Dead or Alive: 25 Best Dressed (Full Article)

Esquire Gentlemen S/S 1993, Woody Hochswender - Editor











(click on image to enlarge)

The World's Best Dressed Man

Alan Flusser featured 25 of the best dressed men (living or dead) in Esquire's Gentleman issue - Summer, 1993. Sadly, he missed one. Not just a well dressed man but, as a certificate from the Swiss Tailor's Guild announced, "The World's Best Dressed Man." Even his shirts bore 'W.B.D.M.' monograms. I'm not sure how this man could have slipped by Flusser. Unless of course the monogram was on his cuff.

Khaibar Khan Goodarzian was, in 1961, man about town -- a man's man --a man of style, substance and, "550 suits, 50 tuxedos, a dozen full-dress outfits, several hundred pairs of shoes, lots of silk underwear and handkerchiefs from Sulka, $750,000 worth of jewelry and four rare and costly oriental rugs." or so says the proof of loss statement provided to the Continental Insurance Company.

Goodarzian claimed he was the hereditary chieftain of a northern Iranian tribe called the Bakhitari. An investigation revealed the humble roots of a dispatcher in a British Army motor pool. Still, New York City opened it's arms and charge accounts to Goodarzian. Parties at El Morocco, haberdashers and department stores, all on credit.

The "fire" (you knew there was gonna be a fire) occured late one night in his two bedroom apartment. Actually, it was a one bedroom apartment with a bedroom converted to a closet. A witness saw Goodarzian removing clothes from his apartment the day before the fire. And there was the testimony that, during a party at the apartment the same night of the fire, Goodarzian was upset when butane containers were late in arriving.

Good luck prevailed after Goodarzian disappeared with the butane containers in his bedroom but rejoined his guests and moved the party to a nightclub. It would be seven years before Goodarzian would learn his case, Saks & Co. et al. v Continental Ins. Co. et al., named after the creditors, would pay him nothing. A few years later, the W.B.D.M. was deported. I have no idea where.

George Frazier: Lobb or Peal?

From 1993's, 'Esquire Gentleman' 25 Best-Dressed Men (Living or Dead) by Alan Flusser

Flusser has Frazier in custom Peals but the letter from John Lobb in London confirms Frazier's payment plan mentioned in, Another Man's Poison. Whether this is at the exclusion of custom Peals, who knows.


John Lobb letter regarding Frazier's monthly payments (click image to read)

In 1981, Flusser's review of John Lobb hints at a drop in quality, rigidness over the house aesthetic and a long turnaround.

"Lobb shoes used to be considered without peer, but in recent years the firm has lost many of its older workmen and the product has suffered. It is still an excellently hand-crafted shoe, but in my opinion it doesn't quite compare to the shoes made by Lobb, Paris, its French brother. The London shop, in addition, is too inflexible about styling. It wants the shoe to look the way it wants, and it also wants six months to make it."
Alan Flusser, Making The Man, 1981

Did Frazier have both Peal and Lobb make his shoes? I'm not sure he could afford both. He was always having problems with money. Then again, maybe this is why. Or, was Flusser reluctant to mention Lobb due to perceived issues of quality. Who knows. Who cares. I just wanted an excuse to put up that letterhead.

Friday Belts I Can't Own or Make: The Blue Blazer & Alan Flusser

Gary can't get The Blue Blazer going until 7:37 in but it's worth the wait

Alan Flusser's Custom Shop sits off 5th Avenue on 48th Street next to the old Scribner's book store and it is a very dangerous place. When Thomas Wolfe was paid for 'Look Homeward, Angel' he stepped out of Scribner's with the check in hand and walked north in a daze. He wasn't aware of where he was until 125th Street. Had Flusser been in business then I suspect he would have only had to walk around the block into 3 E. 48th and take the elevator to four.

I adore this place. The richness of just about everything here is overwhelming. It's like a museum and ADG at Maxminimus got me in with a warm introduction before he knew I was Joe Shit the Ragman. Everywhere you look there's perfection. The socks are perfect. The shoes are perfect. Even the belts are perfect.

Alligator tab surcingles in three patterns of perfect Spring and Summer haberdashery. But the warning bells were ringing. I didn't want to know how much they were. I was that scared. I've learned in NYC to take a guess at what something costs and then multiply it by four. These are too rich for my blood and my self preservation kicked in and got me out of there alive. Although I never wanted to leave.

Michael Batterberry is someone who belongs in Flusser's shop. This erudite editor of Food Arts Magazine was last seen on The Trad dining at Le Veau d'Or with Anthony Bourdain. Batterberry and his wife Ariane co-authored this book on NYC restaurant history going back to the American Revolution. If you love history and restaurants this book will blow you outta the water - - bottled or tap.

The book really starts to move around the late 19th century but I found the slower 18th and early 19th centuries to be most enjoyable. Amazing characters, rich food and bizarre appetites for alcohol. Above is an 18th century recipe for a cocktail called the Blue Blazer. Sounds simple enough. Whiskey and hot water. Light it and pour it back and forth between two cups. I don't mind a little risk but I'll be honest...I'm a klutz. I was told in the army I could fuck up an anvil with a rotten banana. And as much as I wanted to give this a try...I know myself too well. But that doesn't mean you can't give it a go. Fire is good. And fire can kill. I feel the same way about Flusser.