Dandyism

The term Dandyism commonly refers to a special style or appearance of men in 19th century British culture. According to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, a dandy is “a man who cares too much about the smartness of his clothes and his appearance” or “a man greatly concerned with smartness of dress; beau” (Collins English Dictionary). Clothing

Fashion lies at the very existence of being a dandy. The French poet Charles Baudelaire, who was said to be a dandy himself, stated that dandies have "no profession other than elegance...no other status but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons....The dandy must aspire to be sublime without interruption; he must live and sleep before a mirror"(Seigel, 98-99). Common features of a dandy's clothing are tailored dark suits with long trousers, gloves, polished boots, a cravat and curled hair. Unlike most people at that time, a dandy refused to use powder or perfume, but bathed regularly. Lifestyle

The dandy loves to present himself in society, which he uses as an audience. At the same time, he distances himself from it by being “[a]loof, impassive, vain” (Feldmann, 3) and therefore lives being superior to the commons. A dandy is always perfectly dressed, but being a real dandy means to incorporate dandyism into ones behaviour, manners and language as well. The perfect dandy personifies ideal beauty in all aspects of his being. A dandy has the money to life and dress extravagantly, behaving like a member of the aristocracy, but usually has no relation to it concerning the blood, even rejecting the bourgeoisie. This paradox points out that the dandy in the whole arrangement of himself, is a mirror of culture's artificiality, criticizing it through reflection. Therefore, dandyism can be understand as an “expression of anit-essentialism” (Feldmann, 5) like consumerism, leisure and solitary passivity. Personalities

Probably the most famous dandy is Beau Brummell, who was said to be the role model all other dandies looked up to and followed. At the beginning of the 18th century he lived in London and was a student of Eton and Oxford. Having no real profession, he inherited some good amount of money to spend and moved among the circles of the Prince of Wales (the later King George IV), who was impressed by his elegance and excellent behaviour. Later in life he lost all his money gambling and fled to France where he died. Rumour has it that another reason for leaving England was that he became fat and sloppy and therefore was afraid to leave his house. Other popular dandies in the 19th century were amongst others Lord Byron and Oscar Wilde, who created dandy characters in their writings as well. Sources

Feldman, Jessica R., Gender on the Divide. The Dandy in Modernist Literature. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1993. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1989. Collins English Dictionary. 3rd ed. Glasgow: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. New York: The Modern Library, 1992.

  <http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255-s01/boheme/dandyism.html> 30.10.2010

Seigel, Jerrold. Bohemian Paris: Culture , Politics, and the Boundaries of Bourgeois Life, 1830-1930. New York: Elizabeth Sifton Books, 1986.

  <http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255-s01/boheme/dandyism.html> 30.10.2010

Shore, W. T. D’Orsay, or the Complete Dandy. 1911.

Bishop, J. P. The Golden Age of the Dandy. Vanity Fair, September 1920.

Beau Brummell. Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, 1844.

  all to be find on:  <http://www.dandyism.net/> 30.10.2010