Details Men's Style Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Making Your Clothes Work for You Paperback – Illustrated, October 18, 2007

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.

I have gifted copies to my sons, cousins, nephews and friend’s sons over the years. Any young man (or older) that expresses interest in dressing well, learning about style choices, quality materials and more gets a copy!

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.

It's a good book that goes over that basics, leaning a bit towards to more formal attire. What used to be business casual is not formal to many so that's understandable. It gives a lot of information that men missed out on by skipping home-ec classes in school.If I had to fault it I would say it's a little light on details with regard to color combinations and patterns. I gives you all you need to look good in a crowd but if you want to stand out you'll need to follow up with more research.