through, but I wouldn't pay more than $20 for it.

 

[Bsquared]

While on the subject of books, what is currently available at Borders, B&N, or Books a Million that is worth buying? Manton, did I see a post that said you have authored a book?

 

[dopey]

I disagree with all except for those who discuss the value proposition (I don't know the selling price). The illustrations are excellent and most are well chosen. So is having the original text. It is a pity they are smaller than the originals and that some are in black and white when the originals were in color, but there is still great appeal to having the photos together in one place on good stock with high quality reproduction. For many uses, it beats flipping through photocopies or screen prints from the web.

 

[Bradford]

Originally Posted by Bsquared

While on the subject of books, what is currently available at Borders, B&N, or Books a Million that is worth buying? Manton, did I see a post that said you have authored a book?

http://astore.amazon.com/thestylefor...ng=UTF8&node=1

The first two are by Styleforum regulars. The Men's Clothing Guide by our own Steve B. and The Suit by Manton. Both are excellent as is Dressing the Man by Alan Flusser.

 

[Bsquared]

Thanks! Just bought both.

 

[yachtie]

Originally Posted by Manton

I like it a lot. But:

1) It's way too short.

2) A lot of the prints (1/3 to half) are in B&W even though the originals were in color.

3) Some of the choices are unfortunate.

4) The format is much smaller than were the original illustrations.

5) There is no "added value" commentary beyond a short introduction.

Objections 1-4 are serious. I'm glad I got mine at retail way back when, because it would piss me off to pay a lot of money for it now.

All true- but I got mine for about $20. If they ever come out with the complete AA reprint, that'd be worth the price of admission.

 

[Francisco D'Anconia]

Originally Posted by A Harris

Had a copy once. It's worth flipping through, but I wouldn't pay more than $20 for it.


+1 ^^ I checked it out from my public library who got it on an inter-library loan. Decided that well into the three digits was far to much to pay for this book.

BTW, the library is a great way to get clothing books on a budget, or, if planning on buying them as a reference, getting a good look before parting with cash.

 

[Chow Chow]

Unfortunately it appears some people have figured out that stealing these books from libraries is the way to go. I looked for Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions, which is an extraordinary book (and sells second-hand for an extraordinary price), in both the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library. It was "missing" in both places.