Some people are easier to buy gifts for than others. This is especially true if the prospective recipient also happens to be fashionable. If you, for example, have someone on your list who treats Paris Fashion Week like March Madness and/or recoils at the thought of subjecting their loopwheeled tees to the inside of a dryer, you probably know what we’re talking about.

Unless the men’s fashion aficionado in your life tells you specifically what they want (ideally with a link to their preferred stockist and the specific size and color), buying them any kind of apparel is a high-risk activity, and probably not worth the stress. Fortunately, there’s a way to surprise and delight them that doesn’t involve creeping their browser history. A great menswear book—particularly one that’s rare or out of print—is just as thoughtful, and better still, it’s always the perfect fit. Here are a few that are sure to hit the mark, no gift receipt required.

Elegance: A Guide to Quality in Menswear by G. Bruce Boyer

Essential reading from the reigning elder statesman of menswear. Boyer’s historical lore and expert advice on everything from trench coats to ascots remains as relevant today as it was in 1985.

Looking Good: A Guide for Men by Charles Hix

The product of a collaboration between a former GQ grooming columnist and a then-unknown photographer named Bruce Weber, this 1977 book was controversial in its day for implying that men should go out of their way to take care of their appearances. Which is to say, it was far ahead of its time.

Looking Good: A Guide for Men

New Fashion Japan by Leonard Koren

A snapshot of the Japanese fashion scene circa 1984, complete with street style shots and profiles of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo.

A History of Men’s Fashion by Farid Chenoune

If you buy just one lushly illustrated comprehensive history of menswear from the 1700s through 1995, make it this one.

A History of Men’s Fashion

American Denim: A New Folk Art by Peter S. Beagle

This time capsule from the mid-1970s collects the work of 50-odd denim enthusiasts, and makes the bold thesis that their painstakingly embroidered dungarees and trucker jackets should be considered as art.

People of the Twenty-First Century by Hans Eijkelboom

In the future, if anyone ever wants to know how many people dressed in the first two decades of this century, this book will be a primary source of information. Collected over 20 years by Dutch artist and street photographer Hans Eijkelboom, these photographs of similarly-dressed pedestrians are as much a commentary on fashion as a record of it.

People of the Twenty-First Century

’93 Til: A Photographic Journey Through Skateboarding in the 1990s by Pete Thompson

The influence of ’90s skater style is everywhere right now, but photographer Pete Thompson was there when it started. In addition to capturing a ton of sick ollies, the book immortalizes the look and feel of the era through the skaters who defined it.

93 til: A Photographic Journey Through Skateboarding in the 1990s