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