Gentleman by Bernhard Roetzel
As it finally began to dawn on me that I would shortly be leaving the military life for a civilian job at a big law firm, I had the startling realization that I would actually have to think about what I was going to wear to work every day. Now I have worked, briefly, in a law firm before, and during my time as a summer associate and six months as an associate between law school and my start on active duty, I wore the basic dress shirt with slacks combo that has come to be classed as "business casual" in most cities. But after four years of wearing camouflage pajamas, I have started to get excited about the concept of men's fashion, of actually getting dressed up for work every day.
To aid in my beginner's fashion education, I sought guidance from a pair of excellent online message boards: Ask Andy About Clothes and Style Forum. Sure the folks who post can be a bit snooty, but these are people who spend their free time discussing men's fashion; it is to be expected. From my lurking on these forums, I noticed repeated references to two particular books: Dressing the Man by Alan Flusser and Gentleman by Bernhard Roetzel. A quick search of the Borders website suggested there was a copy of Gentleman at my local bookstore, so I raced over to get my hands on it.
The first thing I noticed is what a large, beautiful book this is. In his foreword, Roetzel states that the book "seeks to kindle a sense of enthusiasm for quality, elegance, and traditional craftsmanship." And assuredly it does; it kindled my sense of enthusiasm for quality, elegant, well-crafted books! Measuring a full ten inches tall and almost eight and a half wide, Gentleman nearly falls into the coffee table category. Every page features large color photos well-matched to the text and the layout is impeccable. It is simply a lovely book to behold.
But what of the contents? Gentleman is at once both a guide to men's fashion and a history of it. Roetzel clearly believes it important for his readers not simply to memorize a set of rules, but to understand how men's clothing has come to where it is today. This means understanding the historical origins as well as the methods and locations of manufacture. Thus in the chapter on "The Shirt," Roetzel examines collar shapes and how to fold a shirt, but also has a fourteen-image pictorial on how a custom-made shirt is created, and a two-page spread on the hand-sewn shirt manufacturers of Naples. The chapter on "The Suirt" has a guide to patterns & fabrics, but also a three-page pictorial on a custom-made suit from Gieves and Hawkes, and two-pages dedicated to Beckenstein Men's Fabrics in New York:
When the pants of a suit were worn out, Beckenstein fashioned a new pair from the same or at least very similar material - in other words, pants and jacket were matched. The life of a suit could be considerably extended in this way since the pants, which were subject to far more wear and tear than the jacket, could simply be replaced. This service was only possible thanks to Beckenstein's vast stock of fabrics, which meant that the right match could usually be found even for very old suits.
In his 300-plus pages, Roetzel covers everything from facial hair to waxed jackets to walking canes, so there is surely something here for everyone. It will not all be to one's taste; much of what is discussed would irreparably stretch most of our wallets, and there is some advice that seems rather dubious (e.g. the section on how cigarettes are cool), but all in all this is a wonderful read (or gift) for anyone interested in classic men's fashion.
