I wasn’t sure if I would like this book. It is very niche and a little weird, but it came recommended from my favorite Twitter account for men’s style—@dieworkwear. I bounced around the book a fair bit, but looking back–it was one of my most highlighted books this year and it was funny.  Some of the sections are a little too granular to be relevant for me… or anyone else I know. The first chapter is about ascots….skip it. The chapters on boots, craftsmanship, and suits were great and helpful to understand the history and construction of these items. I also loved the historical context behind some common men’s wear items–specifically jeans and tweed sport coats. 

True Style: Principles of Classic Menswear provides helpful questions to determine how you want to show up in the world while providing tangible style advice. I appreciated Bruce Boyer’s philosophical discussion around crafting your image. My greatest takeaway is that clothes and your grooming habits shape what people think about you and your place in society. You control this perception, and I think it was helpful to consider how your style reflects your persona. You can ignore your appearance and clothing at your own risk.

Quotes 

“Let’s, for the moment, forgo the moral question about whether these matters of dress and grooming, of posture and manner should matter, because the reality is that they do.”

“I never tire of saying—readers might, but I don’t—that clothes speak. In fact they never shut up. And the great danger is that if you don’t hear them, you’re not listening closely enough and will have to pay whatever penalty accrues from such inattention. As the English statesman Lord Chesterfield pointed out, dress is a foolish thing, and yet it’s a more foolish thing not to pay attention to it.”

“The fact is that well-dressed men are well dressed not because they follow every little rule about clothing, but because they have good taste, individuality, style, and a sense of history.”

“When clothes talk about us, as vaguely or subtly as other forms of communication, they identify us as a member of this or that group, and the language they speak is the language of the group, whether in the broadest sense (such as sociological distinctions) or more specifically (as in jobs that call for distinct uniforms). The important question is: Of which group or groups do we wish to be seen as a member?”

“Simplicity is generally a virtue. Your clothes should not in themselves be more memorable than you are. They should complement you, not compete with you. Avoid trends, fads, flash, and gimmicks, all of which draw attention to themselves and away from you.”

“The result of dressing appropriately to one’s goals is, as my friend correctly noted, a psychological one: confidence. Appropriate dress frees us from the anxieties and liabilities of sending negative and confusing messages. And finally, if a man is dressed effectively, confidently, and comfortably, he’ll be judged on other criteria—talent, productivity, merit, skill, loyalty—which is the way it should be. This isn’t a matter of having an extensive, expensive wardrobe, or being a dandy, or anything else like that. It’s a matter of being effective and doing a good job.”

“It’s important to know the strength and type of scent because, in a business environment, a man should smell merely clean and fresh, not like a brothel in Marrakesh.”

“Clothes are social tools, like language, manners, and a sense of humor.”