08/01/2017
Gustav Temple is a driven man. A man dedicated to a quite single-minded mission. Since 1999 he has been tirelessly promoting the Chap lifestyle through his magazine, The Chap. There was a first inkling of a book in 2011, the quite jokey “Am I Chap?”, but it took until 2016 for his magnum opus to be unleashed. “How to be Chap”…
04/08/2016
Is it just me or has there been something of a deluge of denim-related books the past couple of years? And none of them really all that good? Like this really bad one or this slightly better one. At least from where I’m sitting there has been more enthusiasm than actual content, more styled and curated photography than actual words…
18/03/2016
Ok, let me just start by saying that I’m a little at a loss when it comes to this book. The provocative title, “F**k Ivy ** and everything else”, confirms my opinion of Mark as an enfant terrible of the menswear world. Which is strangely timely, given how much mention there has been of Ivy around here in recent times. And of…
25/12/2015
Another week and another book selected from the stack of menswear-related titles on the table next to the roaring fireplace here in the library at Well Dressed mansion. A steaming mug of strong tea, a pile of butter cookies and my reading monocle polished and ready. Todays offering is a recent publication from the productive Josh Sims, eminent author of “Icons of…
04/12/2015
Delving again into my stack of menswear books, today we have “100 years of menswear” by Cally Blackman. Cally is no novice when it comes to fashion, or writing about it, with at least 4 previous titles and a position as lecturer at institutions such as Central Saint Martins College. This professionalism is obvious when you take a look through…
15/11/2015
Today’s book is a heavy one, and full of knowledge and facts. It’s clocks in at some 300 odd pages, profusely illustrated and lots of text. Published in 2002, this is a timeless tome indeed. And properly hefty, in it’s hardbound format. This is not a book to be taken lightly! The full title of the book is “Dressing the…
14/11/2015
There are a few British company names that strike me as being incredibly evocative. Barbour is one, Gloverall is another. The story behind Gloverall is so quintessentially quirky and British that I shake my head in wonder every time I think of it. Way back after WW2 the company was called Gloves & Overalls Ltd. in 1951 though bought a…
08/11/2015
I’ve been a little lax in my book reviews of late, so I have a nice stack to be looked at over the coming weeks. To get started on the pile, I’ll be taking a look at the recently published “From tip to toe- the essential men’s wardrobe” from Gestalten in Germany. Fear not though, all 256 pages of this…
07/11/2015
Lookbooks are a strange thing. Brands spend time and money producing what amounts to a sort of picture book surrounding their collection, setting the look and mood of how they would like their product to be seen. Not the plain product photos you’ll see in the webshop, with all the details and such shown, but staged photoshoots, with props, weather and lifelike…
08/02/2015
Today I’m taking a look at the new book “Denim Dudes: Street style. Vintage. Workwear. Obsession.”. It really aims to do exactly what the laughably poor “Denim Style” was trying to do, i.e. present the individual styles of personalities within the denim culture. The author is Amy Leverton, denim trend forecaster and generally vibrant denim enthusiast. Publishing a book on…