Details Men's Style Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Making Your Clothes Work for You
A**H
The level of usefulness is dependent on what you are looking for
As a young man I found recently I have become interested in putting more thought into what I wear everyday. I will say that the Details Style Manual has solid information and some nice visuals. However much of the information can be found for free on dozens of style blogs, the advice is not ground-breaking and this information is generally agreed upon despite personal style. I would say after a month and a half of reading blogs a little here and there I knew most of the information that applied to me. By no means am I a style expert but I understand the basic concepts and why they work.The Pros:The visuals are really clear, detailed, and informative.Makes for a good reference book. Are you going to go buy a new sports coat? Flip through and see how it should fit and what to look for quickly and easily.Quickly gets you up to speed on basic style for different occasions.Covers most subjects from denim + a tee to formalwearTackles difficult to wear items with 3 options increasingly more difficult to "pull off"Chapters are summed up with several looks based around the chapters item with situations you would wear the outfitGenerally focuses on timeless style rather than short-lived fashionThe Cons:Despite a forward saying that no one should tell you what to wear the author goes on to make some pretty blunt statements, with little or no explanation, implying that there are things you should always/never do. To support this they use ridiculous pictures to drive their point. For example they say never to wear a leather bomber and show one with garish lining and military inspired patches. I have a hard time understanding why a simple brown leather one can't work with jeans and a tee/polo/sweater as longs it fits properly.Some information is does not fit in with the timeless style theme of the book.If you take to heart the advice this book will end up costing you a lot of money. Sure, I would love a few custom shirts, several pairs of high quality dress shoes, high price suits(one of which is only appropriate for summer), several coats, several pairs of tailored pants, etc... but for most folks my age, which this book feels geared to, don't have that kind of money. You are better off deciding for yourself what items you will get the most use out of and start there instead of following "every man should own ________".My issue with this book is the price. If this book were around $10 I would wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone looking to change how they dress or to have as a reference book on fit, patterns, and styles of different items. However since the information really is easily available on plenty of men's style blogs for free with little effort in searching I have a hard time really recommending this book. As it has been said in many other reviews, if you are new to style this books has a lot of great information, but if you already know the basics you can probably pass on this unless you want a reference book.
O**S
A straightforward overview of the basics
I had been looking into updating my wardrobe from simple jeans and department store collared shirts into something a bit more business. I ordered this book originally because the only book on men's style I had, suggested me to shave with a knife and foam in a wooden bowl, and generally wear a bespoke tux to everywhere. That was a bit too British and nigh enough ridiculous for my ideal style, so I needed something with a bit more contemporary taste; an essential basic guide on menswear for people who know what looks good but do not know how to get it.The book is sectioned into different parts of the complete modern man's wardrobe; shirts, pants, blazers, ties, suits, tuxes, jeans, casual shirts, sweaters, outerwear, underwear, shoes and accessories. It starts off with a checklist of absolute musts every man should own and it doesn't please me to say that I definitely did miss a few items on that list.Each section then goes over the basics, and hallmarks of the perfect fit. Also covered are the different style and material options, and often the book dwelves into assorted tips, a list of "don'ts", style tips from renown fashion bigshots, different ways you can pull off the more daring variations (such as the denim jacket or white shoes) and buying tips. The section that really sold it for me was the "Dress Up, Dress Down" - examples of complete ensembles how you can wear the same overcoat or the same suit to three different occasions without looking repetitious. Other reviewers here who seem to disparage this book for being too basic must explain to me how this sense of accessorizing is supposed to be attained by magic. Or how you're supposed to invent an outfit at crap o'clock in the morning with no light and eyes still shut.I'm under no illusions this is the only volume you should own of men's style, or that if you're going to own only one, this should be it; however, this book is definitely aimed for people like me - straight out of school and all of a sudden I need to appear in a meeting with stone-faced investors without giving them any clues. It went over some basics I already knew, but it definitely did give me new theory, tips and pointers for my money's worth.Definitely a recommended choice for the right target audience - to attain the basic theory, history and taste in clothing to expand into a signature style in the future with the help of other more advanced titles and sheer experience.
A**X
Simple but effective guidelines!!!!
An excellent book for those who wants to improve their image and gain more confidence in your life, not for fashion but to create a signature with style! Worth the time to read! You will know how to express your true self and get the attention you are looking for!
T**T
とてもよい
いろいろと細かくと詳しく描かれていて、とてもよく大変満足です
G**R
Five Stars
Great product, fast shipping!
L**K
Not bad but no revelations
This is a book from the magazine Details, it has a good introduction by one of their editors who describes being labelled a "slob" and how he came to his present recognition of the importance of certain aspects of mens fashion and style, it is laid out well into sections, each dealing with one article of clothing, such as shirts, suits, jeans, t-shirts, interspaced are short interview/bullet pointed descriptions of style by celebrities or fashion icons and there is a full index/acknowledgements for pictures.The advice is subjective and some of the strict direction, such as never wear leather bomber jackets, is not always supported but in the main its very good, although there are plentiful truisms, such as err on the side of formal when there is any ambiguity, go with traditions rather than innovations and be wary of attempting to successfully carry of style choices of others, particularly celebrities, as your own. There's simple and good advice on correct ways to choose and tie a tie or bow tie, good information for anyone who is constructing a basic wardrobe for a variety of occasions (even on how to match dress choices to occasions) and making choices of this kind for the first time.The advice on suits was good but I felt erring a little too much towards generic greys, this could be a criticism of the book more generally perhaps, the sense of style, perhaps strict sense of style, of the author comes clearly through. Sometimes the contrasts between style selections or suggestions with garrish and glaring bright colours like bright reds, or with other "fashion fails", like blousey old styles of dress, I felt was a little less helpful and more obvious errors. I had hoped for some careful observations upon finer detail, there can be more nuanced pluses and minuses to style choices than the contrasts this book makes sometimes. The overall idea that you may not be the trend setter and innovator you hope you are seemed sound enough.The points by the style gurus, which includes celebrities from fashion and music, is interesting, often contradicting information from elsewhere in the book but more personal to their choices and less serious perhaps. Often addressing personal grooming, attitudes to music and personal presenations more generally than the specifics covered in the rest of the book too.The main topics covered include shirts, suits, jeans, blazers, "outwear" (overcoats and coats), pull overs, shoes, jewelry (including watches), tuxedos and formal wear.
L**R
Ok, but not amazing!
Not much content, and a lot of the text is very basic. The layout fills entire pages with very little text. This could have been half the page count. Also the photographs of looks they endorse often contradicts the advice of the text. It looks like the writer and the picture editor never consulted each other. The styling is very American. They even endorse cargo pants, yuck! And there are style tips from fashion criminals like Puff Daddy and Donatella Versace. Sorry I don't think any heterosexual should aspire to look like a get-rich-quick pimp or seek to appear elegant to an aging tranny.
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