the all-around best four are at the top (in order of publication); the rest follow in approximate order of quality and usefulness
Flusser, Alan. Clothes and the Man: The Principles of Fine Men's Dress. New York: Villard, 1985.
210 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-394-54623-7
Review: The guide. Compare all other books to this one. Mostly text, all very well written and accurate. Several charcoal illustrations. Fold-out section in the middle showing classic shirt patterns. Color photos of outfits in the back of the book. What else do you need to know?
Availability: Out of print. The text of this book and a few of the illustrations are provided online by Fashionmall but it doesn't match the elegance of the actual book. There are quite a few physical copies out there, but rarely for reasonable prices. Alibris.com almost always has a few, usually over $75. With a lot of luck on eBay or half.com, you can get a good copy for $15-$30.
-------------------
Villarosa, Riccardo and Giuliano Angeli. The Elegant Man: How to Construct the Ideal Wardrobe. New York: Random House, 1990.
192 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-679-42101-7
Review: Wonderfully informative text, beautifully demonstrative photographs. A combination of photos of clothes on models and photos of great clothes on Hollywood stars and some British royalty. A 40-page section about different fabrics, their weights and purposes. Great info and illustrations about the cut of garments and the appropriate details.
Availability: Out of print. Almost as hard to find a reasonably priced copy as Flusser's Clothes and the Man. Expect to pay anywhere from $15 to $50.
--------------------
Roetzel, Bernhard. Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion. Cologne: Konemann, 1999.
360 pages | hardcover | ISBN 3-8290-2029-5
Review: The best "coffee-table book" on the subject. Every page is full-color with many photos, and it's very label based. This book, more than any of the others, will make you want to buy everything: Hermès neckties, Tod's driving moccasins, Gucci loafers, a few T & A shirts, a Missoni sweater, a Barbour, Levi's 501s, a Brigg umbrella, a Lock & Co. hat, and some Vuitton luggage to boot. Fun to browse through, but the information within is very shallow. Originally published in German, the translation is sometimes a bit rough. Truly covers the "international style" of men's clothing.
Availability: Suddenly went out of print over summer 2002. Copies are hard to find, but try the normal online places (see top of page). Be sure you get a copy in the right language because there are German and Spanish copies out there.
---------------------
Flusser, Alan. Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
308 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-06-019144-9
Review: Flusser uses many helpful photographs to demonstrate good style in this book—you'll see plenty of Cary Grant, Gianni Agnelli, and the Duke of Windsor. He also skillfully broaches the imperative goal of dressing in appropriate and flattering colors, something not addressed by any other book I've read. Unfortunately, sections on wardrobe basics seem to have lost a bit of the detail from Clothes and the Man. While it is enjoyable to read and browse through, I think his language will fail to convert any sloppy and uncaring dressers into Fred Astaire wannabes. It's a better read for people who already know this stuff and just want to hone their knowledge.
Availability: Check Amazon or your local bookseller. List price is $49.95.
----------------------
Karlen, Josh and Christopher Sulavik. The Indispensible Guide to Classic Men's Clothing. New York: Tatra, 1999.
196 pages | paperback | ISBN 0-9661847-1-8
Review: Packed full of information with some line drawings. Covers most every piece of clothing a well-dressed man would need. Most of the rules are good, but not perfect (it's written here that a notched-lapel dinner jacket is "classic," which is far from true). The best feature of this book is that speckled throughout the text are tips and advice from experts at the best men's clothes houses around: Bergdorf Goodman, Paul Stuart, Turnbull & Asser and more. It's refreshing to read comments from salespeople who really know what they're talking about (all too many just try to sell something, anything, to you). It's quite inexpensive and makes an excellent starting book.
Availability: Check Amazon or your local bookseller. List price is $15.95.
----------------------
Flusser, Alan. Style and the Man: How and Where to Buy Fine Men's Clothes. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
399 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-06-270155-X
Review: A good introduction to Flusser. The first 112 pages are guidelines for dress, and the remainder of the book is a list of his favorite places around the world to find his favorite sartorial pieces. The first quarter is great for anyone: the writing is characteristically Flusser—slightly witty and perfectly accurate. Follow his rules. The latter half is great if you have a lot of money to spend, travel a lot, and share Flusser's idea of great style.
Availability: Check Amazon or your local bookseller. List price is $27.50.
-----------------------
Boyer, G. Bruce. Elegance: A Guide to Quality in Menswear. New York: Norton, 1985.
279 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-393-01878-4
Review: Mostly text, just a few charcoal illustrations by Tony Kokinos. Very elegant prose about a selection of Boyer's favorite components of menswear, from the ascot ("there is no reason to presume that the ascot will ever be out of fashion") to Harris tweed and the trench coat. Not many rules for appropriate dress, so it isn't a good guide for a beginner. Perfect if you want to sit down and read page after full page about the history and relevance of classic men's clothes.
Availability: Out of print. Prices vary wildly from less than $10 (half.com) to near $50 (Alibris.com).
------------------------
Boyer, G. Bruce. Eminently Suitable: The Elements of Style in Business Attire. New York: Norton, 1990.
206 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-393-02877-1
Review: Similar to Boyer's first book (Elegance) in that it's most text with only a handful of illustrations by Tony Kokinos. As the title suggests, this truly is about STYLE and not fashion (although there is a full chapter titled "Contemporary Design and Designers" which lists the main designers and how they approach fashion). My favorite chapter is "The Art of Dressing" wherein Boyer describes sprezzatura—"that purposely disordered style, that cultivated recklessness, that seeming unconcern of the man who turns up his jacket collar, the collar of that English custom-made hacking jacket." It's about flair.
Availability: Out of print. I've seen prices from $10 to $50.
-------------------
Gross, Kim Johnson, Jeff Stone and Woody Hochswender. Men's Wardrobe (Chic Simple). New York: Knopf, 1998.
225 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-679-44576-5
Review: A good picture book done in the now well-known Chic Simple style. Many color photos of great classic clothes combined well, with an appendix in the back that lists all of the labels for each piece they use. Do not take most of the rules and guidelines in this book too seriously. It's sloppily assembled, with photos often not matching captions. If you read GQ regularly, you'll probably like this book. (But it is, thankfully, less fashion-focused and more style-focused than any men's magazine.)
Availability: Check Amazon or your local bookseller. List price is $30.00.
-----------------------
Brinkman, Steve. The Men's Clothing Guide: How and Where to Buy the Best Men's Clothing in America. El Cerrito, California: Dapper Press, 2003.
340 pages | paperback | ISBN 0-9724317-0-5
Review: A noble attempt by a newcomer to men's clothing writing. Casual and easy-going, with good advice about enjoying your clothing. The color-compatibility charts are too hokey for me, and I doubt their helpfulness even to the most clueless men. The latter three-quarters of the book is the most comprehensive listing of clothing manufactuers and retailers relevant to the American man.
Availability: Check Amazon or your local bookseller. List price is $19.95.
---------------------------
Hochswender, Woody. Men in Style: The Golden Age of Fashion from Esquire. New York: Rizzoli, 1993.
112 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-8478-1704-0
Review: This book is a collection of illustrations from early editions of Esquire. Most are from the 30s, some from the 40s, and a handful from post-war years. Hochswender only introduces the book and each section, but his writing is up there with Boyer's. Each illustration is accompanied by the original caption. Extremely enjoyable: each illustration is worthy of being framed and hung on the wall.
Availability: Extremely difficult to find. I spent over a year trying to find mine, and finally lucked out using the "pre-order" feature at half.com. Even when it does become available, expect to pay a lot, especially considering the slim 112 pages. Most seem to go for at least $75.
---------------------
Lenius, Oscar. A Well-Dressed Gentleman's Pocket Guide. London: Prion, 1998.
216 pages | hardcover | ISBN 1-85375-276-2
Review: Truly a pocket guide (it's 6.5" by 4"), but it covers everything. Published in London, it has a clearly British perspective. Not much depth for each area, but it's all perfectly correct.
Availabilitity: I found mine on Amazon in late 2001, but it seems to no longer be available there. Check used book sites and stores. List price was £8.99.
----------------------
Vass, Laszlo and Magda Molnar. Handmade Shoes for Men. Cologne: Konemann, 1999.
216 pages | hardcover | ISBN 3-89508-928-1
Review: Done in the very same style as Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion. (Even some of the same photos are used.) As the title suggests, this book is all about custom made shoes. It may just be a glorified advertising brochure for Vass custom shoemakers in Budapest. But if you want to know more about exactly how custom made shoes are made, this is the book.
Availability: Check Amazon or your local bookseller. List price is $29.95.
-------------------------
Angeloni, Umberto. The Boutonierre: Style in One's Lapel. New York: Universe Publishing, 2000.
96 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-7893-0388-4
Review: More information than you could ever want to know about boutonierres. Some neat photos and illustrations of blossom-wearing dandies, but a lot of long-winded and poorly-written prose, too. Amusing, but far from essential.
Availability: Check Amazon or your local bookseller. List price is $25.00.
----------------------------
Flusser, Alan. Making the Man: The Insider's Guide to Buying and Wearing Men's Clothes. New York: Wallaby, 1981.
223 pages | paperback | ISBN 0-671-79147-8
Review: Flusser's first book is quite dated. The format is the same as in Style and the Man: first the basic guidelines and rules for dress, then a city-by-city list of the places to find great clothes. Unfortunately, many of the places he lists are now out of business. Only purchase this one if you want to analyze the changes in Flusser's style over the past twenty years, or if you want to know where you should have shopped in 1981.
Availability: Out of print. I found mine on half.com for three or four dollars. I've seen other sellers ask for $40, based upon the popularity of his other books. Even if you really want this book, don't pay more than $10-$15.
--------------------
Keers, Paul. A Gentleman's Wardrobe: Classic Clothes and the Modern Man. New York: Harmony, 1987.
120 pages | hardcover | ISBN 0-517-56758-X
Review: Seems very dated, mostly because of the many photos. All black and white. There's nothing bad about this book, but there's nothing that quite sets it apart from the others. It's short, but manages to cover all areas.
Availability: Out of print. Quite inexpensive: I rarely see it for more than $15.
-----------------
books not recommended
these books are bad for various reasons; avoid them
Bridges, John. How to Be a Gentleman: A Contemporary Guide to Common Courtesy. 1998.
Greenleaf, Clinton T. III. A Gentleman's Guide to Appearance. 2000.
Omelianuk, Scott and Ted Allen. Esquire's Things a Man Should Know About Style. 1999.
Piras, Claudia and Bernhard Roetzel. 365 Style and Fashion Tips for Men. 2002.
-----------------------------
books still on my list to buy
I'd like to have these books. Some I just haven't gotten around to buying, others are out of print and very difficult to find.
Amies, Hardy. The Englishman's Suit. 1994.
Gross, Kim Johnson and Jeff Stone. Dress Smart Men: Wardrobes That Win in the New Workplace (Chic Simple). 2002.
Doesn't look great, but I'm curious about what Gross & Stone's empire is saying lately.
Schoeffler, O.E. Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions. 1973.
Huge, amazing, comprehensive, and expensive. (I found it at the library once.) Most copies are about $500.
Walker, Richard. Savile Row: An Illustrated History. 1989.
