Fred Astaire Style (Memoire) (ISBN 2843236770)

Nice Essay, Pretty Pictures, Thin on Substance:
Fred Astaire was a marvelous dancer - he made dancing look easy. He was graceful and elegant. With Ginger Rogers, he made a bunch of screwball movies that were short on plot, but musically wonderful and with dancing that was something special. Astaire was also an elegant dresser and that is what this very short book is all about. The essay explains Astaire's very special elegance and how he worked terribly hard to make things look very easy. It's nice, but at 15 pages or so, doesn't cover a whole lot of new ground. The pictures - many of them from Astaire's Hollywood days - are, of course, quite beautiful, but for all their charm - there's something missing.

Once again - superb:
Mr. Boyer is a classic gentleman and in this one he writes about another. If you have never read Mr. Boyer's works then you've missed out. Mr. Boyer's understanding of and love for classic menswear is evident and well researched. The prose is elegant and flows elegantly and as usual it is the stuff you'd expect from the man generally accepted as 'the man' in the realm of sartorial grace. Mr Boyer has a unique way of sharing his love for the sartorial arts that makes you feel it - a rare literary ability. I look forward to completing my collection of his work by getting this one signed along with his others. Whether you are a recent entrant to the business world or a gentleman who has appreciated the finer points of classic menswear and style for years this and all of Boyer's work is an absolute must read. In every field there exists "The Authority". In the realm of classic men's style G. Bruce Boyer is that man. If you don't pick this up then may you spend eternity in polyester. Well done Bruce, Thanks for shining a light on this timeless icon of style & grace as only you could!

Very good fashion:
Fred Astaire has a stlye of his own and the book covered his style very well. Enjoy the book.

Much more than top hat, white tie, and tails:
Last night I had the chance to see the magnificent Andrea Marcovicci in her "Andrea Sings Astaire" show (she complimented my "haberdashery" *sigh*). It was a great reminder, if such were necessary, of the profound influence Fred Astaire had on American popular music. Similarly, "Fred Astaire Style" is an excellent reminder of the man's influence on the evolution of a distinctly American approach to male dress. In an age when it's a tough decision which is worse -- contemporary music or contemporary haberdashery -- G. Bruce Boyer has given us a handy guide to what it means for a man to be well put-together. "Fred Astaire Style" begins with a brief essay tracing the subject's biography and career, with an emphasis, as you'd expect, on his distinctive approach to style. Boyer also places Astaire's dress sense within a larger historical context of America's rejection of European style cues, the influence of the Depression, and the rise of a casual approach to men's style ("the small-shouldered, soft-chested, international sartorial look that's worn today"). After this comes many pages of great photos of Astaire young and old, in a wide assortment of dress, sporting, and casual clothes. I would have preferred that the captions accompanied each photo, instead of being banished to a few pages at the back of the book, but that's not a major complaint. More than that, I wished this book was longer. While Boyer has done an excellent job assembling photos and providing a general overview, I'd point the reader to, for example, several books by Alan Flusser that break down Fred Astaire's style in more detail. Nevertheless, this book is both a respectful look back and a useful guide today. Fred Astaire still has a lot to offer as a modern icon. Here's to more people paying attention.