Gentlemen of Bacongo [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

This book is not what I expected. It's smaller than I had previously though. It's even smaller than most regular books. The pictures are nice but given the size of the book its does not do justice to some of the pictures. Also the text is just not commensurate with the pictures. There is no in-depth explanation of some of the pictures, no real analyses, no effort to comprehend this sub-cultures that others have explained so well. If you're buying this for the pictures, then go for it knowing that the text will not help you understand and contextualize the pictures.

I have purchased this book 3 times! Once for myself and then twice as gifts. Btw, I am an African-American woman, a fashionista from way back, and have been reading and buying fashion books for decades.

I was astonished when I first picked up this book, for the cover alone is enough to grab the eye and beckon at the treasures of Black style held within. Page after page of not only extraordinary haberdashery but Black MEN at their sartorial finest - refreshing and even comforting, in an era of sagging pants and t-shirts as style.

The book certainly affirms that the roots of Black Style in the African Diaspora lie in Africa, and is a reminder of the sartorial splendor of the African American men of my "old-school" generation. Although the book describes the origin of the incredible look of the Sape as originating in their contact with European fashion, make no mistake - this book is about style as it emanates from Africa itself.

Contrary to reviewers who believe that the book is physically too small, this book made me feel as if I had a treasure in hand, a small, secret tome for the cognoscenti of style. Although I'd love to see, one day, a "cocktail table" sized book on the Sape, this small size made me feel as if even *I* was a part of this exclusive, arcane society of serious dressers. This is an exquisite book, beautifully photographed yet unflinching in depicting the finery of these men (and even a few women) in the midst of urban squalor - not unlike the men in the 'hood, here in the US. I was reminded of the slick, sharp, studied dressing in my hometown Detroit, a generation ago, where sharp-suited men reigned in on the corners of 12th Street - down the street from Motown. Even today, some of the best dressed men in the world are in churches and offices of Detroit.

I hope that the book is reprinted, for I gave away the one copy that I had purchased for myself, to someone who literally begged it away from me. Next time, I will not let it go. It is a wonderful peek into a stunning slice of African life - that resonates all the way to African-America, and to fashionistos worldwide. It is a photographic textbook for sartorialists, an visual ode to the grace and beauty of Grown Black Men.

(Read more of me:[...])

The suits are great - great fits, great colors, and great new ideas in fashion for men and the gods know we men need some great new ideas because the current fashion scene for us is blah. The philosophy is there, a religion of style called SAPE (Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnnes Elegantes), and well stated. There is even the 10 commandments of the SAPE, including the last commandments which are yet to be written. In other words, an evolving and fluid moral philosophy. It helps if you read French because some of the most enlightening elements are in that language. What I liked best is seeing nice people dressed nicely and having fun despite an environment of abject poverty. The photos show the real life of these people, their real homes, the real streets they walk on. What's wrong with that? And if you look carefully, actually study the photographs, there are always hints in the backgrounds about their secret lives. As for me, give me some suits like those on display. I have already asked my tailor if he can make two for me - the one on the cover and the one in the center with the red and white stripes. No answer yet. My tailor is studying the book and working on the project. Complaints: No page numbers; no index so the book is not perfect, but what human thing is? Perfect is the enemy of good-enough and this book is good enough by far. It is a unique work and approaches the redemptive quality of art.