HOW TO DRESS LIKE DAN: Perpetual brand extension has become the magazine publishing norm, and Details is the latest to give it a shot. "The Details Men's Style Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Making Your Clothes Work for You" — a title that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue — will be published in October by Gotham Books, packaged by Melcher Media, also responsible for magazine books like the In Style and Lucky books and "Spy: The Funny Years."
"There really hasn't been any major men's fashion book that wasn't sort of fad-related," argued Details publisher Chris Mitchell. Said editor in chief Dan Peres, "We weren't sitting around and thinking, what can we do to compete with the Abs Diet? We said, you know what, so many men struggle with style. We consistently offer them service, guidance and advice in the magazine — let's take that a step further." But with his own book project, Peres will have to make like the Abs Diet ambassador himself, Men's Health editor in chief Dave Zinczenko, and, in Peres' own words, "get out there and shill for it." This is something he claimed to be happy to do on behalf of the book, despite a self-described preference to "fly below the radar" in the age of the ubiquitous editor: "I've been told by many people that I should be more interested in self-promotion. But nonetheless, this is the way I am," Peres said, adding, "I don't fault [Zinczenko] for what he's done, but I don't use it as a model."
Mitchell also said he'll take an active role in promoting the book with, for example, in-store events, gift-with-purchase deals, and a book party with a "major upscale department store." And Peres expects the book to make men's fashion itself a bit more prominent. "When I tell people I'm leaving for the fashion shows in Europe, they talk about how exciting it must be to see all those beautiful dresses come down the runway," he said. Problem is, they're talking about the wrong shows. Peres obviously goes to the men's ones. "I'm looking more at chiseled abs and Speedos than I am at Empire-waisted dresses." In this, perhaps, he's not so different from Zinczenko after all. — Irin Carmon
"There really hasn't been any major men's fashion book that wasn't sort of fad-related," argued Details publisher Chris Mitchell. Said editor in chief Dan Peres, "We weren't sitting around and thinking, what can we do to compete with the Abs Diet? We said, you know what, so many men struggle with style. We consistently offer them service, guidance and advice in the magazine — let's take that a step further." But with his own book project, Peres will have to make like the Abs Diet ambassador himself, Men's Health editor in chief Dave Zinczenko, and, in Peres' own words, "get out there and shill for it." This is something he claimed to be happy to do on behalf of the book, despite a self-described preference to "fly below the radar" in the age of the ubiquitous editor: "I've been told by many people that I should be more interested in self-promotion. But nonetheless, this is the way I am," Peres said, adding, "I don't fault [Zinczenko] for what he's done, but I don't use it as a model."
Mitchell also said he'll take an active role in promoting the book with, for example, in-store events, gift-with-purchase deals, and a book party with a "major upscale department store." And Peres expects the book to make men's fashion itself a bit more prominent. "When I tell people I'm leaving for the fashion shows in Europe, they talk about how exciting it must be to see all those beautiful dresses come down the runway," he said. Problem is, they're talking about the wrong shows. Peres obviously goes to the men's ones. "I'm looking more at chiseled abs and Speedos than I am at Empire-waisted dresses." In this, perhaps, he's not so different from Zinczenko after all. — Irin Carmon
