Khaki: Cut from the Original Cloth

Like denim jeans and white T-shirts, khakis are a neutral American classic, and the wardrobes of movie stars and middle managers all likely hold at least one pair. In the introduction to this homage to the khaki pant (although the occasional skirt or pair of shorts does appear), cowriter Richard Martin states, "In war and peace, on campus and in cities, khakis as a wardrobe element have an easy sense of versatility; they are associated with a feel-good non-style." The book is filled with wonderful photographs by some of photography's greats--Eve Arnold, Mary Ellen Mark, André Kertész, Cecil Beaton, Weegee, and Robert Mapplethorpe among them--of a wild range of khaki-clad celebrities. Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Che Guevara, Amelia Earhart, Chet Baker, James Dean, Ernest Hemingway, Fidel Castro, and not a few Kennedys. What at first blush may seem to some readers a rather silly book is in fact a wonderfully focused record of a pop-culture trend. As all proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, readers indulging in this pleasant diversion will also be making a charitable contribution to a worthy cause. --Amra Brooks