by James Wagenvoord
Plenty of the old-fashioned gender roles still exist, and among them is the notion that men are not supposed to pay too much attention to their appearance or spend too much time worrying about details of etiquette. For that reason a lot of men won't even open a book called Personal Style. But those who get beyond those inhibitions will find a book full of practical advice that will particularly help men who live alone and can't quite get their act together. These are not fussy rules that require a lot of time—or egotism. They are the little things you mean to figure out every day but somehow never do. Wagenvoord tells the easiest and best ways to pack a suit, iron a shirt, tie a bow tie or dissolve a wine stain. Other tips: Use lukewarm water to rinse razor blades, and they will last three times as long; use after-shave lotion to heal shaving cuts, but don't use cologne because it's too strong; and hang up a suit while it is still warm from your body, and it will lose many of its wrinkles. Sometimes Wagenvoord, a New York photojournalist and nonfiction writer, gets carried away with details. Describing how to serve properly at a dinner party, he says, "flexing your left knee, bend from the waist and bend your left elbow to bring the dish within easy reach of your guest." Okay, so that's a bit much. But you may wish you had this book when it's 10 minutes before a wedding and you have five razor cuts, an untied bow tie and a wine stain on your shirt. (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, $16.95)
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