Book Review: The Measure of a Man

A memoir with a dash of men's fashion history and lots of interesting tailoring details. Highly recommend!

The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit by J.J. Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Measure of a Man is as beautifully crafted as the handmade suits that J.J. Lee describes making in a tailor's shop in Vancouver. After his father's death, J.J. begins to deconstruct one of his suits, hoping that by transforming the suit to fit himself he might also find a better understanding of his father. As he works, the suit brings out past memories of J.J.'s troubled childhood relationship with his father. In the present, J.J. begins a laborious apprenticeship in a tailor's shop that seems to be pulled from the pages of a Dickens novel. As he learns this nearly-forgotten trade, we learn more about the history of men's fashion and how the suit developed over time. The notch of a lapel, the placement of buttons: the suit begins to tell a story of the man who wears it. These narrative threads are expertly woven together, creating a rich depiction of J.J.'s journey.

The Measure of a Man combines personal and social history, and will interest anyone who likes memoirs or fashion history. A wonderful piece of narrative non-fiction.

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