The Rake: A Review

[andreyb]

Gentlemen,

Some time ago I subscribed to a new magazine on classical men's style, named "The Rake". About a week ago I got first three issues; here is a short review.



The magazine is published in Singapore (of all places!); yearly subscription, if ordered from the publisher's web-site, costs a hefty $130.



Each issue has around 200 pages; some of them are filled with ads, but signal / ads ratio is quite high.



First impression is uniformly positive. Absolutely all the articles are devoted to interesting topics! Of course, reality (that is, text of the articles) diminished my excitement.

Most of the material are written by the members of a very small editorial team. Thus, it is hard to expect deep analysis. Moreover, the texts are very light in substance and "advertorial" in style. Photos, on the other hand, are uniformly excellent.

There are several sections in the magazine; the most interesting one named just articles.



Quality of said articles is very uneven. Some are pure genius...



(Authored by James Sherwood; written with passion and solid knowledge of the subject matter.)

...others are pretty mediocre.



("Shirt Stories: A Year In The Life Of A Charvet Devotee". History of the company is interesting, but how about a few words on current state of things? Also, I'd like to see something more than an usual set of general and vague praises of Charvet shirts.)



(Interview with Andrea Perrone, co-CEO of Brioni. Again, history + interview filled with vague praises. Neither hard facts nor critical analysis.)

But even "mediocre" articles from The Rake are better than what one finds in all the GQs and Esquires of this world.



In the academy section authors attempted to explain principles of fit and proportion. One issue aims at suits, other at trousers, and yet another at formal wear. Granted, this is a very difficult task... and I can't say that The Rake editors failed miserably. Though they are not succeeded, too. The text resembles Flusser at his worst: a lot of prescriptions and "rules" that are next to impossible to remember in entirety.



Atelier section, as one might guess, is devoted to stories on ateliers. However, so far authors visited not ateliers, but factores... Lamborghini, Valextra, Hermes, Tod's, Riva, Louis Vuitton. Unfortunately, the texts here become purely "advertorials".



Most of the stories about real ateliers belong to already mentioned articles section. A few occur in the atelier, too.

Pictured above is a passionate essay on Berluti bespoke experience.



One interesting column is pocket guide. The idea is to look into pockets of a dandy. Well, actually they list all the accessories on hand, not necessarily those that fit into pockets.

Pictured above is a well-known style journalist Nick Foulkes.



Another brilliant idea for a regular column is "Notes from the Row", authored by Jamed Sherwood.

Of course, the magazine has a plenty of other sections and types of articles. But what I listed above is its best and brightest. Some inevitable GQ-like boring things and "space fillers" are also very much present. But let me spare you from description of ugly creations... each magazine has them.

Every review ends with an unspoken question: to buy or not to buy? I don't know what to answer this time. On one hand, The Rake definitely doesn't belong to a "must read" list. On the other, this is the best English-language style magazine we have today.

Andrey

[Lance]

Thank you for your review. It does look like a publication worth ordering. It's expensive but appears to be much better than either the US or UK versions of GQ and Esquire.

[andreyb]

Lance, my pleasure.

BTW, one interesting tidbit from "Notes From The Row" column:

The director of last year's BBC Savile Row documentary, Ian Denyer, is currently filming the story of the tweed revival on the Row for a three-part TV series.

Andrey

[le.gentleman]

Lance, my pleasure.

BTW, one interesting tidbit from "Notes From The Row" column:

The director of last year's BBC Savile Row documentary, Ian Denyer, is currently filming the story of the tweed revival on the Row for a three-part TV series.

Andrey

Thanks for the review and the Tweed documentary hint, Andrey! If you live in Singapore it is probably less expensive to get a subscription but since I do not live there I won't get one .

[Maxomoto]

Did anyone find The Rake at a newsstand in Europe? London, Paris, Zurich?

Regards,

Max

[shredder]

The publisher is working on expanding the distribution outside of Singapore. I believe he went on a tour around the world in May for the purpose. Perhaps pchong can shed some light... So, no, I do not believe that they are available at your local news agents just yet.

[Manself]

This is very interesting, and I'm keen to get my hands on a copy of The Rake.

However, I feel I have to offer a few words of defense for Esquire UK, and perhaps shed some light on why 'style' magazines are held in such low regard. These magazines are run on a commercial basis, and publishers consider their clients to be the advertisers, not the readers. A company that books adverts will receive editorial coverage, regardless of whether or not the journalists would honestly recommend their products to anyone (I'm just telling you how it works, not endorsing this state of affairs). That said at my own magazine (I'm the style editor at Esquire in the UK) I try to offer my readers some snippets of useful advice - I've featured articles by Mr Alden in recent issues. The articles I write are basic by the standards of the LL, but I'm talking to a much more general readership (there is, however, a strong whiff of advertorial about some of our stories). I have more of a free hand when I write for our website (www.esquire.co.uk - we have a style section and a bespoke section), which is fairly unconstrained by commercial realities. It's also worth bearing in mind that the vast majority of fashion journalists have no idea about how to dress, so they're unlikely to write well about clothes.

[andreyb]

I should say that this review was originally written in Russian, for my blog (bespokeetc.blogspot.com). Thus, by saying GQ and Esquire I meant Russian editions of these magazines. I'm not accustomed with UK editions... perhaps they are better.

Manself, only after reading your message, I looked at Esquire UK web-site in search for bespoke section. I must say that I very much impressed... great work!

Andrey

[le.gentleman]

This is very interesting, and I'm keen to get my hands on a copy of The Rake.

However, I feel I have to offer a few words of defense for Esquire UK, and perhaps shed some light on why 'style' magazines are held in such low regard. These magazines are run on a commercial basis, and publishers consider their clients to be the advertisers, not the readers. A company that books adverts will receive editorial coverage, regardless of whether or not the journalists would honestly recommend their products to anyone (I'm just telling you how it works, not endorsing this state of affairs). That said at my own magazine (I'm the style editor at Esquire in the UK) I try to offer my readers some snippets of useful advice - I've featured articles by Mr Alden in recent issues. The articles I write are basic by the standards of the LL, but I'm talking to a much more general readership (there is, however, a strong whiff of advertorial about some of our stories). I have more of a free hand when I write for our website (http://www.esquire.co.uk - we have a style section and a bespoke section), which is fairly unconstrained by commercial realities. It's also worth bearing in mind that the vast majority of fashion journalists have no idea about how to dress, so they're unlikely to write well about clothes.

Thanks for the insight!I read the Alden article in the January issue - what other articles did you write and when were they published?
Your last sentence seems particularly true to me not only when it comes to dress! More often than not journalists know how to write, however they do not know what they write about, which is very dreadful indeed.

[Lance]

Oops, sorry to have put you on the defensive, Manself; I should know better by now to stay with positive comments about the subject and away from negative comparisons. In fact, I look forward to buying and reading both the US and UK versions of Esquire and GQ each month and just today finished reading the July issue of Esquire, UK edition (before reading your response). I’ll look forward to using the website; thanks for the link.

[MatthewClarke]

Firstly, thank you, Andrey, for the excellent review. I think I may hazard a subscription as, even if the articles are not perfect, they are at least on topics of interest and written by people who have a genuine passion for and knowledge of tailoring. As far as the 'academy' section goes I do wish that (often inexpert) authors and journalists would stop trying to prescribe how people should dress (cuts, fits etc.). It's such a subjective thing and, rather than enumerating a ridiculously rigid set of 'style rules', the publication of a collection of carefully chosen photographs, showcasing alternative cuts and styles, should be the way to help readers form an opinion on what they like!

I feel I have to offer a few words of defense for Esquire UK, and perhaps shed some light on why 'style' magazines are held in such low regard. These magazines are run on a commercial basis, and publishers consider their clients to be the advertisers, not the readers. A company that books adverts will receive editorial coverage, regardless of whether or not the journalists would honestly recommend their products to anyone

In fairness, Manself is completely correct: back when I was a student, I spent a year abroad in Milan, interning at Zegna, and I was shocked by how much control we had over the copy in so-called 'advertorials'. I have actually enjoyed your articles, Manself, (one in particular about the sartorial holiday to Italy) so please don't feel that they go unappreciated and indeed I will zoom over to the Esquire website now and browse away! On the topic of fashion journalists not dressing well may I just add that most fashion designers have an awful sense of personal style, even if their design aesthetic for their brand is spot-on!

[rishabh]

Gentlemen,

Some time ago I subscribed to a new magazine on classical men's style, named "The Rake". About a week ago I got first three issues; here is a short review.

Andrey

Thanks for the review, Andrey. My question is - did you get the first three issues when you subscribed to The Rake, or did you have to pay extra for it?

Thanks
rish

[andreyb]

MatthewClarke, rishabh, my pleasure.

My question is - did you get the first three issues when you subscribed to The Rake, or did you have to pay extra for it?

I asked them to start my subscription from the very first issue -- who knows how long this Singaporian-based publication will last?

So, these additional two issues are not for free.

Andrey

[ccox]

I've enjoyed my subscription for the most part. Even playing a bit with colour in my rig after one of their photospreads. As far as in depth analysis, nothing will beat the LL's level of expertise. I think that they are trying for a stylish look for the "modern gentleman" rather than one harkening to what I would recognise as classical elegance. I would love to see something like what etutee might pen in their pages.

The danger is to keep on target and not be tempted to veer into fashion's lair. I hope they keep clear heads. Some of their contributors are fairly knowledgeable and we can hope they are given free rein.

[tteplitzmd]

The magazine seems to be one repeating infomercial for: a) Tom Ford b) Rubinacci c) Swiss watches d) all of the above.
The correct answer is 'd,' all of the above. Lots of recycled information from the same small stable of writers. It has become tedious to read already.