A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Having now read a few different books in the world of menswear, it’s become clear to me that the majority follow the same theme.
The focus is more on the clothing, guidelines, the craft and the makers.
Most of them serve little more than to be guidebooks on how to dress, or glossy catalogues masquerading as coffee table books.
Which are nice, but also lack something in the substance department.

Men and Style does not land in this category.
It’s a more holistic approach to life and style.

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What I like most about Coggins’ approach to this book is that it’s structured like an extended edition of a magazine.
It isn’t just a series of essays.
Instead, the content is continually changed up to keep the approach fresh.

There are interview segments where one question is asked to many different men from different walks of life, in addition to opinion pieces on a range of topics not limited to dress.
Naturally, clothing is included, but style as a greater part of life is included in the scope.
Coggins writes of youth and its influence on personal style, dining, drinking, how parents influence style, travel, fishing, vehicles and quite the variety of other points are mentioned throughout the book.

Some sections aren’t populated so much by words as they are by imagery.
There are chapters dedicated to images of ancestors, watches, interesting trinkets and others.
The imagery chapters are nicely interspersed throughout the book.

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The balance of content is just right.
I never once felt bored or compelled to give myself a break from reading.
Each piece was well composed, regardless of whether I may agree with any of the opinions expressed.

All in all, it was a delightful read.
I wish more menswear books would be like this.
Despite its significance, one can only read about the craft so many times before the content all feels recycled.