All things Fine and DANDY

'Troy Hawke' bestows perfect poise and exquisite manners upon bewildered British shoppers - whatever the occasion.  In splendid attire, Milo McCabe's "non-consensual employment" antics have salvaged the Smoking Jacket from stag party shenanigans. And tawdry Hugh Hefner homage!  The Smoking Jacket suffered a calamitous decline over the past century. Yet it survives... with subtle grace and red-carpet character. Moreso, when sported outside the entrance of B&Q and other august retail outlets. So how did the Smoking Jacket become so strident and stylish a garment in the first place? Origins of the Smoking Jacket  The delights of partaking a pinch of snuff gave way to the dour ritual of actually smoking tobacco by the Victorian era.  This brought with it the hazards of ash smudges, singed fabric, acrid odours and other unbearable insults to evening wear.  Indeed, Smoking Caps even became part of an ensemble to ensure a whiff-free head of hair.  Existin...

  "There are too many Smiths, and I don't care for Smythe. My father's content to worry along in the old-fashioned way, but I've decided to strike out a fresh line. I shall found a new dynasty". So began the search for distinction of P.G. Wodehouse's 'Ronald Eustace Smith' over the course of several storylines. (And always with a silent 'P' - "as in psychic") In the way of Evelyn Waugh who basked in the inspiration of dandies at Oxford, Wodehouse was gifted Psmith - in all his exquisite nuances: "The character of Psmith, of whom you are about to read (unless you decide on reflection to watch television instead) is the only thing in my literary career which was handed to me on a plate with watercress around it . . . Rupert D'Oyly Carte was long, slender, always beautifully dressed and very dignified.  His speech was what is known as orotund, and he wore a monocle. He habitually addressed his fellow Wykehamists as "Comrad...