Auteur Topic: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey  (6462 keer gelezen)

Snob

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[Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Gepost op: 27 december 2008 – 22:26:09
Leuk nieuw boekje gevonden vandaag bij The American Book Center in Amsterdam :
Hadden nog een aantal exemplaren in stock.



De sub-titel "What the well dressed man is wearing" dekt de lading. Gaat van day-wear tot evening wear alsook special occasions als de jacht, naar de kerk, naar de opera etc...
Leest vlot en is zeer onderhoudend geschreven - wat betreft de inleiding althans, nog niet verder geraakt - staan ook leuke plaatjes en prenten in.





Laatst bewerkt op: 07 januari 2009 – 15:48:11 door Sergio
Where has all the glamour gone?

Desiderata

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Re: (Boek) History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #1 Gepost op: 28 december 2008 – 15:44:52
Leuk nieuw boekje gevonden vandaag bij The American Book Center in Amsterdam :
Hadden nog een aantal exemplaren in stock.



De sub-titel "What the well dressed man is wearing" dekt de lading. Gaat van day-wear tot evening wear alsook special occasions als de jacht, naar de kerk, naar de opera etc...
Leest vlot en is zeer onderhoudend geschreven - wat betreft de inleiding althans, nog niet verder geraakt - staan ook leuke plaatjes en prenten in.






De auteur schrijft ook veel berichten op The London Lounge en uit ervaring weet ik dat die stuk voor stuk onderhoudend zijn.

Groeten,
Don

Solitarias

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Re: (Boek) History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #2 Gepost op: 07 januari 2009 – 15:22:20
Ah, deze ontbreeekt nog in mijn collectie - dank voor de tip!
Mijn sartoriale boekencollectie:  http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Solitarias

NOBD

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #3 Gepost op: 04 februari 2009 – 19:06:15
Besteld; ben benieuwd.

Narcissus

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #4 Gepost op: 04 februari 2009 – 19:14:21
Lijkt mij de moeite waard om eens aan te schaffen, grazie!
Consciously breaking rules is an intentional decision, requiring a sophisticated awareness of rules.

I love the level of bravery. It's bold, it's fuck you, it's art.

Sergio

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #5 Gepost op: 05 februari 2009 – 00:52:29
Citaat van: Simon Crompton
History of Men’s Fashion: What the Well Dressed Man is Wearing, by Nicholas Storey, is a book evidently written with real passion for the subject.

Personal touches abound, such as Storey’s relation of the fact that Lord Nelson’s hat was stolen from public display “in a planned raid on the National Maritime Museum by some utter tyke(s)”. Equally, Storey suggests that the English taste for wearing red socks with a dark suit “always raises a smile” because “a glimpse of the daring and dashing and dangerous lurking beneath the trousers suggests that these qualities may lurk in the wearer too.”

This personal, and subjective, touch makes the book enjoyable reading. But it is also the book’s greatest weakness. I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a primer on menswear, which is ostensibly what it aims to be.

Facts, stories and originations are the book’s strength. I did not know that originally soft felt hats were unacceptable for a man to wear before the end of the London Summer Season. Neither did I know that steel-ribbed umbrellas were invented in 1852 by Samuel Fox as a way of disposing of surplus corset stays.

His description of Beau Brummell is instructive. “Brummell’s ‘exquisite propriety’ was the reverse of foppery – which is generally (mistakenly) associated even now with Brummell’s name,” he says. “There was nothing remarkable about his dress except that it was modest, subdued and most proper to the occasion and of the best materials and making. Strictly, he was a Dandy and certainly not a Popinjay.”

Storey’s point is well argued. And it speaks to our loss of language over the years (or possibly of the people to describe) that few could separate those three words, fop, dandy and popinjay, with decent definitions.

The section of History of Men’s Fashion on evening dress and more formal wear is the most impressive for depth of research. Most people are familiar with black dinner jackets. The slightly more sartorial are aware that midnight blue is a perfectly acceptable and indeed more practical alternative (it looks more black than black under artificial light). But few realise it can be virtually any colour and that Noel Coward wore them in brown. With matching tie and pumps, made at the hands of Douglas Hayward.

Indeed, Storey tells us that “when Brummell began the process which eventually led to monochrome evening dress, his evening coat was…blue, the waistcoat was white, his pantaloon trousers…black and his stockings striped.” It’s hard to argue with anyone about the etiquette of black tie when that little get-up was its starting point.

However, the space allocated to evening wear speaks also of the relevance of this book. Of the 182 pages, almost half is dedicated to chapters four through eight – on formal morning dress, evening dress, leisure wear, sporting dress and hats. Unless the reader of this book goes to enough formal events to justify buying two white waistcoats, or requires hunting breeches, much of this will only be of academic interest.

Which is great, for me. I am probably in the early stages of being an academic on the subject and the facts here are riveting, fascinating, indispensable.

But anyone else will find the book frustrating. It is not really a history of men’s fashion. It includes historical notes and facts during a personal discussion of areas of men’s dress.

Neither is it what the well-dressed man is wearing. That sub-title is a quote from Bertie Wooster, in Right-ho! Jeeves. But what is described is not, despite what Storey might hope, what well-dressed men are wearing today. It is a description of what a very narrow band of British society should be wearing, according to the author.

Throughout the book Storey instructs the reader what he should buy and in what quantity. Under socks he says “have three dozen pairs of wool and nylon half hose” plus “say, six pairs of silk half hose evening stockings and the same quantity of woollen shooting stockings”. That’s 48 pairs of socks, without the ankle socks permitted on the tennis court. How many people do you know who need that many socks?

The recommendations for where to buy your clothes are equally narrow. The best of Jermyn Street and Savile Row is recommended, along with a few less-pricey options. But almost everywhere the reader is encouraged to go bespoke, often because, as is admitted with the riding boots recommended, you actually can’t get them ready to wear.

The attitude is best summed up by the section “the necessary hats to have,” which includes a black top hat, a grey top hat, an opera hat and a hunting-weight silk hat.

Indeed, one could argue that some of the outfits recommended in here would not be in the spirit of Brummell – they would neither be modest or subdued.

At Wimbledon he recommends you wear a blazer, white ducks, co-respondent shoes, a cravat and a panama hat. Even in the members’ enclosure that would hardly be subdued. At Twickenham, meanwhile, Storey says “one should wear cords, a jumper, the Barbour, a cap and stout country shoes.” In what sense “should” one wear that? Is it a tradition going back to the Edwardians?

This book is a treasure trove of facts about British menswear. But it talks as much about the history of tennis (from the Egyptians) as it does about the raw materials of suits. And gives even more space to a rant about the disappearance of country life in the UK, the EU’s agricultural policy and cynical real estate developers.

To the right man, I recommend it. But if you don’t own many books on menswear, buy anything by Alan Flusser first.

Bron: www.MensFlair.com
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Never expect to get a lot by paying a little
Style isn't a question of life or death: it's much more important than that.


Vanità - modern tailors

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #6 Gepost op: 20 februari 2009 – 15:15:17
Plaatje nog een keer in het groot:



[Mijn aanvulling op wat Snob (bedankt voor de tip) in de OP schrijft.]

Een lekker – en soms geestig, maar niet zo geestig als Hardy Amies – geschreven boek vol regels voor de liefhebbers, winkel/kleermaker/schoenmaker-tips (vooral Londen) en leuke weetjes. Hieronder staat een vrij willekeurige greep van dingen die mij opvielen.

------

Always remember that nothing should look too new. One should really hang and weather one's new tweeds, before wearing, much as one hangs game, before eating.

------

Om een idee te geven van de regels:

   [...] very general rules [...]
   • Strictly one should still always wear a dark suit in town (and never tweeds of any colour; except when coming, going or merely passing through) and black leather shoes (never brown or suede).
   • Day ties may be any colour but, in the evening, when not in evening dress, dark suits and dark ties should be worn.
   • Dark hats are worn in town and never straw, palm or tweed – and certainly not caps.


------

Over bespoke, mtm en rtw:

   • 'Bespoke' garments (including shoes) are made from scratch to the customer's precise dimensions and according to his exact choice of materials and colours and style.
   • 'Made to Measure' garments are made to standard patterns and sizes and then adjusted to the customer's dimensions.
   • 'Ready-made' or 'off the peg' garments are made in standard sizes and patterns and the customer takes potluck on pattern and fit.

------

With two very specific exceptions, socks should match trousers. The first exception is red socks which, for some reason that I cannot exactly explain, always raise a smile, especially when worn with a dark suit. [...] The second exception is shooting stockings which are normally bright.

------

Over 'Napolitaanse manchetten':

The barrelled cuffs, by Turnbull & Asser, were made famous by Sean Connery as James Bond. These are double cuffs, which are buttoned and called by their makers 'cocktail cuffs'.
Sean Connery was taken under the wing of film director Terence Young, who coached him for the role of James Bond; even to the extent of introducing Connery to his tailors and his shirt-maker, Turnbull & Asser, who had just designed this cuff and thus it was chosen as a signature garment for Bond.


------

Buttons on bespoke shirts often used to have three holes (rather than four) and were sewn by hand; of course this is no longer the case. Still, bespoke shirts should have proper mother of pearl or 'shell' buttons. Some better ready-made shirts also have these.

------

Over het pochet:

So far as current use of handkerchiefs is concerned: in town, purists do not sport a handkerchief (whether coloured or not) in the breast pocket, despite the examples set by, amongst others: Winston Churchill, the Duke of Edinburgh and the present Prince of Wales, Cary Grant, Noel Coward and Jack Buchanan.
[...]
Never ever sport a matching tie and handkerchief unless you manage an out-of-town superstore.
[...]
Have white and coloured silk handkerchiefs made abroad and stitched all around by hand for about 50 pence each – or pay almost a hundred times as much in the quad.


------

Bespoke gloves cost very little more than ready-made gloves.

------

First-rate Savile Row bespoke suits in very reasonable but not rare cloths are now around the ₤3,000 mark (including VAT). However, outside the Row and the gods' quad, you can get a very passable bespoke suit for around ₤1,000.

------

Overall, you will probably find that a variety in cloth weights will be more useful than a variety of colours and patterns.
[...]
As mentioned above, there are super worsteds at between 100 and 220mm long, which weigh in at between 7–9 ounces. Some good examples of the lighter fabrics are the Holland & Sherry Whisperlight and Capri ranges or the Dormeuil Microtwist range.
For autumn and winter weight lounge suits there are worsteds and flannels (flannel is a loosely woven yarn, originally made in Wales in the Seventeenth Century), typically at between 10–13 ounces (and note that, here, imperial measurement still seems to prevail). Modern living conditions mean that there is little demand for lounge suit fabrics at 16 ounces or more. However, you should definitely have at least one suit in West of England Tweed, which will be quite heavy. Other famous cloth brands are Scabal and Wain Shiell.


------

The conventions for vents is that a single-breasted coat* has none or one vent and double-breasted coat has none or two vents, as you wish.

*) Suits normally have 'coats'. The only 'jacket' is one of the following: a dinner jacket, a shooting jacket, a smoking jacket, a Norfolk jacket, a hacking jacket, a mess jacket (otherwise known as a monkey jacket or a bum-freezer) or a reefer jacket.


------

Zips instead of fly buttons on trousers were the innovation of Lord Mountbatten of Burma and were described by the magazine London Life (7 April 1934) as something, which might 'become one of the most important developments of men's fashions since knee breeches'.

------

[The country suit]

You will also probably wish to have suits with the alternative of plus twos or plus four breeches on a couple of them. Plus twos have an overhang of two inches below the knee and plus fours have a four inch overhang.

------

[Tweed]

'Tweed' derives from the old Scots word 'tweel' meaning 'twill'. There is an urban legend that a clerk at a cloth merchant's misspelled it and that is how the 'tweed' came into use.
[...]
The world-famous Harris Tweed from the Outer Hebrides is dyed with natural lichen dyes [C: kleurstof uit korstmos], which are responsible for the characteristic small specks of colour and the distinctive smell.


------

Lord Carnarvon had been dressed by Henry Poole when he opened Tutankhamon's tomb.

------

Over trenchcoats

I should go for a single-breasted blue Burberry; try to avoid the beige trenchcoats unless you really are off to the trenches because it tends to look rather Dick Tracy – but then you might want to look like Dick Tracy!

------

H. Huntsman & Sons (founded in 1849 in Albemarle Street and noted for sporting wear) is about the costliest.

------

John Lobb had been a poor Cornish labourer. One of his feet was injured and deformed in an accident and so, in order to get a new pair of shoes that would accommodate him, he became a shoe-maker.

------

G. J. Cleverley are also conscious of (and meeting the need) for publicity to advertise their superb craftsmanship, which often includes the chiselled toe. Although it certainly does not apply to their workmanship, the use of the word 'square' to describe someone as old-fashioned or fuddy-duddy possibly derives from a change in fashion (from square-toed shoes to rounded-toed shoes) – with anyone not following the new fashion castigated by being called a 'square' or 'square-toed'.
[...]
Cleverley worked at Tuczek's from 1920 to 1958 and his customers had included Rudolph Valentino, Winston Churchill, Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Gloria Swanson and Rex Harrison.


------

He [C: de Duke of Windsor] explained his status in the fashion world in his book A Family Album:

I was in fact 'produced' as a leader of fashion, with the clothiers as my showmen and the world as my audience. The middleman in this process was the photographer, employed not only by the Press but by the trade, whose task it was to photograph me on every possible occasion, public or private, with an especial eye for what I happened to be wearing.


------

Also useful are a few short-sleeved Hawaiian shirts with bright, floral patterns for places where it is 30 degrees by 9.30 am – and just too hot to wear much at all. You could have these made up at Budd in West Indian Sea Island cotton. A breast pocket on casual shirts is acceptable and indeed sensible, because it provides storage space when it is not likely to be readily available elsewhere. It might even be an idea to have a large pocket with a flap and button, for added security. One would generally avoid pockets on shirts – especially on formal shirts.

------

Over spijkerbroeken:

However, there is now (as a sign of the times, What! What!) a bespoke jeans maker in Savile Row, Evisu (a Japanese clothes designer), and Huntsman confesses that it recently experienced with making bespoke jeans, but has now given up the exercise.

------

Over schoenspanners (!):

Whether your shoes are bespoke or not, always use trees when storing them. However, do not put the trees in until the shoes have rested and thoroughly dried out inside.

------

Het boek is zeker de moeite van het lezen waard, wat mij betreft.

Edit: spelling.
Laatst bewerkt op: 20 februari 2009 – 23:22:18 door Carwo

maboc

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #7 Gepost op: 20 februari 2009 – 16:28:44
Ah...ik denk dat ik nu het hele boek wel zo'n beetje heb gelezen :-)

Het lijkt mij in ieder geval een aanrader.
Niets zo veranderlijk als de mens

Narcissus

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #8 Gepost op: 20 februari 2009 – 16:30:18
Inderdaad een aantal merkwaardige citaten staan er tussen... Ik was gister ook even bij de American in 't Amsterdamse, stonden er nog twee!
Consciously breaking rules is an intentional decision, requiring a sophisticated awareness of rules.

I love the level of bravery. It's bold, it's fuck you, it's art.

Mikey Fuoco

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #9 Gepost op: 20 februari 2009 – 19:15:32
Citaat
Whether your shoes are bespoke or not, always use trees when storing them. However, do not put the trees in until the shoes have rested and thoroughly dried out inside.

 :o

NOBD

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #10 Gepost op: 20 februari 2009 – 19:25:30

Daedalus

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #11 Gepost op: 22 februari 2009 – 16:17:57
Misschien gebruikt de auteur veerspanners of plastic/gelakte spanners.  :idea:
cyka blyat

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #12 Gepost op: 22 februari 2009 – 18:19:12
Ik heb niet de indruk dat de auteur op de hoogte is van het bestaan van plastic.

NOBD

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Re: [Boek] History of Men's Fashion - Nicholas Storey
Reactie #13 Gepost op: 08 augustus 2010 – 11:35:37