Luxury publisher Assouline and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) have come out with a new book called American Fashion Menswear, billed as "the most authoritative and exciting book to date on the evolution of menswear in the United States over the past century. " The book begins by noting that the individualists and adventurers who settled America required garments that were functional and well-designed in order to survive the challenges of a new environment; those qualities continue to endure at the very heart of American menswear. Author Robert E. Bryan has divided the volume into seven different sections based upon the diverse identities of the American man, covering everything "Levi Strauss to the Ivy League, lounge suits to Zoot suits, and cowboys to counterculture," with cameos from the likes of Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, Ralph Lauren and more.

Contrary to popular belief in certain quarters, polo is not just a rich people's pastime confined to the Hamptons and Palm Beach; nor is it merely an extremely lucrative clothing empire founded by Ralph Lauren. In fact, it's an ancient and noble game, as well as the world's oldest team sport, that has evolved into an entire way of life. In her upcoming book Polo: The Nomadic Tribe (available for pre-order on Amazon), photographer Aline Coquelle chronicles all aspects of the ultimate equestrian pursuit, tracing polo from its nomadic origins to the incomparably chic lifestyle it encompasses today. Coquelle, who studied art and anthropology, traveled around the world for five years photographing and writing about each significant place along the route of polo's evolution, capturing all its courage, strength, speed, style, beauty, elegance and allure.

Polo was first played in Persia well before the 1st century AD. Warlike tribesmen played it with as many as 100 to a side in what was essentially a miniature battle. Later on it was passed from Persia to other parts of Asia including the Indian subcontinent and China, where it was very popular during the Tang Dynasty. The name polo is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word "pulu", meaning ball. The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, in 1834. The British, who are seen as the main proponents of the sport today, picked it up in India and the classic style of the colonial era with its overtones of aristocrats and army officers gives polo much of its current cachet, cleverly marketed by the aforementioned Mr. Lauren and others.

Divided into geographic sections, Coquelle's book presents the sport on a global scale. At locations around the world, "the vibrant green carpeted fields, the carefully ornamented players, the brilliant sheen of their horses, and the deep brown leather of their saddles" provides an aesthetic link between polo's devotees - the "nomadic tribe" of the title. She reveals the essence of what has historically been called the "Sport of Kings" and the passion of its players from across the globe. Designed to be "the ultimate book on the sport of polo," Coquelle offers "an homage to beauty in pursuit of a modern perspective" while maintaining the spirit and sophistication of this centuries-old game. See the gallery for a preview of some stunning images from this incredible book.

For your reading and viewing pleasure we present the second in a series looking back at highlights from the first year of The Classicist, the weekly column devoted to timeless style, enduring elegance, and true, built-to-last luxury as opposed to mere extravagance. For our second installment we sum up the best in luxe books, featuring our favorite subjects ranging from high equestrian style to classic architecture, historic estates, high society, jetsetters, megayachts and more. No truly luxurious library is complete without these volumes.


1. Equestrian Style: Home Design, Couture, and Collections from the Eclectic to the Elegant by Vicky Moon (Clarkson Potter)

Moon divides her volume into different facts of the equestrian experience: In the Field, On the Farm, At the Track, In the Ring, On the Move, and Down the Road, focusing on all facets of horsiness and everything that goes along with it. The emphasis is on authenticity, not affectation; she notes all that's really required is a "basic love of horses" but opines that actually riding them gives one a much stronger connection. True equestrian style, she writes, is "more than a feisty, wet Jack Russell terrier, a pair of Wellington boots and a tweed jacket. It goes beyond hanging a hunting print in the dining room wall to actually leaping over a stone wall on your favorite hunter. An unspoken equestrian philosophy surpasses wearing an Hermes scarf; it celebrates riding over jumps in an Hermes saddle."


2. The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills by Jeffrey Hyland (Rizzoli)

A meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated history of 50 magnificent estates in three world-famous enclaves of the ultra-wealthy - Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, and Holmby Hills - this is a definitive history of the area's most famous estates, "the architecturally spectacular homes and lavish grounds that have been home to countless celebrities and the world's richest families for almost a century." Aside from the purely visual pleasure of the photographs both old and new, Hyland explains the history and architectural importance of each estate, and tells the fascinating stories of the many famed owners, from their "passionate involvement in the design of these costly properties, to their intrigues, triumphs, calamities, and romances."


3. Great Estates: The Lifestyles & Homes of American Magnates by William G. Scheller (Universe)

This oversized, lavishly illustrated volume celebrates the history of 40 of America's true barons of business, from the 1700s through this year's Forbes list, and opens the door into their private palaces along the way. Great Estates follows the "restless careers of our most brilliant and driven merchants, industrialists, and financiers as they mastered a new economic world of textiles, railroads, oil, and steel." Men of great fortune erected massive monuments to their success, inclduing Henry Clay Frick's Manhattan mansion, now a magnificent museum; William Randolph Hearst's San Simeon in California, aka Hearst Castle; and one of our personal favorites, railroad magnate Jay Gould's gothic castle on the Hudson River, Lyndhurst and more.


4. Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts from teNeues

In the rarefied world of mega yachts, the ultimate achievement is to have one designed by a certain Norwegian genius named Espen Oeino. The world's top star in naval architecture, Oeino's megabucks creations "combine the precision of fine machinery with indulgent finishes and the high-end amenities of a palace." When German luxury publisher teNeues opted to focus a volume in its amazing Luxury Toys series to the world's greatest yachts, it was quickly decided to dedicated the entire book to Oeino. The book showcases 20 of his stellar creations, including Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's 413-ft. Octopus, the 8th largest yacht in the world and the second largest superyacht that is not owned by a head of state.


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Interestingly enough it took a foreigner - namely super-stylish British historian, author, and journalist Nick Foulkes - to realize that for most people the appeal of society swells is purely decorative. What sets his recently published book - High Society: The History of America's Upper Class - apart from the usual social history is the amazing array of archival photographs. Beginning with the early 17th century, Foulkes focuses on the famous families - the Vanderbilts, Fricks, Morgans, and Astors among them - who came to embody the American aristocracy. He also plots the social trajectory all the way to the present day, and heiresses such as the famed Miller Sisters, aka Pia Getty, Princess Alexandra von Furstenberg and Princess Marie Chantal of Greece, pictured on the book's cover, above.

Of course, you first have to accept Foulkes' premise that America does in fact have a class system, even if the current recession has painfully demonstrated that no one should take their positions for granted while Barack Obama's ascendancy proved that traditional barriers are no longer as formidable. "I am often told that 'American high society' is an oxymoron, either by those who hold the quaint belief that the United States is a classless society in which opportunity is open to all," Foulkes notes, "or by Europeans who believe themselves to be superior and look down pejoratively upon the social aspirations of a country that is younger than many families, social clubs, educational establishments, and even socks in the Old World."

The fact of the matter, however, Foulkes writes, is that "The United States is no longer a young country; it is a middle-aged nation with its own social codes and structures locked into its collective DNA. It has its prominent families, an untitled aristocracy, who exerted such a profound effect on the nation or have just been around for so long that the doings of their descendants are still a source of interest." The second pillar of American society is the plutocracy, "Men who made so much money that they simply floated to the pinnacle of the social structure on a tide of cash, building huge mansions and amassing art collections that remain among the most impressive the world has ever seen."

Julia Chaplin, a chic, talented New York–based writer and editor who covers contemporary art, fashion, design, lifestyle, and travel, has identified a new substrata of international society: the Gypset. In her new book Gypset Style, due out soon from Assouline and available for pre-order on Amazon, she presents a super-stylish Baedeker to those who "fuse the wild and unconventional ethos of a gypsy with the sophistication and speed of the jet set."

Most of them are exceptionally good-looking and have money, of course, but even those with obscene amounts of the stuff are anything but ostentatious. Most are also relatively unknown, but numbered among their ranks are the likes of designer and "daughter of Mick" Jade Jagger, British fashion designer Alice Temperley, and even bad boy Brit artist Damien Hirst and his partner, Californian surfer / designer Maia Norman, who make it by virtue of their houseboat moored on the Thames in London.

Chaplin coined the term "Gypset" to refer to "an international community of artists, designers, surfers, and bon vivants who live and work around the globe." The 21st century's Bright Young Things, if you will. Gypset Style explores the "unconventional lives of these high-low cultural nomads and the bohemian enclaves they inhabit, as well as their counterculture forebears, including the Victorian explorers, the Lost Generation, beatniks, and hippies."

As we mentioned recently, it's Barbie's 50th birthday. In addition to getting her own tiny Louboutins, she's also getting her own book. The Ultimate Collection: Barbie book from Assouline is a Barbie-pink book which is assembled using the traditional anglaise technique and color-tipped by hand on art-quality paper. The book covers Barbie history, Barbie fashion and features pictures of vintage Barbies and Barbie accessories. The book is 14" x 17" and has 128 pages. It sells for $500.

[via View On Fashion]

No matter the economy or state of the world, New Yorkers like their luxury, and one of the finest recent examples of upscale living is Chelsea's The Caledonia. Expertly built and managed by The Related Companies, this new hybrid building (includes condo owners and renters), which overlooks the High Line, already is sold out in its ownership division. As of a few weeks ago, however, rentals were still available. Sizes range from studio to three-bedroom, and some of the 190 units have terraces.

I thought I had a nice apartment until I saw the lobby, let alone the units! Eco-friendly bamboo floors and cabinetry, top-end appliances, large windows, key fob entry, spa-like bathrooms, and the Holy Grail of the NYC dweller -- a washer and dryer in each unit -- make me want to sell my place and move right in. And if I lived in a Related building now, I could easily do that, as Related makes it easy to transfer to another company unit within NYC, or even in another city.

Books can be used to hide all sorts of things. I've seen hollowed out books used to keep jewelry safe but this vivid box from Assouline is meant to house your cigars. Don't look for this one to rest discreetly in your shelves. The Assouline library humidor measures 13.7 x 13.7 x 13.7 in and is made of wood covered in black leather. The doors display the titles of Assouline publications (even one called "No Smoking") and the inside has a humidity gauge. It sells for $2,000.

Wow, and I thought the Gucci book was expensive! The new set of Chanel books by luxury publisher Assouline (who has also done collaborations with Coach and Goyard) has it handily beat. The three-book set has a quilted slipcase that holds books on fashion, perfume and jewelry. The books are 80 pages each and the entire set sells for $550.

If you flip through the pages of just about any fall style magazine, you'll see skulls. Skulls, as a print or fashion accessory, have rapidly grown in popularity over the past year and now appear in any number of incarnations. If you don't want to wrap a skull scarf around your neck but still want to get in touch with the trend, try Assouline's Skull Notebook. The notebook is 96 pages and is bound in either black or white leather with silver edges. The notebooks will ship next month. Price: $125.

Assouline's special edition of In the Spirit of Venice by Alexis Gregory is a two-book set printed on thick cotton paper with golden edges, wrapped with soft fabric and contained in a luxurious velvet box. Gregory's book is a reminiscence of the famed city as seen through the eyes of a bon vivant with the love of telling tales of the history and characters of the city. Like all of Assouline's collections, the presentation is as important as the words.  You can pick up the ordinary version for under $30 but this deluxe version will run you $300.