That's a terrific interview for Manton, thanks for posting it Ed.

I just finished up The Suit.  Personally, I enjoyed it.  Of course, I'm also a big fan of Machiavelli, so that made it more fun.

Well, I just liked it generally. I thought the writing style was humorous, but neverthess the author was able to give his opinions on proper dress as well.  I also enjoyed straightahead references to Machiavelli, such as "a man who is not wise by himself cannot be counseled well".  It wasn't too long - again, just like the Prince - which made for a quick read.  I might have suggested some limited number of photos or illustrations.

I read a lot of commentary on the book debating whether certain rules or whatever are accurate.  Alas, there is no authoritative source for the "rules". You can't go look up the relevant legislation.  Thus the "rules" as well as views on what looks good or not, are inherently somewhat subjective.

I've commented in the past on AAAC that someone shows a picture of a person, and immeidately the piranhas start digging in with all sorts of comments about every imagined flaw, even on very well-dressed people.  I've always found this a little over the top.  So there's no need in my opinion to launch detailed critiques. 

I do wonder who the target audience is. Flusser, I must admit, basically taught me to dress through his books.  WIth their many photos and detailed instructions - agree with them or not - they are a guide to the novice.  That is not the case with this book.  Nor is it a scholarly essay or history.  I would suggest that the book is targeted at an "in" crowd who already knows something about clothes and thus can appreciate it.  Given the sad sartorial state of America, this will probably limit his target audience, though for those of us here, it is a good thing.

I have a Grey Flannel suit with patch pockets. No one even knows you are or are not supposed to have this detail. I think it looks good as a change of pace in certain circumstances.

Recently, Ive felt like a walking disclaimer...

This is interesting.

Last edited by Incroyable (2006-07-03 18:35:20)

Patch pockets are perfectly fine for the office these days.  I would avoid them on stripes, but on a more casual or summery cloth, can look very nice.  In this sense it is more of an Italian sensibility, and, like tan shoes, may not appeal to everyone.

Patch pockets make pattern matching a trickier proposition.