Being stylish isn’t easy, especially for the average clueless guy. Upping your style quotient isn’t about following a set of rules or blindly copying someone else’s fashion. It’s about finding your own look that suits your taste, your lifestyle, and your budget.
Esquire’s The Handbook of Style is here to help. The magazine?s style editors show us average guys how ? with a little bit of effort ? every man can create an individual look to distinguish himself. The Handbook of Style provides vital (and entertaining) information on every aspect of getting dressed and looking good.
A compact and sophisticated accessory in its own right ? it is bound in grey cloth and the title is stitched onto a satin label to mimic a men?s clothing label ? the handbook breaks down a man?s wardrobe into its elemental parts and dedicates one chapter to each: suits, shirts and sweaters; trousers, shoes and boots; coats and outerwear; and accessories ? with an additional chapter on personal care.
The Handbook of Style has invaluable information on every page. The editors not only provide pointers on what to wear, but equally important – what not to wear. Here are just a few tidbits from the book:
On shorts: “Before you wash your jean shorts, pretreat them by throwing them away.”
On t-shirts: “The man who imparts opinions via t-shirt has neither the intelligence to form a cogent opinion nor the good sense to keep it to himself.”
On ties: a tie’s stripes should always be bolder than a shirt’s.
On hair: The five terms your barber will understand are thinned out, layered, choppy, razored, and texturized.
On chinos: “Unless you’re on safari, limit the number of khaki items in your outfit to one. Better yet, apply this rule even when on safari.”
On jeans: it is acceptable to wear your jeans five to ten times between washings but fewer if they get visibly dirty or baggy at the knee.
On office style: “There’s an 83 percent chance that a man in short sleeves has been called a putz at least once in the previous week.”
Esquire?s fashion director Nick Sullivan says, ?In this book we?re not telling you what to do. We have opinions, yes. Some of us have experience. All of us care about how a man presents himself to the world?.It?s a guide to how to get dressed and it is a primer on the elements of style, but by no means is it a set of unbending rules. The book?s mantra is that a man doesn?t need more clothes, just better clothes and a better way to put them together.?
The Handbook of Style gives men a sense of not only the ?how? but the ?why? ? by explaining not just that a certain type of shoe works best for certain social events, but also the history of that shoe, as well as a strategy of negotiating the intricacies of the social event to which it will be worn. There is advice on how to acquire the finest quality gear you can afford, why certain pieces work well together, guidance on needed basics, how-to?s for specific styles and materials, and caring for your clothes.
Throughout the book, Esquire editors profile a huge variety of men’s style icons from Mick Jagger in skinny pants to Al Capone in pinstripes. Find out how George Clooney makes khakis and a black t-short work for him or how the Beatles popularized the ankle-high Chelsea boot.
Unlike some pretentious style guides, this book is well designed and is a easy and fun to browse. Each section is easily digestible and well laid out. You can grab the style information you need and get on with your life. If you’re a fashionable guy – or trying to be one – The Handbook of Style is a must-read.
Buy The Handbook of Style: A Man’s Guide to Looking Good
Fri, Jan 9, 2009
Look Good, Men's Style