The Sartorialist: Closer

“. . . a book to reexamine and rediscover each time its covers are opened.”

Style as a concept has been hijacked to mean elite, refined, and expensive when it should be thought of as a basic expression of life—much the same way we all identify with music or speech. At the end of the day style is communication.

Although Scott Schuman is almost always associated with fashion The Sartorialist: Closer appeals on so many different levels. Whether the reader is into photography, fashion, style, or people watching, this is a book guaranteed to more than please.

Let’s say that within the covers of this bloated opus exists a life dedicated to so many aspects of the visual part of living. Included in Mr. Schuman’s love letter are the famous, the newly famous, the fashionable famous, the fleetingly famous, and the wannabe famous, also the very unknown, the esoteric—even “common folk.” The book is unquestionably a visual feast, nay a banquet, a visual bacchanal which seems to last endlessly and delights with every turn of the page.

If Scott Schuman had narrowed his focus to only matters of fashion, this book would not be considered to be a barometer of fashion, style, and social behavior as well as life on a day-to-day basis.

The only gripe is that we could have used a clearer separation of locations for the photos, meaning it would have been nice to know where all the photos were taken and perhaps a bit more about the “personalities” included—fashion icons, editors, dandies, photographers, or rabid fashionistas—would have been appreciated.

The bottom line is this: Go out and buy The Sartorialist: Closer; gift it to those who are visually stimulated by the ongoing saga of life that includes us all on some level. The Sartorialist: Closer is a book to reexamine and rediscover each time its covers are opened.

Mr. Schuman gave us all a gift—and for that he should be thanked profusely!