Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion

A lot has been writen about Flusser and his books, and I won't go into all the details or critiques often given. I would just like to say that this book is probably one of the best foundational sartorial tomes one can get in this modern time. It brings about a nice harmony of the classic things that never go away, while melding them with modern styles - while not giving up classic good looks. And I think that from this foundational information, anyone who takes their dress serious can then spring from this foundation and derive their own signature style, while maintaining the elements of classic good looks. It's all about being oneself, and one must know the rules before they can break them (and get away with it without looking like a trendy fool). This book paves the way for sartorial growth.

As a web developer, I have recently had a run of men's custom tailoring customers. I found myself looking for an encyclopedic source of styling details and fashion fundamentals.In my mind the name Alan Flusser is synonymous with taste and style. This book gave me everything I needed to build websites designed to appeal to the male buyer of custom suits and shirts. Unlike the fashion buyer, Flusser believes permanent fashion starts with being accountable to a personal set of physical characteristics.The custom buyer's face's shape, neck's height, shoulder's width, arm's length and torso's structure, and the foot's size remain relatively constant. Once he relates the permanent fashion's fundamentals to his physique and complexion, he is on his way to building a stylish, cost-effective wardrobe that will withstand fashion's seasonable vagaries.This book contains a large collection of photographs of stylish men. These vintage photographs illustrate the range and diversity of authentic men's fashion. Along the way, magnitude of options will equip the reader with both the vocabulary and options required to build a custom wardrobe. There is even a glossary at the end of the book to help with the journey.My needs were unique, I admit. This book equipped me with the knowledge, detail and options required to build a website that appeals to buyers and the purveyors of custom men's clothing.

When it comes to fashion, most men get nervous. Of course everybody wants to look nice, but isn't it complicated to know how to look good?That's where I found this book to be especially helpful. Flusser's main point is that most of the elements of good style haven't really changed much at all in the last 75 years or so. Flusser asserts that the main goal of men's attire is to frame the body in order to display the man's face.A great aspect about the book is that you only need to remember the "rules" for your specific skin tone/height/proportions. For instance, a man with gray/silver hair should wear silver/gray in his attire to properly frame his face, etc. Flusser also is very clear about how clothes should properly fit you, which is helpful when you are trying things on. The illustrations and photographs (both new and classic) are remarkably well done and effectively portray Flusser's points (both good and bad examples). Other reviews here have pointed out some of the "doctoring" of the photos in some instances. I do see evidence of this, but I do not think it is really a substantive beef of the book.Flusser's book certainly has some shortcomings. It mainly focuses on the men's suit and typical business dress. Although it does have a chapter on more casual dress (and the formal tuxedo), it is a small part of the book.This is a great book for the man who wants to look nice. It covers a lot of details, from tying a tie properly to folding a handkerchief to wearing a tie clip. It's probably not for you if you wear jeans to work every day and only wear a suit two times a year.

This book is aimed at building a classic wardrobe. There is a short chapter in the back which addresses "business casual" dress, but the primary focus is on more formal business clothing such as suits, dress shirts, ties, oxford shoes, etc. For anyone who has occasion to wear a suit and tie, this book is very useful. If you don't own a suit and only wear a tie once or twice a year, then this book is likely a waste of time. Some of the most useful sections of this book are on selecting colors and clothing shapes which match your coloring and body type. This is a concept that has been around a long time, but Mr. Flusser addresses it simply and usefully without the cute and artificially complex winter-summer-spring-fall gimicks that other authors have utilized.The book focuses on quality tailoring and achieving a balanced, timeless look through high quality clothing that fits and harmonizes. This book, and Bernhard Roetzel's book, Gentleman, are probably the two best books on the subject of classic style. It is a good investment for a man who wishes to raise his style up a notch or two.

This is Mr. Flusser's best effort to date. This book is more akin to his "Clothes and the Man" than to his more recent "Style and the Man." Beware, that this book deals almost exclusively with suits, ties, shirts, and formal wear - there is a section on sportcoats but, this book will not be informative or helpful if you always dress casually.The book has some passages (maybe illustrations as well?) that are very similar to "Clothes and the Man" but still, there is plenty of new material. The book goes into detail regarding clothing coloring with respect to a person's complexion and also how to mix and match various fabric patterns (e.g., stripes with stripes, checks with checks, checks with stripes, etc.) The book is also very nicely illustrated with photographs and drawings. A very impressive book and quite comprehensive.Though it would appear that Mr. Flusser has changed his opinion on some matters over the years (e.g., monograms), still the book and Mr. Flusser take a stand for traditionally styled clothing. This book is NOT for the trendy and NOT for those seeking to learn about modern fashion - it is about style, and conservative, traditional style at that. It's about the rules for why clothing should be the way it is - it explains the history of why mens' garments have developed in the way they have and accordingly sets forth the rule for their proper wear based on their history and origin (e.g., why dinner jackets should have peaked lapels, not notched; why formal wear trousers are NOT cuffed, why suit trousers are cuffed; the symmetry and proper fitting of suits, shirts, and trousers, etc.)With respect to suits and formal wear, this is, in my humble opinion, the best book out there. Unlike, "Style and the Man" there is no detailed list of fine places to shop, the book is about setting forth the traditional rules for clothing and then allowing one to experiment from there, i.e., experiment once you have a firm foundation of knowledge. It's a fine book; voluminous, appealingly illustrated, and informative.