Sorry! I Am One Of Those Who Can't Let Go!

So bear with me. I am still looking for a good fashion coffee table book that a black fashionisto like my baby can proudly place on his nightstand -- still nothing. However, I have a couple ideas to fix this, so hear me out.

I may have downplayed my enthusiasm for fashion in my previous post. Actually I am a huge fan of fashion blogs. There are an array of men fashion bloggers. One of my personal favorites and what has come to be a staple in the fashion blogosphere is The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman. A pioneer in fashion photography on the streets disseminated in blog form has awarded Schuman a column in GQ and a book form of his blog: The Sartorialist. I love this blog just as much as the next dude, and his book is beautiful in the same minimalistic, clean, and glamorous way his blog is beautiful. And even though it is not a big hardcover book, I still recommend it for your coffee table. However but I have to point out the fact that Schuman is a white male.


What about our brothers in the fashion blogging business -- Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs' Street Etiquette, are making waves in the industry with their new definition of urban swag, they also have been featured and guest columnist on men's mags like GQ. Where is their book deal? There are other black and latino males like Josh and Travie doing their thing. Rae and Gabe, authors of SFPL (Stuff Fly People Like) could also use a book deal because their book would look pretty dope on my coffee table. What do you think? 

Dear Fashion Industry, Diversity is Good!

So my bf is a what some may call a fashionisto (-n- the male version of a fashionista, some what of a metrosexual). I am very supportive of his interests and since we work as a team I keep my eyes open for things that he may be interested in. So I thought... why not write a post about fashion coffee table books. I have since found them to inhabit an entire world of their own -- apparently fashion enthusiasts prefer to display books on their coffee tables rather than carry them around and read them (lol). My bf could also use a good book or two on his side table so I specifically ventured looking for books that focused on men's fashion.

As I expected there weren't that many, but even more disturbing is that there were relatively no books about black men's fashion or even including black men's fashion, even worse there were hardly any books that had a single black or colored man in it.

One of the better examples were American Fashion Menswear  by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). It was published with the idea that it is the most comprehensive portfolio of both historical and contemporary influences of men's fashion in American culture. At 280 pages and 4.6 pounds one would hope that it be the most thorough and complete collection -- including all the influences and genres of men's fashion. But no! As does its counterparts, the CFDA has interpreted American fashion to be white American fashion. And although the book does highlight some black celebrities like Sean "Diddy" Combs and Dennis Rodman, it still does not give due credit to the influences of all minority cultures in America. Despite its colorful pictures, this book is a complete whitewash of American culture.

As I am not the expert on this genre I am hoping that I overlooked a book or two that did include a more illuminating display of men's fashion and would really love any comments you guys may have or books you would like to suggest that would change my point of view. *sighs