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…
20/02/2016
Coming up to the three year anniversary for the blog, I find myself pondering the direction forward. One option would be to call it a day, though I feel that would be a shame, given how many good folks read it, and how much I enjoy writing it. Another option would is to evolve. Reading an article about blog trends…
07/02/2016
“12 things you need to know about menswear“. Indeed. I was looking through the trite articles on offer on a Norwegian fashion news site this afternoon and almost every title was click-bait offering to reveal some number of somethings you desperately need to know to know about making an outfit faux pas, or not making the impression you should be…
06/02/2016
This weeks book is a natural follow-up to my recent review of “Ametora“, the book about how the Japanese adopted the Ivy style from the US, improved it and exported it back. Well, in few words at least, the story is twistier and more involved than that. Yet “Take Ivy”, in both film and book, was instrumental in the process,…
24/01/2016
I tend to buy most of the books published within the scope covered on this blog, and they tend to follow a quite similar formula along the lines of “plenty of photos, a bare minimum of text, nice layout and a quality feel”. Most of them would be considered more for browsing than actually reading.This weeks book turns the formula…
16/01/2016
If there is one single question that draws guys into web forums about clothes it has to be this one: “I’m looking to buy garment X, is it true to size, or do I size up or down?” This is related to my previous post on why shoe sizes are a mess and why sizing baffles the boffins, though this time I’m looking at…
10/01/2016
As far as business models go, building an appliance that lasts forever is considered a poor idea. From the producers side, that is. From a consumer side it’s a bloody marvellous idea, as it saves us replacing the piece of shit washing machine every few years or so,. Less money, less hassle, and have does anyone even slightly enjoy trying…
09/01/2016
Further on from the index to all the guides I wrote in 2015, here is a handy index to my reviews of the year. I’ve grouped them in a hopefully logical order, to aid in your thorough perusal of posts. You might like to read the handy indices to 2014 as well, they can be found here and here! The reviews of 2015: Trousers: Wrangler…
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…