Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s many internet friends has written to the Manolo to inquire about the book, Dressing the Man
I cannot in words express my gratitude for the wondrous fashion advice you have bestowed upon us ignorant boors (and in my case, mildly retarded). Thank you, and thank you again! Having said that, I am curious about the book you have listed as a recommendation on your website; Dressing The Man: Mastering The Art of Permanent Fashion by Alan Flusser. Do you actually recommend it, or is it some cynical ploy to get us unknowing fashion starved males to spend money? If you do, know that I would not hesitate to buy it, for I hold your opinion in high esteem.
If you are the reader of the Manolo you should know that the Manolo he takes the pains to always give his many internet friends the honest answers, and so he would not purposely lead his friends astray.
Also if you are the reader, you will surely know that it is not the secret that the Manolo he frequently bored by the clothing for the mens. This it is one of the reasons why his Manolo for the Men blog it has languished, because the Manolo finds it difficult to maintain the enthusiasm for this topic. This boredom it is because the clothing for the mens they are most conservative, changing little over the past few decades. What looked good on the Cary Grant in the 1950s still looks more or less good today.
The reason the Manolo he recommends the Alan Flusser is that the Alan Flusser, he better than anyone, understands this. This it is why the subtitle of the book it is “Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion”, with, in the opinion of the Manolo the emphasis on the word “permanent”.
Here is the Manolo’s internet friend the Ed Driscoll writing about this book As you may see he praises it for the same reason as the Manolo.
Manolo says, buy the book, you will not regret the expense.
Many thanks to the Manolo for the link!
“What looked good on the Cary Grant in the 1950s still looks more or less good today.”
Actually, it goes back much longer than that. One of Flusser’s tenets is that the rules for men’s fashions were pretty much codified in the 1930s. You can see that in action in the illustrations and photos from that era in Flusser’s books.
If you ever get your hands on Men In Style, edited by Woody Hochswender, a mid-1990s collection of illustrations from Esquire in the 1930s and ’40s (it’s a bear to find, I ended up paying a pretty healthy sum from an online book dealer), you can really see what I mean: with only a few exceptions, all of the duds–especially the suits from that era–would still look perfectly current today. About the only thing that’s changed today (for the worse) is the near absence of hats.
This is can be a tremendous relief to your wallet as well: pick styles that have stood the test of time for over 50 years, and you’ll get years and years of service from them. Pick something because today’s Esquire or GQ is touting it as this year’s Big New Thing, and chances are, in about six months, you’ll be sorry.
Comment by Ed Driscoll — December 4, 2005 @ 2:49 pm