Any book that includes a picture of Steve McQueen in The Great Escape or Get Carter-era Michael Caine or Connery model Bond gets short shrift in these parts. Nothing against the blessed trinity of cool of course, just that other publications have that area well covered.
The new Icons of Men's Style includes all three. What saves it from the not-on-your-nellie pile is the fact that it is authored by long-time friend of Wallpaper* and one of the UK's most respected and measured men's fashion journalists, Josh Sims. And that Sims takes apart the staples of the male wardrobe in forensic detail and with real vim and vigour.
We learn, for instance, that the modern brogue is the descendant of a shoe first worn by Irish and Scottish agricultural workers. And the holes in the upper were originally intended to allow the shoes to dry after a hard day in the bogs. That the storm flap on the shoulder of a trench coat was originally designed to cushion the kick of a rifle and that Crombie supplied the Confederate Army with over coats during the American Civil War.
The biker jacket, as worn by the original juvenile delinquent - Johnny Strabler played by Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953), and discussed in Chapter 1: Outerwear
A spread from Chapter 1: Outerwear, examining The Mac
Chapter 1: Outerwear, also examines The Pea Coat
Steve McQueen fronts Chapter 2: Trousers
Bermuda shorts, as seen in New York City in the late 1950s, and examined in Chapter 2: Trousers
James Stewart, fronting Chapter 3: Shoes
The correct way of wearing the polo shirt - buttoned to the neck and collar turned down. As discussed in the sub-section 'The Polo Shirt' in Chapter 6: Shirts & Sweaters
The dinner suit is arguably the most glamorous item in a man's wardrobe, as ilustrated by Sean Connery as James Bond, perhaps the most famous wearer of the classic garment
The Breton top, as examined in Chapter 6: Shirts & Sweaters
The Moon Watch, chosen by Sims in Chapter 7, as one of the iconic accessories of men's style.
Ray-Ban's iconic Aviator style of sunglasses, discussed in the final chapter on Accessories
Warren Beatty, photographed in 1962, illustrating the appeal of the cardigan, in Chapter 6
Rock Hudson sporting a lumberjack shirt, discussed in Chapter 6
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