History of Men's Fashion

348 Pages·1996·56.938 MB·English

by  Farid Chenoune

HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
aL
RQ116416361
Until recently, the complex universe of
men’s fashion has rarely received the kind
of interest, scholarly attention, or fetishism
of which women’s fashion has been the
object. Yet the study of vestimentary logic
and its metamorphoses provides an excel-
lent means of going directly to the heart
of social history. As Ele distinctions began
to break down in the last quarter of thé
eighteenth century, the aspirations of the
upwardly-- mobile urban classes were such
that people no longer dressed according to
their rank, as etiquette had previou
required, but rather, according to the re ak
to which they aspired. Fashion became and
remained a stage on which social transfor-
mations could be played out—an experi-
mental laboratory, a social testing-ground,
and an ideological crucible.
A History of Men’s Fashion is divided
into four parts that follow the sartorial evo-
lution of the male wardrobe from the era of
Beau Brummell, which created the model of
the gentleman and the dandy, to the “anti-
fashion” trends of the early 1990s. Part One
(1700-1850) traces the era of tails and the
frock coat, the emergence of the pantaloon
and the influence of Anglomania on Euro-
pean fashion. Men’s fashion in Europe’s fin
de siécle climate, and the impact of ready-
made garments are discussed in Part Two
(1850-1914). Part Three (1914-1940)
introduces thé aesthetic of the sweater and
the variations on the suit and vest as part of
the post-World War I moral liberation and
economic euphoria, and traces changes all
the way through to the New Deal arid the
new American e legance. The post-World
War II fashion revolution is described in
Part Four (1940-1990) from zoot suits,
spurred by the black American jazz scene,
to London’s Mod fashion of the 60s, Pierre
Cardin and the new French style, the emer-
gence of Italian chic, and the hippie and
punk styles of the 70s. The book is com-
pleted by a perceptive discussion of contem-
porary designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier,
Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Comme des
Garcons, and Yohji Yea mamoto.
F ‘arid Chenoune’s lively and accessible
text is filled with amusing anecdotes about
male dress and grooming. He vividly places
style transformations in the context of con-
temporary fashion criticism, history, social
etiquette, manufacturing and marketing
(continued on back flap)
ISBN: 2-08013-536-8

A HISTORY OF MEN’S FASHION
Street scene In Hanover, circa 1960
FARID CHENOUNE
A HISTORY OF MEN’S FASHION
Translated from the French by Deke Dusinberre
Preface by Richard Martin
Flammarion
Paris - New York.
TT
ROLIbY 1b3b1
AUTHOR’S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
A History of Men’s Fashion was written with
the assistance of a grant from the Fédération
Francaise des Industries du Vétement
Masculin, and I would particularly like to
thank its president, Monsieur Claude Miserey,
for this support.
For Christine,
I would also like to thank Sylvie Durastanti for
my delightful fellow
her help in translating certain texts from
English, as well as Hervé Labrid for his close traveler and unraveler
reading of the manuscript.
Finally, warm acknowledgments are due to
Pierre Brochet and to Valérie Mettais from Les
Editions Flammarion, who contributed three
years of unstinting enthusiasm and
professionalism to bring this book to fruition.
Copyediting by Christine Schultz-Touge
Picture research: Maryse Hubert (19th century)
and Catherine Aygalinc (20th century)
Graphic design: Pascale Ogée
Layout: Dominique Grosmangin, Edidom
Copyright © 1993 ADAGP Paris for the works by
Jean Béraud, Robert Delaunay, and Man Ray.
Copyright © 1993 SPADEM, Paris for the works by
Leonetto Cappiello, Francois d’Albignac, Georges
Lepape, Paul Nadar, the Seeberger and Sem brothers.
All rights reserved for the works by other artists.
Flammarion
26, rue Racine
75006 Paris
Copyright © 1993 Flammarion
Reprinted in 1995
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic,
photocopy, or otherwise, without written permission
from Flammarion.
ISBN: 2-8013-536-8
N° @édition: 1030
Dépot légal: September 1993
Printed in France
CONTENTS
PREFACE Il
Lounge Suit & Business Suit
by Richard Martin 1914-1940
Curator
The Costume Institute
13. The Avant-Garde Wardrobe 135
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 3
14 Cadence and Decadence in the Roaring Twenties 143
15 Oxford Bags, Plus-Fours, Tweeds and Flannels 156
16 Letters from London 163
17 Shoulders in the Thirties: The Birth of
I a Classic Look 173
Dress Coat & Frock Coat
18 A New Deal: American Stylishness 181
1760-1850
19 Hoods and Good Lookers: Underworld Fashion 195
The Brummell Era:
French Revolution and Anglomania IV
The Century that Wore Pants 23 Pin Stripes & Black Leather
1940-1990
London Dandy, Paris Fop 31
The Tailor’s Art:
20 Zazous and Zoot Suits:
Cutting, Measuring, Accounting 40
Funny Fashions for a Phony War 203
Romantics in Age-Old Clothes 49
21 A Marshall Plan for Saint-Germain-des-Prés 211
Male Bonding:
22 Heavyweights and Featherweights in the 1950s Za
Boulevard and Jockey-Club 58
23 Teddy Boys, Leather Boys:
From Frock Coat to Jeans 229
24 Tempo di Roma: Europe, Italian-Style 241
Il
Overcoat & Morning Coat 25 Pop Fashion on Carnaby Street 251
1850-1914
26‘ French-Style Mods, 1961-1968: The “Minets” 263
27 ~The Cardin Line and New French Style 274
Overcoats and Ready-Made Fictions 65
28 Anti-Fashion, Revival Rage 285
Second Empire Swells
29 Kings of Sportswear, Princes
and Victorian Gentlemen Gl
of Unstructured Tailoring 2a
Fin de siecle I:
30 “Tribes and Fashion Victims 299
Stovepipes and Iron Collars 87
31 Fashion Winners, Fashion Losers 307
10 Fin de siecle II:
High-Life Elegance during la Belle Epoque 101
Notes 318
11 Fin de siecle III:
Bibliography 329
Edwardian Sportiness, Comfort, Style 113
Index 331
12 1900 Street Apparel 121 Photographic acknowledgements 336