The Cut of His Coat by Brent Shannon - A Review

[Sator]

I have just finished reading this book which I just received in the mail through Amazon.

If there were a simple summary of the book I would dare to say it was a superbly written history of dandyism from the nineteenth century down to the present. The author modestly claims to cover only the periods of 1860 to 1914 but he is forced to discuss the Beau Brummel period of the early 19th century Regency Period right through to the present. Far from being the frivolously written facile populist writing one usually encounters when discussing the topic of dandyism this book is a seriously researched piece of sociology which deals with the dandy in every manifestation throughout this time period. At times the dandy was the hero while at others villainised for his effeminacy - such as following the scandal surrounding Oscar Wilde. With the rise of the middle class came the masher, the gent, the knut, the swell, the cad - and finally in the epilog the metrosexual and the retrosexual are all seen as variations on the same theme through history amid a changing social background.

The book is immediately captivating from its opening passage:

In May, 1904, the London Men's Monthly Fashion reprinted in full a letter to the Irish Independent by a frustrated tailor and closet reader of popular fiction. "I wonder what it is that the writers of fiction pay so little attention to costuming of their male characters," the letter began; "Of course nobody expects a man's clothes to be as interesting as a woman's but they certainly deserve more than they get in novels, particularly the novels of women. The tailor cautiously admitted that he had lately begun to read a great deal of fiction, "not because I like it, but because I was anxious to find out how real heroes dressed. I didn't learn much. Judging by the scant courtesy accorded the apparel of mankind in literature, they didn't do much dressing"..."It isn't fair to us tailors," he concluded; "Dressmakers get a good write-up on almost every page of the popular novels but the tailor is cut down to about six lines in the whole book".

The whole culture of menswear as being something that must be presented as though completely uncalculated yet presented with sprezzatura (the author never uses that word but it came to mind numerous times as I was reading the book) is traced. Part and parcel with this was the Victorian eshewal of anything other than solid black for serious business attired with all other colours being regarded as being ostentatious to the point of being almost morally suspect. The author does an extraordinary job of unearthing the extremes gentlemen went to to produce an air of such sprezzatura - of an extreme calculated uncalculatedness that demanded of itself that it be forgotten while all the while presenting itself as the perfect manifestation of gentlemanly ways. In the course of this history too had hitherto forgotten this hidden world of masculine elegance of a dandyism which daren't even admit its dandyism in case it was seen as something excessively affected and effeminate.

Later the whole history of the dominance of the black frock coat is followed until its demise with rise of the lounge suit in the latter 19th to early 20th century. It becomes clear that the lounge suit arose in the age of increasing mass production and the rise of ready-to-wear clothing causing a demise in bespoke tailoring. After all the lounge suit was loose fitting and the precisely tailored forms of the frock coat was alien to mass production. In the course of this the question of dandyism and ready-to-wear vs bespoke is inevitably raised.

Right throughout the book there are numerous carefully chosen illustrations which enrich the reading experience enormously. The writing style is inviting and fluent throughout in the way the narrative of the history of dandyism is presented to us. I must confess to have been unable to put it down and read it from cover to cover in the course of a single evening.

In conclusion I would say this is the best book on the history of menswear I have yet to read which covers issues that remain true to our hearts and regularly discussed on the forum. Essential reading and heartily recommended to all. Indeed you might even see it as a perfect accompaniment to Manton's book The Suit, whose original intended title was of course - The Dandy.

The Cut of His Coat by Brent Shannon
ISBN 0821417037
Ohio University Press (October 2, 2006)
http://www.amazon.com/Cut-His-Coat-C...e=UTF8&s=books

 

[Will]

Mmmm, I'm less impressed. The book appears to have been the author's PhD thesis on the rise of consumerism among English men during the late 19th century. As such there is some useful information about who was wearing what when, and whether you could get it at Harrods, but not much that would be of use to someone who wants information on what to wear tomorrow.

No beat and you can't dance to it. I give it a 3.

 

[mack11211]

Will, why not judge the book for what it is rather than what it isn't? It's not What To Wear, nor is it trying to be.

Some people have broader interests.

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by Will

.... not much that would be of use to someone who wants information on what to wear tomorrow.

Did you perchance miss this chart?



I thought it was priceless.

Given the amount of undisturbed time, research and commitment that a PhD involves I am only too happy to read peoples theses. In this case the author has spent a lot of time in the UK going through old archival material.

 

[Will]

Originally Posted by Sator

Given the amount of undisturbed time, research and commitment that a PhD involves I am only too happy to read peoples theses. In this case the author has spent a lot of time in the UK going through old archival material.

I didn't say it wasn't worth reading for someone who cares about 19th century middle class men's dress in England. I was responding to the statement that it's a "superbly written history of dandyism from the nineteenth century down to the present." It's not. Middle class men couldn't afford to be dandies.

And the writing is a bit below ordinary, IMHO.

I did like the chart, but what it adds to, say, the same information in Emily Post, is of marginal value.

As I wrote, I have the book. I will use it (rarely) as a reference. But the best book on the history of menswear it isn't. Anyone interested in the period will get more from reading Clothes and the Man (the 1900 version by the Major, not Flusser's re-make).

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by Will

I didn't say it wasn't worth reading for someone who cares about 19th century middle class men's dress in England. I was responding to the statement that it's a "superbly written history of dandyism from the nineteenth century down to the present." It's not. Middle class men couldn't afford to be dandies.
I rarely genuinely disagree with you Will so I find it a great pity this one didn't click with you. I am most surprised as I would have thought the depth of social commentary would have appealed to an obviously thoughtful writer such as yourself. Yes the rising lower classes couldn't really afford to be dandies - that's why you got these "mashers" who were like second rate copies of dandies. They were not fully dress literate and so kind of "mashed up" the correct rules of dress and came up with a cheapened parody of dandyism. It was also the rise of the same new middle class that lead to the demise of the regular wearing of evening dress - something you yourself astutely aluded to in your last blog of wearing black lounge suits as evening dress. I accept that maybe this book just didn't hit the mark with you but I read the book as more than just a matter-of-fact historic account of middle class dress in 19th century England. Rather I read in it an account of that whole cat-and-mouse interplay between the upper classes and the rising middle class going out of its way to ape the upper class, who in turn kept raising the sartorial bar - often changing dress up to seven times a day - so that the middle class couldn't afford to keep up. One of the greatest insights was the way the same rising middle class gave birth to a whole ready-to-wear industry which lead to the progressive decline of bespoke tailoring. Shannon makes it abundantly clear that this process had historic roots in the 19th century. The rise of the lounge suit was part and parcel of this. It was for good reason that the loose and more "comfortable" lounge suit (or the sack, as it was called in America) overtook the sharply fitting waisted coats (such as the morning coat or frock coat) whose pedigree and aesthetic is through and through that of bespoke tailoring. For only looser fitting 'sacks' could tolerate the approximate fit of RTW clothing. Those of us today who still believe in this almost dying art of bepoke tailoring are constantly battling uphill against the limitations imposed upon us the dilution in dress education amongst the general populace resulting from the widespread socio-economic upheavals of the late 19th to early 20th century. We are fighting against the very sack like nature of the lounge suit as we try to use the bespoke tailors skills to make it as much like the fitted coats of yesteryears dandies as we can. Shannon helped me realise how clearly so much of what we lament in the state of affairs today with men's dress has far deeper historical roots than we ever dreamt of - reaching right back into the Victorian era. And so too the rise of sportwear in the early 20th century along with the acceptance of looser 'sack' coats was another key facet in shaping the way men dress today. All of these have a social and economic basis to them. I know no better book for helping me gain so much insight in the sociological foundations of modern man's dress - its dress illiterate disasters and cheap mass-produced pseudo-dandyisms included.

 

[LabelKing]

The only authentic text I've read concerning the conception of a dandy is Ellen Moers's book, The Dandy: Brummell to Beerbohm. The other texts that deal with any authentic portrayal of a dandy culture are by the late esthete, Philippe Jullian. J.K. Huysmans who also dealt with dandies, however, let his closet Christian show through in his books, notably A Rebours.

 

[Fabro]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

The only authentic text I've read concerning the conception of a dandy is Ellen Moers's book, The Dandy: Brummell to Beerbohm.

Ellen Moers' book is just outstanding. It offers a really well crafted balance between scholarship and pure readability. This one is really worth tracking down on abebooks.com if you haven't had the pleasure of reading it.

Shannon's book sounds interesting too. I think I'll have to piggyback thison my wife's next Amazon order. Thanks for the review.