The first detailed analysis of men's fashion advertising from 1945 to 2000.

Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2014 In what was a golden age of British advertising, the notion of the 'peacock male' was a strong theme in fashion promotion, reflecting a new affluence and the emergence of stylish youth cultures. Based on a detailed study of rich archival material, this pioneering study examines the production, circulation and consumption of print, television and cinema publicity for men's clothing in Britain during the second half of the twentieth century. The study explores design issues and period style in advertising, the role of market research and consumer psychology in determining target audiences, the idea of the 'new man' in representing fashionable masculinities, and the various ways that menswear retailers and brands dealt with sex and gender, race, class and age. From y-fronts to Austin Reed suits to Levi's jeans, menswear advertising epitomised the themes, stereotypes, contradictions and ambiguities of masculinity in an age of great social change. This meticulously researched and detailed work of scholarship will be essential reading for students and scholars of fashion, history, sociology, advertising, media, cultural and gender studies.

"Fascinating as a study of changing attitudes and technologies over the second half of the 20th century ... The attempts of menswear advertisers to anticipate, respond to, and initiate changes from a postwar setting of mainly static images and relatively static mores to the unimaginably transformed, contemporary technologies and standards is chronicled in a straightforward and entertaining way ... The book deserves a broad audience." - CHOICE

"Rooted in archival research and through rich illustrations and extensive appendices, Jobling has given us yet another piece of quality scholarship. This text will appeal to researchers interested in the representation of clothing and fashion, masculinities and ‘Britishness’, and to scholars of dress and fashion history, media culture, modern British history and transatlantic culture more generally." - Costume

"Based on a detailed study of rich archival material, this pioneering study examines the production, circulation and consumption of print, television and cinema publicity for men's clothing in Britain during the second half of the twentieth century." - Costume Society of America