When in Rome...

"The idea that I would have to drape myself in a toga every morning, and to have this drapery hanging around me throughout the day-the entire day, please!-in the same folds, this uncomforting thought is enough to drive me to suicide. I like to walk, walk, walk and when on a whim , I decide to run after a streetcar racing by, the thing would surely become independent.. The Romans never walked. They just lounged around. And should I wrap myself in a towel after a bath, it is certain to be located somewhere else within five minutes. I just don't have the nerves for that kind of aggravation."

-Adolf Loos "Praise for the Present", 1908, from "Why a Man Should Be Well Dressed"

Wow. And I'll bet some of you thought I was a curmudgeon. This guy is on another plane...100 years ago.

Book Review : The Gentry Man

A few weeks ago, Harper/Collins was kind enough to enough to send me an advance copy of their new book, The Gentry Man, released to the general public today. A compendium of Gentry magazine from 1951-1957, it provides an interesting look back at a period in menswear history that can frequently be romanticized beyond recognition.

For those of you not familiar with Gentry magazine, I can only say that it reminds of what GQ was like a long time ago, when it was good. It offers a broad slice of all the things that make up what they call "the civilized man". In it you'll find not only cocktail recipes, but also great articles about the act of drinking itself with titles like "In Praise of Booze". You'll find tips on winning chess in seven moves, food articles about James Beard and Brillat Savarin alongside classic and time tested recipes. You'll find a few pages about cars and resort hotels, furniture, modern art, and of course, plenty about clothing. Interestingly, you won't find much talk of professional sports.

As you might expect, it contains a lot of nostalgia about "the good old days" when men regularly wore suits in the day and formal wear at night. What's better than that, though, is all the unusual stuff that's included. Crazy sailor suits for poolside at the resort come to mind at the wild extreme, a tweed weekend jacket with raglan sleeves comes to mind in the "why doesn't someone make that anymore" end. The good stuff is really good, but it's the inclusion and sheer amount or weird stuff that's even better. For one thing, it makes the good stuff look better, and for another, its good to be reminded that even in what we like to think of as the glory days, it wasn't all a bed of roses. People were just as prone to go for something crazy in the interest of newness back the as they are now, the only difference being that then the labels were attached to the inside of the clothes. Its a useful thing to remember both good and bad when we see the past and use it as a tool to assess good and bad today. Gentry provides both.

Each chapter is introduced with some brief text by editor Hal Rubinstein, and his writing is well informed and to the point, making this book as good to read as the pictures are fun to look at. Best of all, the whole thing is relatively short, and very well chosen. No filler, only the good stuff. The book is laid out in a very easy to thumb trough way, which is always a bonus with these kind of things.

For the older reader, this book can offer both a warm look back and a chance to chuckle at some minor foibles. For the younger reader, it provides an extra degree of true perspective on the past in a more multi-dimensional way that is often offered. In either case, it would be a fun addition to any mans collection of sartorial books.

Reading Material

My apologies to any ladies present for this one. Truth be told, men tend to keep reading material in the, ahem, restroom. Abhorrent? Perhaps, but a "guy thing" nonetheless. Recently, this particular triumvirate has convened in my own home:

"Class" by Paul Fussell, 1983; "The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli, 16th century,

each less than a dollar at thrift shops.

"The Tao of Wu" by the RZA, a Christmas gift from Kid Brother

A now classic tome on the American class structure, and a humorous one at that, especially from an East Coast point of view....an ancient text from Rennaissance Italy, written by an aristocrat, on how to be one....and a philosophical work by a modern rap artist who draws on Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bhuddism, comic books and kung fu movies with unbridled equanimity. I've read all three, and all three now have been filed for quick reference and cross checking. For good measure, they sit atop a Phaidon book of ugly British post cards, mainly pictures of motels, highways and rest stops, called simply "Bad Post Cards".

If that doesn't explain in condensed and distilled form the sort of thing that goes on around this blog, I don't know what will.

p.s.

the necktie selection at the Shop has been amply replenished. There are also a number of non-clothing items available, some suitable for children, others not. Go see.