A love letter to a particular vision of a gentleman's style, this book informs the reader immediately of its universe, starting with full-page portraits: Lord Byron in profile, the Duke of Windsor in a tux, Prince Francis of Teck of the Royal Dragoons in a stiff wing collar with gold studs, Fred Astaire with thirty-four pairs of bespoke dancing shoes. Given equal space are the shoe lasts of Esquires Astaire and Gable and Sir Charles Chaplin, silver-headed canes, stacks of pinstriped Egyptian cotton shirts, the finest wool suiting cloth, a hand-engraved big-game hunting rifle, and a suite of hand-woven small-paisley silk ties. The gentlemen are in black-and-white, the accoutrements are in color. His Majesty Charles II, as founding genius, is allowed the luxury of chromography. The book is divided into six chapters, each on a different era in London (there is nowhere else worth mention). This allows the reader to also enjoy doeskin trousers. The qualifications of author James Sherwood include books on bespoke tailoring and Royal Ascot, archivist at Henry Poole & Co., consultant for the Savoy Hotel, editor of the Louis Vuitton guide to London, editor-at-large for The Rake, and royal style and fashion critic for the BBC. The text casually marks the perfection of its aim in the photo captions; Pablo Picasso is explained as ordering "lurid silk georgette and spotted cotton": so much for him. In full-page spreads of St. James' shops by photographers Andy Barnham and Guy Hills, the pornography of empire has never been more alluring. The bodies of beautiful men are nowhere present and everywhere evoked. And we, too, could be beautiful and rise if we were only perfectly tailored. The forward, fittingly, is by actor Terrence Stamp, whose Neanderthal right middle toe was first salved and concealed in the year he starred in Modesty Blaise by handmade shoes from Cleverly's of Cork Street, and who never looked back. Oversize: 11.5x14". Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)