William Zinsser, A 4th Generation New Yorker in Brooks Brothers & J Press

For the start of Fashion Week, I thought I would post someone who has been wearing Brooks Brothers & J Press for over 40 years. I photographed William Zinsser in a Brooks Brothers Overcoat, Brooks Brothers oxford shirt, J Press scarf, blazer and tie. He took his glove off to shake my hand. Thats a true gentleman, it was frigid out. He asked what it was that I like about what he was wearing and I told him the classic timelessness of his look. He mentioned he has an oil painting of himself and the artist made the roll in the collar very clear in the painting! No one spots them like I do. I did some research: William Knowlton Zinsser (born October 7, 1922), a writer, editor, and teacher. His 18 books, which range in subject from music to baseball to American travel, include several widely read books about writing. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction , first published in 1976, has sold almost 1.5 million copies. He began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune, where he worked as a feature writer, drama editor, film critic, and editorial writer, and has been a longtime contributor to leading magazines. Throughout the 1970s, Zinsser taught writing at Yale where he was master of Branford College. Now teaches at The New School and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Many high school teachers have incorporated Zinsser's writing into their lesson plans. Some teachers even go as far as to tell their students to "Zinsser" their work (Zinsser used as a verb meaning to take the clutter out of their essays).

Comments

[FragrantMoments]

Mort, thanks for posting this. I'm actually reading Zinsser's book On Writing Well. It's an excellent read. His confidence is evident.

[Eric]

Proof that true style never fades...bravo.

[Shantel]

Such an inspiring person, his style transcends the categories of work and life. Terrific post!

[CAPTAIN RL.]

Will is a classic NYer. That coat never gets old.

Way to 'research' i'm sure that took you oodles of time on Wiki.

[Theodore Bouloukos]

Of course, he removed his glove! And if something had prevented his doing so, he'd have excused it accordingly. What the infatuation with this so-called "style" of dressing misses every time is the fact that without the essentials of breeding, as evinced by the Mr Zinssers of this world, these clothes are merely garments. "Classic" extends to courtliness and the niceties that one cannot simply acquire by walking into Brooks or Press. To wit: Mr Zinsser wears a muffler germane to his Yale affiliation. But of course! And yet one sees all manner of hideous little proles sporting them without the slightest recognition of these items' institutional associations! Imagine the gall of some little pisher wearing an Exeter tie because he likes the stripes! Lacking any proper notion of caste, this country, for all its good, keeps nothing in check; and our culture suffers for it. So the appearance of a grandee, like Mr Zinsser, is all the more gratifying because his ilk still survives, nay, thrives, despite the poseurs aplenty parading around in similar garb. And more so than his "look," his fecund erudition is the true preppy hallmark.

[Sam]

The above commenter would do well to "Zinsser" his own purple prose... nevermind the disturbingly offensive comments on our lack of a "proper notion of caste."

no disrespect to mister mort, of course - this is one of your best shots yet.

[brother]

the snapshot of the Mr. Zisser is superb, but I don't know which provides more amusement brother- your musings on the legend or people pretending to take themselves seriously in the comment section.
love

[Foster Huntington]

his life is work of art,
foster

[anonymous]

theodore's comments above, are the the most astute i've witnessed on this blog yet, he is absolutely correct, what has made these garments "timeless", "classic" etc. are the people who have worn them or the traditions in which they are connected to...the rest are just posers... just because you wore a loin cloth in the amazon doesn't make you Tarzan.

[discount coach]

The motivation to succeed comes from the burning desire to achieve a purpose. Napoleon Hill wrote, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”

[Edward Vogel]

The blog is absolutely fantastic!

amazing stuff thanx :)