Hi.
Iím Antonio Centeno.
And today, Iím going to be talking about Alan Flusserís book ìDressing the Manî.
It was published in 2002.
Itís over 300 pages long and divided into 13 chapters.
Right off the bat, I think itís one of the best books out there for menís styling.
In fact, itís easily a top 10, perhaps top 3.
Definitely top 10 though and is well worth the money.
I give it my highest recommendationófive stars.
And, let me tell you a little bit about itÖwhy I think it is such a great book.
First off, itís comprehensive.
So, Alan Flusser does a great job.
He takes 300 pages and itís a pretty big-size book.
So, something you could set on your coffee table and be very handsome.
Or, you can put it on your bookshelf and pull it down for reference.
Actually, Iíve got probably three copies of the bookóone for my office, oneówell,
I like being able to hand out a copy to someone thatóa good friend that perhaps needs it.
But, it is comprehensive.
So, each of the chaptersóand I like how he really gets down to talking about things like
proportion and color, things that a lot of men donít even understand.
And he spends time laying the foundation and then he moves into these specifics talking
about dress shirts, talking about suits, talking about shoes.
And he ends it with talking about formal wear and a little bit about casualÖbusiness casual.
But very comprehensive and those 300 pages gives you a deeper understanding of menís
or history.
So, where itís come from, where itís at now and a little bit of a prediction on, you
know, where itís going to go, which ifówith the way he talks about it.
And everything he talks about, you know, is timeless fashion in which heís very clearÖis
not the same.
I mean, fashion is bad.
Style is good.
And the difference, heís very clear, is that style is about knowing your body type, about
knowing what colors suit you, what clothing styles suit you.
And then, wearing that and not paying attention to everything else weíre being bombarded
with.
So, he lays a very solid case as itóand this takes me to the other thing I love about thisóa
lot of pictures.
In fact, heís even got [Laughs] almost kind the kind of a centerfold pullout but itís
more in fabrics than it is on [Laughs] what normally you would see on aÖon a centerfold.
But, great colored pictures.
In addition, he has a number of black and white drawings.
So, he wants you to focus on something like how a jacket should fit and how you could
tell if somethingís a bit tight here in the midsection.
Heíll use a black and white drawing to show you that, the X mark.
Or, if he wants to show you color, of course, or the texture of a fabric, he brings in a
large, really just great photo.
And he also pulls out a lot of historical photos.
So, we see some great pictures of Cary Grant, the Duke of Windsor, [0:03:02] [Indiscernible]
to really aÖreally, again, great, great photos.
What I really like though is that he still brings in some modern touches as well.
I think he couldíve brought in more, but Iíll talk about that in a second.
And the otheróthe last thing I would say, I think itís a great value for what you pay
for it.
You know, the price fluctuates but you can find it used.
Itís been out for nine years.
You can find it used for I think a very reasonable price.
I wouldíve paid at least probablyóI donít know.
I would say the value in this book puts it at the price range of about a $100.
And youíre going to find it for a lot less than that.
Some people balk.
Oh, you know, I would spend more than $20 on a book.
Think the people are getting spoke [0:03:48] [Phonetics] because the information in this
book is actually worth a lot more than a $100 for many men who need it.
And I would recommendóif youíre looking at this book, also look at Bernhard Roetzelís
ìGentlemanî.
And theyíreówell, ìThe Suitî is another great book.
So, there were two that I can just think of right off the top of my head that would complement
this book.
And with all of it where we have us stronger.
Because there we a few things I felt flush or couldíve improved on.
And one of them is a book, is a bit too formal for some.
Now, I didnít feel that way.
But thereíre going to be many who say that, you know, everything he focused on was just
too formal.
He spends too much time and not enough time on business casual which was the other thing.
He gave one chapter to business casual and it was a pretty small chapter at that.
With the way men dress nowadays and for the majority, for the larger population, I think
probably a much larger section on business casual, and perhaps breaking that out and
talking about how we can mixówouldíve been better.
But, you know, the book is what it is.
Itís not for the man who normally likes to wear sandals, shorts and a t-shirt.
Itís notóit is more for the man who dresses in a suit regularly or is a consultant or
in a position in which he needs to understand the importance of clothing.
Right.
This has been my book review of Alan Flusserís ìDressing The Manî.
Give it five stars.
I highly recommend you check it out.
Take care.