Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion

by Alan Flusser

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Product Description

Dressing the Man is the definitive guide to what men need to know in order to dress well and look stylish without becoming fashion victims.

Alan Flusser's name is synonymous with taste and style. With his new book, he combines his encyclopedic knowledge of men's clothes with his signature wit and elegance to address the fundamental paradox of modern men's fashion: Why, after men today have spent more money on clothes than in any other period of history, are there fewer well-dressed men than at any time ever before?

According to Flusser, dressing well is not all that difficult, the real challenge lies in being able to acquire the right personalized instruction. Dressing well pivots on two pillars -- proportion and color. Flusser believes that "Permanent Fashionability," both his promise and goal for the reader, starts by being accountable to a personal set of physical trademarks and not to any kind of random, seasonally served-up collection of fashion flashes.

Unlike fashion, which is obliged to change each season, the face's shape, the neck's height, the shoulder's width, the arm's length, the torso's structure, and the foot's size remain fairly constant over time. Once a man learns how to adapt the fundamentals of permanent fashion to his physique and complexion, he's halfway home.

Taking the reader through each major clothing classification step-by-step, this user-friendly guide helps you apply your own specifics to a series of dressing options, from business casual and formalwear to pattern-on-pattern coordination, or how to choose the most flattering clothing silhouette for your body type and shirt collar for your face.

A man's physical traits represent his individual road map, and the quickest route toward forging an enduring style of dress is through exposure to the legendary practitioners of this rare masculine art. Flusser has assembled the largest andmost diverse collection of stylishly mantled men ever found in one book. Many never-before-seen vintage photographs from the era of Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, and Fred Astaire are employed to help illustrate the range and diversity of authentic men's fashion. Dressing the Man's sheer magnitude of options will enable the reader to expand both the grammar and verbiage of his permanent-fashion vocabulary.

For those men hoping to find sartorial fulfillment somewhere down the road, tethering their journey to the mind-set of permanent fashion will deliver them earlier rather than later in life.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 4 out of 5 stars

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

2 out of 5 stars

Not what I'd hoped, 2008-11-05
Wasn't what I'd hoped. I love the idea of advice about color and proportion grounded in a timeless sensibility about proportion and color theory; something that doesn't swing with fashion. I was hoping for basically a long list of body types and skin collerations and advice on what to wear. The book has some interesting advice, but a lot more pseudo-history than out-an-out handbook.

The descriptions of skin contrast are very vague, which means that I could fit into anyone of a few different categories. Since these have different advice (all of which is also very vague), I wasn't sure what the implications were for me. The pictures help a little, but not much. Many more pictures, at least three of each body-type and coloration, would have made these concepts much clearer.

Also, the images taken for the book will be dated very soon. It would have been better if he stuck to more stock imagery (of which there is some, but mostly in black and white, which is not helpful for choosing colors.

Can't say I recommend the book, but neither do I have a preferred alternative.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Nice Book, 2008-04-29
A good book that talks about dressing and differenct color combinations, dressing based on your individual bodyd/face shape with illustrations.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

The Gold Standard , 2008-04-28
Alan Flusser's DRESSING THE MAN is the one book you must have if you want to dress professionally, and if you desire to know the history of proper male adornment in the twentieth century. Interestingly written, information-rich, and chock-full of wonderful photographs of well-dressed men, this tome is a volume to which you will return again and again. Flusser pays careful attention to skin and hair color and how they affect a man's appearance in tailored garments, and he thoroughly discusses garment style and detailing. Interesting chapters on shirts, ties, shoes, and accessories round out this informative and visually appealing volume. DRESSING THE MAN is an appropriate book for both the novice dresser and the mature elegante.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

For every Executive, Every Job Hunter, Every Gentleman, 2008-03-08
For a fashionably-clumsy man like myself, this book has enabled me to take a step forward and look sort of like the consultant that I am (or at least portray myself to be).

The book is elegantly photographed with men of elegant dress, including classic actors such as Gary Cooper, Fred Astaire and the poster-child for perfect dress, Cary Grant. You'll also see princes and dukes dressing to keep the proper air, and see old men (Signor Barbera and Ralph Lauren) maintaining their distinguished appearances as they grey by dressing well.

But this isn't merely a picture book, although any book on dressing well must lead with pictures. It contains a chapter on everything - shoes, ties, the suit, shirts, socks, business casual (13 in all, and each on a narrow subject). Matching color to your complexion, eyes and hair is a subject that many men struggle with, and he has a chapter dedicated to that.

This is a formal and classic book - not one for the passing trends, although business casual is covered.

Anyone who needs to be in a situation where they need to be well-dressed - businessmen for key meetings, gentlemen at weddings and perhaps most especially, job interviewers, should keep a copy of this book on their dresser.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

The bible of men's style, 2008-02-28
A book that does an excellent job of not only explaining classic men's style, but also gives numerous pictorial examples and explains the historical basis behind the rules. This is a must-have for men who are interested in improving their style or simply to keep as inspiration for those who like to look good. While it may not turn you into George Clooney or Cary Grant, this book will certainly help its readers to project a sophisticated, professional image.

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