Literature

[Guest]

It is unfortunate that with my youth I can not have the knowledge that can come with age. Doubtless I am not the only one drawn here in my desire to broaden my knowledge on sartorial elegance, correct etiquette and the like.

What, gentleman, can you recommend in regard to printed material? Though not completely ignorant I have much to learn and when perusing various bookshops I felt quite overwhelmed with the wealth of information - cut, colour, footwear, accessories and headwear, the right garment for the right time, et cetera.

[Guest]

Haberdashery education is like every other form of learning, you never stop learning.

I'd recommend starting off with Alan Flusser's and Bruce Boyer's books.

Amazon should have them listed. Also don't forget our very own LL member NJS has a book out as well. I'm in the process of trying to add it to my haberdashery library collection.

The London Lounge is also a wonderful source, as I've have learned so much here.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

[Guest]

Something that I have noticed is that there is a tremendous amount of detail on dress and manners tucked away in general literature (especially novels and biographies). A couple of examples that spring to mind are: Victorian/Edwardian dress for funerals included frock coats and evening trousers (the only black trousers that they would have had) - see The Funeral of Aunt Anne in the Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy; suggesting two things, first, that black trousers were restricted to evening wear and funerals and, secondly, that even the members of the upper middle class were frugal enough to use their evening trousers for funerals. There is even, in a Galsworthy short story a reference to the detail that the subject of the story held objects clasped lightly between the middle of his fingers and thumb, away from the finger tips, suggesting that this habit was once a point of elegance. Apart from such books, there are many books on the subject of dress and manners - search the amazon sites under men's dress/style/fashion and it will bring them up with descriptions of the books and, sometimes, an excerpt is available. Two more general and highly amusing books are The English Gentleman by Douglas Sutherland and, more generally still, Nancy Mitford's U and Non-U. For the American angle there is insider Emily Post's books written as she observed the residents of Tuxedo Park at work and play. As well as those, and more contemporary, there is Debrett's New Guide to Etiquette and Modern Manners by John Morgan which is entertaining as well as helpful concerning behaviour in the modern world.
NJS

[Guest]

Welcome to the London Lounge.

Emily Post's 1922 book on etiquette has excellent information on gentlemanly behavior and basic dress and can be read online here in short chapters. Chapters that may seem out-dated, such as "The Country House and Its Hospitality," often apply well in principle for general etiquette, which is more a state of mind than a list of do's and dont's (which she points out).

Held in similarly high regard to Emily Post is Amy Vanderbilt's (more wordy) book on Etiquette. You can find both in libraries. Each was updated about every ten years until the 50s or 60s. Skip to the sections you need on a gentleman's clothing and general etiquette.

I also recommend reading Etutee's posts in the "Features and Articles" Forum. He shares and expounds on Apparel Arts / Esquire articles from the 1930s. He's done an excellent job of illustrating and explaining many styles. Manton's article on wedding attire lays out the basics of day and evening formal, semi-formal, and casual dress.

For general reference to semi-formal and formal evening wear you may find www.blacktieguide.com useful.

By way of advice, try "dressing up dressing down" as a great start to applying the knowledge you gain. Don't wait for an event that "justifies" looking nice. Life is short, dress well.

-pbc

[Guest]

Here are some other posts from the forum

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/vie ... ight=books

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/vie ... php?t=7467

Enjoy

Cordovan

[Guest]

Something that I have noticed is that there is a tremendous amount of detail on dress and manners tucked away in general literature (especially novels and biographies). A couple of examples that spring to mind are: Victorian/Edwardian dress for funerals included frock coats and evening trousers (the only black trousers that they would have had) - see The Funeral of Aunt Anne in the Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy; suggesting two things, first, that black trousers were restricted to evening wear and funerals and, secondly, that even the members of the upper middle class were frugal enough to use their evening trousers for funerals. There is even, in a Galsworthy short story a reference to the detail that the subject of the story held objects clasped lightly between the middle of his fingers and thumb, away from the finger tips, suggesting that this habit was once a point of elegance. Apart from such books, there are many books on the subject of dress and manners - search the amazon sites under men's dress/style/fashion and it will bring them up with descriptions of the books and, sometimes, an excerpt is available. Two more general and highly amusing books are The English Gentleman by Douglas Sutherland and, more generally still, Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige: U and Non-U. For the American angle there is insider Emily Post's books written as she observed the residents of Tuxedo Park at work and play. As well as those, and more contemporary, there is Debrett's New Guide to Etiquette and Modern Manners by John Morgan which is entertaining as well as helpful concerning behaviour in the modern world.
NJS

[Guest]

Thank you very much everyone. It's good to see so many helpful replies. I think I am going to like it here.

[Guest]

It is noteworthy that Paul Keers’ A Gentleman’s Wardrobe: Classic Clothes and the Modern Man seems not ever having been mentioned in the LL. This short book is one of the best of its kind in my opinion. It is lavishly illustrated, albeit the plates are all B&W.



Marcelo

[Guest]

good book that. underated.