Book Review: The Rebel's Wardrobe pub. by Gestalten

To while away the long winter nights, I recommend reading The Rebel’s Wardrobe: The Untold Story of Menswear’s Renegade Past (published by Gestalten 2022). The book explores many items of menswear, their origins and the men, famous and not, who wore them before they became popular daily wear.

From the white t-shirt and workwear through flying jackets to the Aran sweater, safari jackets, denim and trench coats, hats and footwear, it takes a fascinating look at selected items of mens's clothing that started out as radical signs of rebellion only to become mainstream. 

The book is informative rather than merely descriptive and covers men and their clothing from both sides of the Atlantic. It's well presented with a good balance of images to text. There are one or two very minor errors: an image of a father showing his son how to lace up 'work boots' is actually lacing and blancoing canvas cricket boots and I haven't seen the spelling 'mack' for a 'mac' or mackintosh coat before - but these are very rare and don't take away from a readable and interesting look at menswear's heritage.

Highly recommended for any enthusiast of menswear and its history and context. For more information and to buy the book go to Gestalten.

All images: Illustration Florian Bayer, The Rebel's Wardrobe, gestalten 2022

Black Ivy - A Revolt in Style: Book Review

Ivy style is linked to the Ivy League college campuses of the American northeast in the fifties and sixties. Students of these elite institutions were overwhelmingly white, so-called WASPS - white Anglo-Saxon protestants, so a book entitled Black Ivy, focusing on figures in black culture sporting the style, seems a contradiction. However, the clue lies in the subtitle, Black Ivy: A Revolt in Style. 

Jason Jules and Graham Marsh argue that Ivy styles of clothing were adopted by a black community struggling for civil rights in the face of racial prejudice and hostility. 

By wearing the styles of a self-styled privileged white elite, a generation of black men applied their own interpretations to Ivy styles and, consciously or not, made a strong point about equality and the need for social justice.

Reel Art Press

Bill Ray/The Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Reel Art Press Sidney Poitier in To Sir, With Love

Jason Jules is a London-based writer and style consultant, Graham Marsh an art director, artist and writer who's had a deep  interest in Ivy Style since the sixties. Jules starts the book by pointing out that style is essentially, an assertion of "one's right to self-definition and the right to take control of one's own identity". He rejects the notion that black men adopted this style "out of a desire to be white" but rather it made a strong statement to highlight their entitlement to equality.

The book highlights and profiles a number of well-known figures from the worlds of politics, music, sport and the arts and also ordinary men, students and workers, who adopted the style. Contemporary colour and monochrome photographs show a wide variety of styles, from formal to casual. As ever, age gives a classic cool style to looks from the past and Ivy and its close relative, preppy, strongly influence menswear to this day.

An important book adding a previously  little told dimension to the story of menswear style. A book for the shelves of anyone interested in menswear, style and the wider elements of race and politics.

Black Ivy: A Revolt in Style. Jason Jules and Graham Marsh pub. by Reel Art Press.

Links:

Jason Jules https://www.instagram.com/garmsville/

Graham Marsh https://www.instagram.com/ivyconnection/

Reel Art Press https://www.instagram.com/reelartpress/ 

Vogue Paris 100 Years: Thames & Hudson: Book Review

Vogue Paris was first published in 1920 and this book, Vogue Paris 100 Years, edited by Sylvie Lécallier and published by Thames & Hudson, records some of the highlights of its 100 year history. 

Vogue Paris 100 Years published by Thames & Hudson

Ever at the cutting edge of women's luxury and fashion, it contains images by many of the great photographers of the last century: Cecil Beaton, Man Ray, Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Mario Testino, Guy Bourdin and many more. The fashion illustrations, especially from the early days, are equally striking by such as Lepape, Gruau and Benito. As you'd expect, the photos in particular vary between the exotic and the erotic and all are designed to have maximum impact - after all, this is high fashion that's being sold.

Inevitably the emphasis is on youth and few older models appear. While this is just how it is in fashion (women's fashion in particular) this imbalance could perhaps have been rectified by the inclusion of the December 2010 photoshoot by Tom Ford, For Ever Love, in which a man and a woman, both well into old age, kiss and fondle with a passionate abandon that will shock those who think that such antics are just for the young.

Complementing the illustrations are comprehensive histories of the brands, designers, models and editors that have made the magazine so remarkable. Despite its international nature, Vogue Paris had retained its French character and chicness, and long may it continue.

A book for anyone interested in fashion, design and photography or in their undoubted social impact.

Vogue Paris 100 Years, edited by Sylvie Lécallier, pub. Thames & Hudson £45.

I was sent a review copy - all views are mine alone.

The Men's Fashion Book pub. Phaidon: Book Review

Here's a weighty tome that should grace the bookshelves of anyone interested in contemporary men's fashion and style. The Men's Fashion Book is published by Phaidon and contains, in alphabetic encyclopaedic style, some 500 illustrated entries giving information about brands, tailors, designers, models, illustrators, well-known men of style (from Beau Brummel to Pharrell Williams), tailors, photographers and more. 

The Introduction is a readable overview of menswear over the last 250 years by Jacob Gallagher, Men's Fashion Editor on the Wall Street Journal who collaborated with a team of advisers to select the book's content.

Inevitably the emphasis is on the contemporary, but this reflects the growth in men's fashion in the last half century and overall this is a comprehensive and entertaining look at the topic (I'd go further and say that the subject is men's style rather than just fashion). It's best approached by dipping into the over 500 pages and browsing, as one might do in a good bookshop. I tried to catch it out by thinking of a few names that might not be there, to be pleasantly surprised that they were. The entries cover a good international spectrum too, although inevitably the looks are of western men's style.

Highly recommended and, judged on a pound sterling per gram of weight and item of information basis, good value at £59.95. See link below for more information.

Published by Phaidon price £59.95.

I was sent a review copy. All views are mine alone.

Book Interview: From Tailors with Love - Menswear Through the Bond Films

I've recently finished reading a fascinating book on the development of the screen style of the world's most famous fictional spy, James Bond. Written by Bond style gurus and Instagrammers, Peter Brooker and Matt Spaiser, From Tailors With Love looks at the evolution and design on 007's clothes throughout the James Bond films. 

Peter Brooker sits at Ian Fleming's desk in his Jamaican villa, Goldeneye

With the imminent screening of the long-awaited latest Bond Film, No Time To Die, the book comes at a good time for Bond fans and for those with any interest in men's style. There's no doubt that 007, for a fictional character, has had a significant influence on how men dress, illuminating brands like Tom Ford, Barbour, Turnbull & Asser and so many others, but the book also looks at the tailors and shirtmakers who supplied their wares to the early film Bonds such as Connery, Moore and Dalton.

I recently spoke to Pete Brooker to find out more about his love for the Bond films and his book:

GF: Peter, please introduce yourself and tell us something about the book you've co-authored on the clothing of the James Bond films.

PB: I’m Pete, I moonlight as a menswear blogger with an unhealthy fixation on the clothes of James Bond. Some time ago, maybe four years ago, I had a chance to present a book proposal to the big cheese at Laurence King Publishing. So I went away, invited my friend and editor of Bond Suits Matt Spaiser to come up with a pitch for a book about, well, Bond Suits. Eventually that pitch was turned down, but I remember them saying it was one of the best they’d seen.

GF: How did your interest in James Bond come about?

PB: Like many, it was through my Dad. As a family we all loved watching and laughing with Roger Moore and his one liners. I would actually just laugh at my Dad laughing at Bond. At one point we both suffered injuries. My Dad broke his ankle, I chopped part of my finger off. Mum nursed us back to health and whilst convalescing, we watched back to back Bond films and played chess.

Then came the locations. I met my girlfriend Anastasia 5 years ago and we went to Rio for the Olympics. We went up Sugarloaf Mountain where they filmed the cable car chase from Moonraker. Of course I went on a hunt for the telescopes and a huge 7UP sign. From then the locations and the travel bug for Bond kicked in.

GF: Which of these locations did you find most interesting?

PB: Most of the locations have been all been thoroughly documented. And I’ve been lucky to go to the big ones like Piz Gloria from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Phang Nga Bay, aka James Bond Island, (The Man with the Golden Gun) I remember I cried when I got ashore, not very Bond. I would say the balcony in Bilbao from the pre-titles in The World is Not Enough. Pound for pound the best pre-titles of all the Bond films. I did some proper sneaky Bond work to get in that building (not open to the public) and worm my way onto the balcony.

Peter Brooker visits various Bond locations

GF: Has the Bond sartorial style rubbed off on you? I know you have worn some interesting items of clothing with links to the Bond films.

GF: I’ve really gotten into some casual elements of Bond. I’m less about the suits for my own style, but the polos from Sunspel for example, or the Rogue Territory Waxed Ridgeline Supply jacket seen recently on Bond in No Time to Die. These brands wouldn’t necessarily be on my radar if it weren’t for Bond.

But mostly the shirts from Frank Foster who made the shirts for many Bonds (Sean, Roger, George) and the villains. They have some of the original fabric still in their warehouse. Mary the seamstress is still making shirts and I’ve been fortunate enough to become a client of theirs.

Peter Brooker wearing his Frank Foster shirt in the original fabric

GF: The book covers Bond's style in all the films, was his clothing selection influenced in any way by the clothes that Fleming's Bond wears in the books?

PB: There was not much style in the books to influence the films. In the book, Bond usually wears a dark blue suit, and Bond wears dark blue suits in many films. Sean Connery wore shirts in Sea Island cotton like in the books. The black silk knitted tie from the books shows up on rare occasion in the films. Throughout the 1980s, Bond wears slip-on shoes that take after Fleming's Bond's moccasins. It's mostly generic or ordinary styles that made it from the books to the films, and if there are any similarities between the way Bond dresses in the book and the way he dresses on-screen, it could just as likely be coincidence as it could be influence.

GF: It's clear from the book that you have met some of the recent greats of English tailoring and menswear manufacture - what were some highlights?

PB: We talked to some of the costume designers. Lindy Hemming was just incredible, so eloquent. We pretty much used the entire transcript from her interview word for word. Then some of the lesser known designers that were harder to track down. Emma Porteous for example, Jodie Tillen of course. Some of these interviews were the fruits of me hounding them for years (in some cases) before they finally relented.

GF: The film Bond has recently begun to wear clothes from US, Italian and other non-British designers and suppliers. Would you like to see a return to an all British wardrobe for Bond?

PB: Not necessarily. I think it makes sense for Bond to be international in terms of clothing. Jany Temime did a great job bringing British casuals back to Bond. Barbour, N.Peal, Orlebar Brown for example. I think it would be nice to have an all British wardrobe, would certainly help illuminate some of the brands here. But probably not practical for Bond now as a man exiled from Mi6 living abroad.

GF: If you were able to style the next James Bond, how would you dress him (or indeed, her)?

PB: I’d bring him back to the Row, or at least the Row style with a slightly fuller silhouette. I don’t actually mind the look of Daniel Craig. In Brioni in Casino Royale and Tom Ford in Quantum of Solace he looks irresistible. Some people say he looks too shrink wrapped in Skyfall and Spectre, and yes he does in some. But he has to also reflect the trends of his time. He also has to look considerably younger than M played by Ralph Fiennes in Spectre dressed in Timothy Everest. The way M dresses reflects maturity and authority. In a perfect world that’s how Bond would dress, but we can’t have Bond being ‘too establishment’.

GF: Many thanks, Pete, for this insight into your fascinating book.  

Useful links

For information on the book: https://fromtailorswithlove.co.uk/book
To buy the book on Amazon:https://amzn.to/3DU1gwM

For Matt Spaiser: https://www.bondsuits.com/

New book: 'Elegantly Understated: 175 years of the Fears Watch Company'

I've written several times here on the blog about the Fears Watch Company and its revival over four years ago by Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, the great great great grandson of the founder (links below). 

The 175th anniversary of the founding in 1846 has been celebrated in a new book, Elegantly Understated: 175 years of the Fears Watch Company written by Bristol-based author, Jane Duffus with a foreword by renowned watchmaker, Roger Smith OBE.

The title of the book is, of course, apposite as Fears watches are beautifully designed: understated and elegant. The book is a well-deserved  celebration of the revival of a brand making quality British-made watches.

An example of a Fears watch; the Fears Blue

Roger Smith, regarded as the finest watchmaker in the world, comments on the book, 

"The 175th anniversary of Fears arrives at a pivotal time for British watchmaking. When we founded the Alliance of British Watch and Clock Makers to guide the resurgence of our sector, we immediately recognised the importance of Fears as one of our true heritage makers with a fascinating and genuine continuation of one of Britain’s oldest watchmaking families. It was therefore a privilege to contribute a foreword for this important book and I wish Nicholas and the Fears family my very best for another 175 years - and volume 2!”

The book, printed and bound in the U.K., is available through The Fears Watch Company and is an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in watches, British watchmaking or who owns a Fears watch.

Click here for previous blog features on The Fears Watch Company, its founder and some of its products.

Book Review: A Gentleman's Look Book by Bernhard Roeztel

Bernhard Roetzel has written, studied and indulged in classic menswear style for many years. This, his latest work, A Gentleman's Look Book, to be published in July, celebrates the timelessness of style through the power of the image. The book centres on portraits of men with strong senses of their own personal style. I was delighted to be selected as one of these and there are a couple of images in the book, which covers looks from formal through to casual.

For those interested in the clothes, information is given about the tailors and retailers whose products are being worn. These vary between Europe and the US, making this a truly international effort. In our youth-obsessed fashion world it's always a relief to find a book which celebrates a more mature approach to style. 

A Gentleman's Look Book by Bernhard Roetzel, published by H.F. Ullman on 31 July 2017.

Book review: The Pocket Square by A.C.Phillips, pub. Thames & Hudson

The Pocket Square by A.C. Phillips is a nicely designed book presenting 22 essential pocket square folds in a colourful, graphic format with clear diagrams and minimal text.

Peppered with bons mots from celebrities who've worn pocket squares over the years, the book also gives information about the origins and history of the humble pocket hank. Published by Thames & Hudson at a modest £9.95.

I was sent this book for review.

Book review: The Suit, Form, Function & Style by Christopher Breward

The Suit, Form, Function & Style is written by Christopher Breward, Principal of Edinburgh College of Art and Professor of Cultural History at Edinburgh University. While somewhat academic in style, this is a fascinating social and cultural history of the suit.

Image © Woolmark Archive (Australian Wool Innovation Ltd) and the London College of Fashion (top right)

The suit is such a familiar garment nowadays that we rarely think about its origins. These lie in the end of the 17th century when its pervasive influence began, originating as a symbol of status and becoming democratised throughout the last century. Now its classic lines are worked on by menswear designers keen to 'prove their iconoclastic intent', as Breward describes it. But, as ever in fashion (and menswear in particular), change is more apparent than real and Breward concludes that the suit remains 'a prized symbol of distinction and power...' He sees it as enduring for at least another 400 years, a conclusion I'd agree with. 

I'd add to Breward's conclusion by adding my view that the suit has extended its life by taking on a role as a casual garment. With more comfortable construction, relaxed fabrics (like denim, cotton and linen) and casual styles, the modern suit is no longer just a formal symbol of status.

Essential reading; persevere with the academic writing style and enjoy this as a book adding much of fascination to the history of the suit. Published by Reaktion Books Ltd, £18. 

The With Love Project on Kickstarter: British makers & crafts people

The With Love Project is launching a £9,000 campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds for the print of a book, With Love, which captures more than thirty of the UK’s traditional artists and makers, revealing their craft through outstanding photography and personal stories. 

Chris Evans of the Project told me more:

Just over two years ago we started the With Love Project. It’s our search to find people who produce things with a passion and a purpose, who truly care about what they do and what they make. We’ve traveled from the top to the bottom of the country, from the Outer Hebrides to the tip of Cornwall, and asked everyone we met the same question… why do you do what you do? 

So far we’ve met nearly 40 inspiring individuals [and have] been humbled by their openness and enthused by their work and attitude. Some days we’ve driven for ten hours to meet people; other days we’ve ventured out of the UK. Each and every journey is filled with excitement and anticipation of hearing another great story; an insight into someone’s thinking, their way of life and a chunk of knowledge and advice to hold on to. We have met traditional furniture makers at the top of their game, motorcycle manufacturers hand-building by eye, wheelwrights who can trace their family trade back to the 1300s and tailors who’ve produced suits for Pavarotti. Each one of these people has let us into their world after just a phone call or an email, understanding what we are trying to achieve and happy to share what they are producing. 

Now, with the help of GF Smith and Kickstarter, we want to create a beautiful limited edition hardback book of the people we’ve met. There aren’t many projects which include a sign writer who’s worked for the Kings of Leon and a female blacksmith artist from Wiltshire, next to a fair trade coffee roaster and a couple glass blowing their way into numerous collections and national museums. 

This promises to be a unique book of inspiring people, creating things with a passion and a purpose. To make this project a reality they have to hit their funding total; if they don’t, the book can’t be printed. To find out how you can reserve yourself a copy of the book along with some exciting rewards from the makers and producers featured in the book, visit their Kickstarter page here. 

David Hieatt of Hiut Denim Co. - one of those featured in the book

Kickstarter pledges range from £5 to £1,000, with rewards including limited edition books and prints, bespoke gifts designed especially for the project and unique experiences with the With Love interviewees.

Menswear reading for 2016: three recently published books

Books are a rich source of inspiration for a man looking for style. Here are three very different books published recently which I'd recommend.

Best of British: The Stories Behind Britain's Iconic Brands by Crompton, Egelnick & Friederichs (above) At a time when British menswear is undergoing increasing international  success, this book celebrates some of the greatest names in British clothing manufacture. Many of them (Lock, James Smith and John Lobb for example) have remained in family ownership for centuries. When I started this blog, I was only dimly aware of the depth of this historic and valuable resource and, in general, our oldest and greatest brands are better known and appreciated outside Britain than they are within our shores.

This book is part of the effort to redress this balance. Simon Crompton is well-known for his blog Permanent Style and his writing captures the passion that underlies many of these brands, whose owners are all too aware of the value of the heritage they safeguard. Needless to say, the quality of what they produce is of the highest. The photographs complement the text, showing machinery ancient and modern, the products they make and those working the machinery with great affection and respect.

Of course, this book is selective and there are others that could have been included, but as a snapshot this book is an important record of the companies featured. Luckily most are seeing an upturn in fortunes as their skills and quality become appreciated around the world. Long may it continue. Buy this book if you have any interest in our great clothing and accessories industries. Published by Prestel. Buy Best of British: The Stories Behind Britain's Iconic Brands.

A life in Fashion: The Wardrobe of Cecil Beaton by Benjamin Wild (above). Cecil Beaton's creativity expressed itself in his sartorial flamboyance and he patronised many of the best tailors, shirtmakers and accessories companies in his search for style. Taking elements from international fashion, he developed his own distinctive look. This book looks in detail at his wardrobe, his choice of clothes and how he used them to emphasise his body shape. He worked closely with his tailors, using their skills to achieve what he was looking for.

As one man's search for style, enhanced by his special theatrical creativity, I found this book fascinating. Beaton's intense sensitivity about his appearance clearly fuelled his constant search for sartorial success. As a detailed account of a man's search for perfection, this is a fascinating book, but it's also a useful outline of menswear history during the twentieth century. Thames & Hudson. Buy A Life in Fashion: The Wardrobe of Cecil Beaton.

The Vintage Fashion Bible by Wayne & Gerardine Hemingway (above) provides a different sort of inspiration, recording men's and women's styles from the 1920s to 1990s. Its design is a retro as its content; it doesn't have any of the modern minimalist appearance of the other books reviewed here, but its crowded look and clashing colours and fonts contain a treasure trove of information.

Written by the founders of the Red or Dead fashion label, the book also offers tips on how to select and buy vintage clothing. Worth a look for the richness of the inspiration it contains. Published by David & Charles. Buy The Vintage Fashion Bible: The style guide to vintage looks 1920s -1990s.

Note: If you choose to buy these books through the links above you will be supporting this blog through Amazon's Associates' Scheme.

Book review: The Parisian Gentleman, Hugo Jacomet

This huge and magisterial book is by Hugo Jacomet who founded The Parisian Gentleman* blog which looks at the best of men's style all over the world. The book seeks out some very well-known names and many much less-known and introduces us to the delights of Paris as a centre of menswear excellence. 

The profundity of my ignorance is such that I find that many of what I thought were Italian are in fact Parisian businesses (like Berluti,  Camps De Luca and Cifonelli) and it's fascinating to read their histories. The huge illustrations are high quality and beautifully presented.

From the best of tailoring to shoes, fragrances and accessories, this is a fascinating and educational book for any man with even a passing interest in style and quality. See Thames & Hudson.

*The Parisian Gentleman

Book review: Herdwick Common - for all who care about a way of life

Adam Atkinson is the founder of Cherchbi whose high quality leather goods and bags are bought by those who really appreciate British craftsmanship. The tweed for his products is made from the wool of that remarkable breed, the Herdwick sheep. This book, with superb photographs by David Ellison, celebrates the Herdwick, its shepherds and farmers and the beautiful Cumbrian countryside which has been the Herdwick's home since they were introduced, some say, by Viking settlers.

The life of the Herdwick is interesting. As lambs they become 'heafed' to their piece of fell and there they stay from year to year. If the farm is sold the flock stays, as they are part of the land. The Lake District looks as it does because of their grazing and they are so much part of life and the environment that their disappearance would have far-reaching consequences. 

Unfortunately their fleeces are not highly regarded for wool, which is why it's good to see Cherchbi using it for their tweed. However, their meat is exceptional and their hardiness helps strengthen less robust lowland sheep breeds.

The book contains an introduction by the most famous of Cumbria's farmers, James Rebanks, in which he movingly and persuasively describes the vital importance of this ancient breed and the way of life it requires. And yet the average annual income of a fell farmer is £8,500. Read about a fascinating and vital way of life.

Herdwick Common is available from Cherchbi priced at £25 and also for sale is a collection of the best prints from the book (an example is pictured below).

Book Review: The Finest Menswear in the World, Simon Crompton

This remarkable book takes a very personal but supremely expert look at the best of high quality menswear. The author, Simon Crompton, is well-known for his Permanent Style blog and he's used the expertise he's acquired over years of wearing and collecting quality menswear to identify the best of tailoring and men's accessories.

His introduction contains a thought that is also a central theme to my blog here. Crompton makes the point that menswear branding has become all-powerful, with labels blinding men to genuine quality. He hopes to encourage men to seek out and buy based purely on quality rather than name. The attraction of this approach to the man who prefers to seek out the best for himself, rather than be a slavish follower of fashion, is obvious. 

It is likely to be the already converted who will buy this book, but hopefully more men will be diverted from irrationally following labels to seek out products really worth buying and owning. Buy the book here: The Finest Menswear in the World: The Craftsmanship of Luxury

Permanent Style Blog

Published by Thames & Hudson.

Book review: The Sartorialist X - celebrating 10 years of street style

Published today is Scott Schuman's third book, The Sartorialist X, which celebrates the tenth anniversary of his blog, The Sartorialist, and covers the best of the last three years, spanning New York, London, Milan, as well as more unusual places like Peru, Bali, India, and Bhutan.

It was The Sartorialist that fuelled my search for style as an older man in the early days of Grey Fox Blog. As can be seen below, his shots of older men of style provide us with much inspiration.

The Sartorialist is still one of my most-visited blogs. In capturing what men and women, young and old, are wearing on the street he has been partly responsible for starting a 'ground up' approach to fashion, with trends being dictated by those selecting and wearing clothes, rather than by the fashion houses themselves.

This book, his third selection from the images on his blog, shows the continuing development of his skills as street and portrait photographer. From a photography perspective it's the best of his books. His portraits capture colour, style and character with immense subtly and power. He is particularly adept at capturing female beauty.

Until recently I felt that too many of his subjects, photographed at fashion weeks and shows, were linked to the fashion industry. This resulted in rather clone-like menswear style. There's nothing wrong with images of Italians at Pitti Uomo dressed in blazers, jeans and brogues without socks, but I wanted more of the ordinary man and woman on the street; those unrelated to fashion. The Sartorialist X suggests that he is now doing this and photographs from countries outside the western fashion scene demonstrate a refreshing new approach. For me, real personal style comes from within, not from the catwalk or those in the industry whose lives are ruled by what they wear.

The Sartorialist X should be on the bookshelves of all interested in photography, street style, fashion and men's and women's clothes. Published by Penguin priced at £20.00.

Buy the book here The Sartorialist: X (The Sartorialist Volume 3)

All images above by The Sartorialist.

Gentlemen: a new book by Jonathan Daniel Pryce and Penhaligon's

This week has brought the launch of a book, Gentlemen celebrating, exploring and recording the contemporary gentleman. A collaboration between outstanding photographer, Jonathan Daniel Pryce, and English fragrance manufacturer, Penhaligon's, the book contains some hundred or so portraits of men of standing and style (and also Grey Fox, image below).

David Evans, Grey Fox Blog, by Jonathan Daniel Pryce/Penhaligon's

There is some discussion about the elusive definition of the word, but creativity, respect for tradition, good manners and sharp wit seem a common characteristic of a gentleman. The superb images bring out so well the personalities of the sitters. The book, designed perhaps to capture the qualities of typical Penhaligon's customers, is on display in Penhaligon's shops.