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D
ressingtheMan is the definitive guide to what
men need to know in. qrd~ tQ dress well and
look stylish. without becoming fashion victims.
Alan FLusser's name is synonymouswi th taste
and style. With his new book, he combines his
encyclopedic knowledge of men's clothes with his
signature wit ancl eleg~ce to address the funda-
mental paradox of modern men's fashion: 'Why,
after men today have spent more money on
dothes than in any other period of history; -are
there few~r well-dressed men than· at any time
ever before?
According to Flusser, dressing well is not all
that difficult; the real challenge lies in being ahle
to acquire the fight person-al-ized Instruction.
Dressing well pivots on two pillars-proportion
and color. Flus,ser believes that '"Permanent
Fashionibillty,J) both hi,s promise and goal for
the reader, starts by being accountable to a per-
sonal set of physical trademarks ·and not to any
Jcind of .random, seasonally se.rved-Llp collection
of fashion .flashes.
Unlike fashic;m. which is obliged to cha:q.ge
each season. the face's shape, the neck's height,
the shoulder~s width, the arm's length. the torso's
strucwre, and the foot's size reJnain fairly con-
stant over time. Once a man learlis how to adapt
the :fundamentals of permanent fashion to his
physique a:nd complexion,_he's halfway home.
Taking the reader through each major cloth-
ing das15i£cation step-by-step, tW.s user-friendly
guide helps you apply your own specifics to a
series of dressing options> fro1n business casual
·and fotmalwear to pattern-on-pattern coordina-
tion, or how to choose the m0_st flattetihg doth-
.ingsiihouette for your body type and shirt collar
for your fa~ e.
A man's physical traits represent his individ-
ual .roadmap, and the quickestroute toward forg-
ing an endn ring sty1e of dress is through exposure
to the legendary practitioners of this rare mascu-
line art. Flusser has assembled the largest and
most diver-se collectien of sty.lishly mantled 1nen
everfound in one book Nlany nevet-before-seeh
vintage photographs from the ern of Cary Grant,
(conti11ued on &~ckjlb;p)
t002
(aontim1ed fr(:)m front j1a.p) .
Tyrone Power, and Fred Astaire are etn.ployed to
help illustrate the range and diversity of a1,1then-
tic men's fashion. Dr~s#tg the Man's sheer rpagni-
tude of options will enable the xeader to expand
both d1e grammar and verfuiage o.fhis petmanent-
fashion vocabLuary
For thosemen.hoping to find sarto~fu1 -
fillm.ent somewhere down the road, tethering
their journey to the mind-set of permanent
fashion will deiivet them there earlier rather
than later in life.
ALAN FLUS S'ER ls the President of Alan F1usser
Designs, a company he founded in I979- He
received the 1985 Goty Aw~d as Top Mc~.nswear
Designer and the Cut.ty SarkAwardin1987for his
first two books' ''ilni.que contribution tQ the Utera-
tute of menswear." He attracmd natiohal attention
for designing Michael DOL~glas"s wardrobe in the
movie Wall Stret;t, as well as acclaim for hJs work on
the HB 0 m0yie Barbarians at th~ Gate and the ·6lm
Scent of a ~ro1.rtatl; He is the author ·of four books;
Jnduding Style and the Man, clothes and ih.e Mart, and
Mak~rtg the Mq:n. l-Ie has two daughters and lives in
New York.
Jacket design by Joel Avirom and Jason Snyder
&ant cover photograph: Getty Archives.
Back c:::over photographs:
top: Illusfirated..Ne~vs, l ondon; m~dcUe: Culver PJ1otqs;
bottom: courtesy of Polo Ralph lauren
Author photograph by James Murray
Harper~ollinsPublishers
~ -www.harpere0.ll.in:s.com
ALSO BY ALAN fL USS I R
Style and the Man
Clothes and the Man
Making the Man
•
PERMANENT
FASH ION
2
HOSIERY
1-IARMONIES
170
THE PO\¥ER
OF COLOR
16
FOOT
DECORUM
186
•
PROPORT ION:
T HE fOUNDATION
OF STYLE
34
ACCESSORIES:
THE MAJOR IMPORTANCE
OF 1/[INOR THINGS
210
•
THE
PREROGATIVES
OF PATTERN
FORMAL WEAR:
BLACK- AND -WH I TE
ET I ~ETTE
232
THE SUIT
78
BUSINESS
CASUAL
254
ODD JACKETS,
TROUSERS. AND
WAI STCOATS
100
GLOSSARY
277
THE DRESS
SHIRT
120
BIBLIO GRAPHY
J06
NECKWEAR
144
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
307
4
DRESSING
THE MAN
J• HU~IJ4)1't IWHft; I,AS
,"lcrtltly \/(nl
~t ll.'tt):,' fl()l,l)P.)rt
~\tJift•lr Almt
Male adornment has blo~~o med. in p<1rt. because of the cultural shift toward personal
expression and individuality that took place in the latter third of the twentieth century. During
the 1950 . the typical businessman literally hid behind hi gray flannel uir. The era's political cli-
mate mandated fashion conservatism and uniforrnity. ln some circles. men who dared to dress
diFferently ·were viewed with derision. as outsiders. Fortunately for men's fashion. the tradition-
toppling sixties provided the jump start for males to shed their stereotyped personas. By the
dawn of the new mHienrtium. a peacock had stepped out of the gray Aannel cocoon.
One positive outgrmvth of the sixties tw-bulence was the legitimacy that the period gave
to clothes as badges of communication. Masculine attire vvas svvepr up in the quest for broader
social freedoms: conformity came to be regarded as almost an infringement of personal! iberty In
the image-oriented eighties. men dre, sed to look wealthy and powerfld. By the nineties. sophisti-
cated men looked upon fashion as another means of discourse in an information-driven '"'orld.
However, i.n one of fashion ·s less forhmatc ironies. when asked to name those public
figures \vho now exemplify this ne,,found interest in male decor. American style gurus and
menswear professionals come up relatively empty-handed. Like·wise. fashion journalists from
other Westernized countries are equally baHlcd. unable to produce even a foursome of domes-
\\II t.UM f10t\UR\" f,IIHW
llroAir
JU~KI'rl 1'. w-IIH!~&K
SJ'r>rl"rtn 11
(\XTitO:SY J. mU:Xt:t. RtOOt.~, J K.
lhtln;r Mon
OUliC'U.~:J rAikiJAlC ,._l"', 'J~.
Mqtl,., l'fnurt tf(t~r
ntr.u "'TAIAh
'J'IJtNIU
T • • t ,•\IIU~ftf~ R(JIUlll. f'JflN
,frthllrtl
r. ,\MJiltaS~ CI.Ak~
SpcwtJ!IItm
• 1AUIIA~~ r!rl.ll
FlJfi"ufrr
LEFT:
Mencifstyk
circa 19JOS1 cap tared
head-to-toe.
OPPOSITE:
Men cifstyle,
circa 2oooJ pictured in
celebrity hea.dshots .
tic male fashion exemplar. under the age of si.'ty And no one is tqring to come up with such
iconic elegantes as film legend Cary Grant or Italian industrialist Gianni gnel li; justa couple of
high-:Bying social or busLness magnates or even the odd Hollywood leading man with an affin-
ity for the random sartorial flourish ·would do.
How is it that aft~r almost three decades of unprecedented fasb ion consumption. so
few capable practitioners of this ma ·culine art form have been bred? If d:ressi ng well were sim -
ply a matter of donning the latest designer duds or owning an expensi\'e wardrobe. fashion
nabobs should be in abLuldance. My quick response is that learning how to dress welJ is much
like trring to build a classically beautiful place to live. ~o amount of professional decoration or
priceless fu rnishings will ultimately make much of a difference if the :floors or \•valls that they
:.1re to adorn re~ton ~l shaky foundation. ln trying to survive in ::u1 increasiJ1gly competitive Jrena,
the men's retailer decided to ride on the coattails of the high-profile designer brand.Je:.:t\'ing the
customer I i ttle cho.ice bur to base his dressing style on the shi Fri ng sands of fashion. U nfortu-
nately. when the style '"'inds change. and they always do. the trend-captive man Found himself
standing omewhere other than terra firma.
Lec.1 rn ing how to dress '"'ell is not as diFficult as i r may seem. Mud1 I ike the newly fashion-
able pastime of golf. stylish dressing is
an acquired skill that can be honed and
impro;ved with correct practice. /\s J
Cormer low-handicap go.lfcr. f am often
srruck by the Fact that the vast majority
of participants in both activities spend
an inm·dimlte amount of time repeat-
ing the wrong techniques. h 1rthcr
ingr~lin i ng tbe same faults into their
swings, orin this case. in to their closet .
\iVh ile the go I fing enthusiast
can engage a recognized profession;1_l
+or instruction. d1e +ash ion follower
lacks a body of objective experD\ to call
upon fo1· indi,·idual gu.idance. Al1)' go'l f
pro will confin11 that v.rithout the
proper grip, stance, and balance- the
Fundamentals-a]! the practice iJ1 the
world will not enable the most dedi-
cated goJfcr to fulfill his potenrial.
Developing a Aattering mode of dress
is no diFferent: without a ·working
knowledge of the basics, a man can not
achieve true stylishness.
--
-
PERM ANENT
FA SifiON
Dressitlg,vell rests on two pillars-colot ari.d
propon ion. O nce you learn vvhich colors enhance
yoLu· complexion and why specific proportions flatter
your physique, you are haJ-~vay home. And '~rhar does
i r take for a man to grasp these two critical ae. thetics?
Nor nearlr as much aptitude or savoir faire as you
might think C€msider rhis: the classic m.ale tu:xedo
confers ins tan r;;u1eous ·elatl on aU corners, yet this old-
world regime is composed of only two colors, black
and whjte. lf such a simple color scenario qlll help any
m.an appear debonair, you don't need m be smne kind
of Kandinsky to look your best.
As for proportion. here's the kind of mind-set
responsible for the current state of sartorial confLls.i.on.
'Men. tlS \~ reJI as women, invatiably i.nqu.ire whether tie
widths will become lat·ger or smaller. F-Tovvever. the
aJ1S\Ne r lies not in the world of fashion but it1 the realm
of personal architectLu·e. The vvidd1 of a w:an's .necktie
should relate to that ofhis jacket's lapels. which, in turn,
are govctned by the size of the coat's shoulders. (See
chapter 3, "Proportion: The Foundation of· Style.")
Should a1nan be broad-shmddcrcd. a slightly wider necktie will harmonize better with the jacket's
ti-tUet proportions: if small-shoulderecl a na1-.r.ower necktie vvould be the liJ.ore flattering choice.
Fashion should be accountable to a specific ·set of physica1 trademarks and not to some random.
seasonally served-up set.of±ashioo Hashes.
\tVith this. indiYidual i.zed app170ach, leac~:ning bo'w to dress vvell begi.ns to take on a cer-
tain logic, if oot clarity However. men intent upon improving their dressing skills are often
stymied by the lack of access to intelligent and personaLized instruction. UnforwnateJy: no mat-
ter hovv sophisticated a store's merchandise, without a knowledg~ab le and experienced sales
staff the right clothes have l-ittle chance of ending up 011 the right back in the right \(\.ray.
Due to l.J.llStablc financing, debt-ridden balance sh~ets. or stocld1older pressures, many
larger retailers have been discoLmlg~d from th iJli.Jng about the long term.· And with profits
squeezed by increasing overheads.. sa.lcs training and service are the first to· suffer. Most retailers
m·e reluctant to invest much in educating :a new hire. Although the exceptional retaileJ- or indi-
vidual sales e.,~ecutive might take the initiative to lean1 about the history and traditions und.er-
lyi n.g fine rnenswe:;tr. he or she is not the norm. Nowadays. the distinguished salesperson is
either promoted up to management or hired a,;vay by.a competitor.
l'artiarhtrly at the top end, where expectations for professionalisn1 and superior service
are justifiably h.ighcr, retail expertise has sunk to an all-time low. }vlost better-quality retailers
have traded up to more expensive mer12handise, ceding almost all responsibility for the education
-
-
.
.
---
-
-
_--=~
- ·----~---~~-~~~~~-~~~~~~~--
- --
7
PERMANEN T
fASJ-II ON
OPPOSITE 0. LEFT:
Two paragons of ,.seasoned
simplicity": Sig110r Agnelli and
Doug Fairbm1ks Jr. blanketed in
the quiet asserrive11ess of a
two-color ensemble.
- --
~
---
8
DR ESS I NfJ
TH·E MAN
of its sales staff to their suppliers, which is like letting the fox loose in the henhouse. As expe1·i-
enced veterans retire or are pushed our to make '''ay for a more youth-ful and cost~ efficient sell-
ing Staff. ItlCll 's clothing floors become increasingly bereft cif those qualified tO jnstruct anyone
imetestcd .i.n the finer points of this masculine ·art fortn.
vVith most selJers' incomes derived primarily from commission., fash.ion advice is too
frequently prejudiced by the p rospect of a sale. It's rare to find a salesperson inclined to dissuade
a customer frorn buying an ill-fitting or w1Aatteri.ng garment because of tbe pressure to ·sustain
or increase bis fjgures. Too ofte11, personal opinion and ~i friendly smile are respons.i.b.le for the
fashion-challenged's slu·u1.king closet space. And ~N ·ith the econon:Jic realities currently operating
in men's f~1s hion retailing, there is not n1uch reason to expect immediate i.Jnprm'ement.
'vVhereas rhis might sotmd like chapter and verse li·om any period in t\ventieih-century
menswear. such vvas not always the case. T he tv.renty-year span bookended by the tvvo worl.d wars
marked theh.igh poi.ntofAmerican men's retaiLing and fashion. This was the lasttimethatthe man-
ufacturing, retailing. and editorial sectors of the mensvvear industry worked together to ~ nsurc the
del.ivery of what it prcnriised: authentic style and correct taste. Even though the I920s and J930S
VI'C t~e de cad~ of considerable econon1 ic uun td dar America, they produced the best- c:U·e~'Sed gener-
ation it1 the t-vven:tieth cenhuy But the lesson from th.at bygone time vvas. not how well kitted-out
the well -to-do ,;.,,·ere, but r;;)ther that the ~1verage mc,m's dressing tastes were not th:rt±ar behind.
During that period. the American male was
the beneficiary of some very favorable sartorial cir-
cumstances. The period b~gan by catapulting the most
important single force in m.odern men's fashion onto
tbe -world stage. Whi.le still not yet ] ing of England,
David \i\lind$or was regarded in Americaa5 the undis-
puted King of Fash1on. The yeUov\r-haired heiJ· to the
thro11e. Yariouslv knovvn as the Prince of \tVales and
J
.
1ate.r as d1c Duk~ ofvVindsor, visited the United States
in 1924 and made front-page news . . .Plmtographers
trailed him from the Long Island estates of America's
wealthiest families to lunch with President Calvi.n
Coolidge, with detours to the races at BeL11onr Park
and the polo 111atches at Meadowbrook.
The Prince qfwales: The Beau of the Twentiet11 Century.
1\s British menS\i\rear's greatest u aveling
salesman. th~ young Prince of'vVales ap.d wh<lf he w01·e
\.vere matters of deep interest wbe.rever he. we.nt. On
September l O, r924, 1vlcn's \iVear magazi.ne reported,
"The average young man in America .is mote inter-
ested in the clothes of the Prince of\Vales than in any
other individual on earth." T he travels of this sartorial
Pied l)iper elevated rhe new men's o rder to center
stage. \Vhen the ·rock market crash came. \\'h icb one would haYe expected to S\\'ecp fa:h ion awa)~
it .had the opposite-effect.
\iVai I Sn·eet might have laid an egg but Fashion didn't The Grear De pres ·ion rcLUrned
style supremacy ro the hands of the lucky fc\\' "·ho could still aFf-ord co dress'' ell. General business
conditions did the vvo d~ of the thrc11hcr by eliminating the chaff or those followers of Fashion.
lc;:n·L.ng the kernels. those men ofinAuentiaJ positions in finance and societr ro do the leading. T he
new cafe society"s dressing habits. wate[i.ng holes. and social acti\·ities monopolized the attentions
o l~ the -fashion press. Their intact fortunes <lnd inbred sense of security emboldened these men to
imprm·ise <md break the fashion rLJe ·. Ironically. despite the Depression. or rather. becau~e of it.
the next decade proved to be the most important per.iod in rwentieth-ccnmry menswear.
The ·intet\:va,· period signaled the last rime thm the introduction oF a new men's Fash-
ion (or a different wa) of rigging out an old one) gra\ itated down from the upper bracket· to
the lowe!'. In other words. before the hot polloi could sign up for it. the high ~class had to sign off
on tt Any fash ion innovation ·first required the approval of those men considered reliable
arbiters of popular taste. Only when a ne\\' wearable \\·as adopted by a sufficient number of
these style setters would fashion bibles such as .-\pparcl , \rts or Esquire magazine t·ecom mend it to
the greater buying public. tvluch like the French vinegrower's Appellation Contn)lcc. c8ch new
item of apparel faced a rite of passage before it could be ccr6fied :18 "authentic fashion."
If this system did not foster a high enough level. oF cl1m;umer trust. the retailer v\·as i 11 tum
expected ro assume final responsibility for hi.o.; establishment's fashion crcdibilil:)z As Appctrel I \rts
ad,·ised. " 1 o merchant can devote his time to better use than to emplo) it in a constant effort to dis~
ti nguish between real and bogus t:1shion. A man who GLilllOt buy with confidence will nor buy at al l.''
This point of vie-w became a regult.1r theme o( the periodicRI's momhly 6di11gs in the 1930s. Stores
.selling men's apparel that lacked the con·ecr pedigree or that ended up prematurely out of fushio!'1
Camels Hai1' Coat
Mahare1.jahs. of b~.dja
original us€rs
I
Adopted by British
army officers f9r,vear
after polo games
I
Worn in
E11,gland on
furloughs
Noted at
pol.Q matches
and society
I
Brought
ro U.S. by
American
socialite
travel.ets
I
Worn at
Newport
gatherings
telilr;ti.s n:tatches
Coconut Straw Hat
Bahamian §tt:aw
w0ven by NassaLt natives
I
Sold by
1t[ary Wilso11, Nassau
Purchased by British
and Anierican
sociali res and won1
in P~
Beach_ and
Newport
Thence.
national
pqpuJ ari:t:y
Norwegia11 Slippers
Norway to London
To NassaLL
To Palm Beach
To N(:wport and
U.S., hatlonwide
EXAMPLE S OF H OW I930S T AS T ES
BECAME PERMANENT FA S H f ON.
PERMANENT
Fil S /liON
favor could expect the victim to promptly
transfer his loyal t)' else,vhue.
By the thirties, nevl men's fashions
appeared fast an.d furious. Formal evening
and d:1y attire were supplauted by more·
casual garmentS; such as the dinner jacket
the three-piece lo unge sui:t. and the dress
hirt with attached soft coUar. 'vVith the
advent of i11creased leisure time. the odd
ja~ket and ~l acks ensemble, active and spec-
tator sports\:veat attd all types oflight·weight
rewrt garb pressed the.i r ·way into vogue.
The thirties fashion ~co nscioLL""l Jiiale de~-per
ately needed both info[med and individual
~qvicc. And an'lazingly, that is e--xactly '"'1hat
he gor!
for all America's sarto1ial shortcomings to follow and fo r all the legend of England's
supremacy in the field of hlen's d o.thcs, durir1g those i11tervvar years, America evolved in large
part through a process of cuhural mimests into the best-dressed ll<ltion in the "'INorld. Pictures of
gents aTtending sporting events or simply enxoute to work corroborate this. O ld newsreels and
periodicals reveal a SLtrprising number of well-dressed chaps. with the average Joe very much a
part o·f the equation.
The question a1·ises: 1:-low di.d the so~call ed hapless American .male end up on top of the
styJe-leader board? And ho,vwas the id ~al of masculine elegance so widely disseminated dm:i.ng this
decade.? Three factors helped the-Ametican
male step out Fmm uninfonned mediocrity
and up the proverbial ladder toward sty'le
supetiority- ·rhe prcvalenGe of credible role
models. "bespoke" fashion, and _generally
accepted stancL1.rds of taste.
From the early twenties through
the late thirties. that elusive but convenient
charact~r. "the average mJ.Il."'~'a.." exposed to
more visual "aids'' in the fbrni of stnartl.y
attired public t1gm·es than he could shake a
stick at. Well-dressed sociaLites, such as the
13.iddles and the Rhinelanders, and fa!ShiOll-
savvy business leaders, such as Charlie 11.LtbJ1
and NUlton Holden, fo~·med just t\vo of the
