For over 25 years Christian Chensvold has entertained readers with his witty and erudite observations on the history of masculine elegance and the cult of the gentleman — from Regency ballrooms to the Ivy League, Art Deco penthouses to midcentury bachelor pads.

Beginning in 2004, Chensvold founded two of the most original and stimulating menswear websites — Dandyism.net and Ivy-Style.com — which drew dozens of contributors, tens of thousands of followers, and international accolades and opprobrium. His articles on style theory, gentlemanly pursuits and menswear history have appeared in The Rake, L’Uomo Vogue, Robb Report and the Wall Street Journal. This book groups together his finest work, including previously undigitized articles on dandyism, as he shines his “diabolical monocle” on a diverse range of subjects all of which share a bittersweet nostalgia for gallant eras of the past.

Also included are three stylish works of fiction: “The Disengage,” a flamboyant pastiche of fin-de-siecle Decadence; “These Are Our Failures,” a rollicking James Bond-like tale on the fate of menswear; and “The Philosophy Of Style,” a culmination of three decades of contemplation on matters of style, and where the search must ultimately arrive.