Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion

This book turned out to be much more than I expected. It has style and color advice plus history of how current western business dress evolved. The pictures are excellent illustrations of style and the fold out color suggestions by season are excellent. The book provides a valuable style guide on areas difficult for many men: such as how to match patterns and colors and what colors to avoid and why. There are instructions on how to tie a necktie. It assumes that a man wants to look good in his clothes whatever amount he spends. Many may think a book like Dressing The Man is no longer worthwhile to read. Due to the ultra relaxed clothing styles enabled by covid-19 remote work the great majority of men no longer need to dress in a coat and tie for the office. The book is dated in that it does not dedicate many pages on how to look good in jeans with fashionable torn knees. This may put off many current 18 to 30 year old men. I recommend the book for any man who wants to maximize value received with a small clothing budget. This is especially true if someone only has enough money for one suit or one sport coat. It offers clear advice on how to look well dressed to women (and perhaps their parents). This book will serve as a valuable guide when more formal styles return as fashion evolves or during the next recession when men's dress becomes more conservative.

This is a great book about achieving a timeless look and acquiring quality apparel. Like most men, I was never taught anything at all about color coordination or how to match patterns, let alone judge the quality of clothing. I just assumed that it was a talent that some people are simply born with. While it might be true that some people are gifted in that regard, it is also a skill that can be both taught and learned. This book is one of several that I credit for teaching me the basics of dressing well and it has been absolutely indispensable in my professional career. I only wish someone had given it to me as a graduation gift. My only gripe about this book is that Flusser skimps on some details which are made obvious only by their absence. Flusser specifically writes about the importance of color and finding one's personal colors based on the strength of your natural color (skin tone and hair). Flusser goes on to explain how, in ye olden days, men's magazines often had articles discussing and applying color theory to dress and explanations about how one can match clothing colors to personal color to create a pleasing appearance. And that's it. Although he certainly is aware of different theories of how to do these things, they are conspicuously absent from the book. That's a major failing that I hope will be corrected in later editions or by other works. That said, this book is a good gateway into the world of men's fashion that will give the reader a solid foundation for assembling a timeless and functional wardrobe with plenty of practical tips for doing so.

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.

Great book! Probably the most definitive and well written literature written on the subject of mens fashion. Pros: Teaches you what to wear based on your own unique blend of facial features and skin tone and personality that draws attention to you not what your wearing. Wealth of knowledge on the subject. Cons: A lot of info, more than you need in fact, a great deal of the book goes into the history and cultural impact of mens fashion. Would be a lot more beneficial if it was condensed down to the essentials. If you are serious about dressing well and doing it yourself, Get the book, read it through, take whats important, leave the rest. Use it as a reference.

This is a handsomely produced book. It is about suit-tie dressing, which I don't hold against it as that is made clear by the cover itself. But inside it is just a list of opinions and conventions laid down like law. I'd have liked something more rational.

Alan Flusser è considerato un'autorità in materia di "permanent fashion" ed eleganza maschile, e leggendo questo libro si capisce perché. Il testo è veramente esaustivo. Non si limita a dettagliare le regole non scritte dell'abbigliamento maschile, ma ne riporta anche un minimo background storico che permette di comprenderne meglio l'origine. E' dato molto spazio ad abiti e spezzati, camicie, accessori e al loro utilizzo, tanto da non lasciare quasi dubbi. C'è un capitolo dedicato al dress code per le occasioni più formali che tratta dettagliatamente di frac e smoking. Meno approfondita, ma comunque utile, la parte dedicata alle calzature, mentre non sono (purtroppo) considerati cappotti e soprabiti. Si parla in maniera molto chiara anche degli accostamenti di colori, trame e fantasie, nonché della loro ottimizzazione in base alle caratteristiche individuali, secondo un vero e proprio modello che parte dalla valutazione del proprio "contrasto" e dei propri colori. Ho provato personalmente questo approccio e sono stupito di quanto efficace sia, nonostante, in parte, lo applicassi già in maniera istintiva. Le immagini e le illustrazioni di supporto sono utilissime e contribuiscono a chiarire tutti gli aspetti trattati nel testo. Ci sono anche 4 pagine ripiegate con riproduzioni di campioni di tessuti per abiti e per camicie, utili anche a chi non conosce molti termini sartoriali in inglese, perché si scoprono i nomi usati nel testo al primo sguardo. Utilissimo ed esaustivo il glossario a fine libro. Ho invece trovato inutile l'ultimo capitolo, che si discosta dal concetto di "permanent fashion" per approdare a un bagaglio di spunti per il "business casual", forse interpretato in una modalità lontana dalla cultura italiana. Avrei trovato utile una sezione dedicata alla manutenzione di abiti e scarpe, comunque presente in un altro libro dell'autore. Penso anche che un testo del genere meriterebbe una traduzione in italiano. Fortunatamente l'inglese americano con sui è scritto è abbastanza semplice e lineare, specie nelle inevitabili parti descrittive.

Alan Flusser est un des maîtres de l'élégance masculine. Cet ouvrage très long et très illustré donne une référence complète sur la mode masculine du XXe siècle, et permet d'avoir des idées fraîches - bien que pourtant anciennes et classiques ! - sur la mode, rarement entendues auprès des vendeurs, des collègues ou d'autres personnes de mon entourage. Autrement dit, ce livre est non seulement un dictionnaire du bon goût, il est également un outil précieux pour créer de nouvelles combinaisons et assortir ses vêtements à son teint, sa taille, son âge ... et ses propres goûts. A recommander à tous ceux qui portent le costume sur une base régulière : il permet à l'ignorant mal vêtu de se transformer en dandy londonien, en moins de 300 pages.

Alan Flusser ensina o homem a se vestir, mostra combinações possíveis, traz um dicionário extenso. Infelizmente, se perde com tipos de roupas que ninguém usa, como smokings e casacas.

Es un clásico...que se quedó en ese formato. Las ilustraciones y las fotos son sinceramente viejas. Tal vez tendría que reeditarse con un lenguaje visual más contemporáneo.