All things Fine and DANDY

  DANDYISM may be minimal or maximal: discrete - or a flamboyant flourish on the horizon! What distinguishes the Dandy from the mere fashionista, or exhibitionist (among several subtle traits ) is a tendency to bestow words of no small wonder... The brilliant bon mot. That delightfully inventive portmanteau. And if we're really lucky; a little Library of wry thoughts on this, that and the other. Dandies and Men of Letters Not so many decades ago, a couple of celebrity fops began to amuse and bemuse Britain. Quentin Crisp succumbed to stardom upon reaching retirement age. And lost no time in ditching London for New York. As the 90s grew dark and decidedly boorish with the brothers Oasis looming large: British TV was suddenly blessed by the elegant airs of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Nature simply wouldn't exact upon British society the baneful absence of its National Fop - whatever the era. Both Mr. Crisp and (the curiously, as-yet-un-Sir-ed...) Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen - could have...

Excuse an awry likeness . . .  it's the melancholy that counts.   Well not all fellows who sport bright red suits do so with a jovial style!  Or for that matter, could carry the Glitter Look: any month of the year.   At least not in the manner of the late Mr. Horsley ✨  Sebastian Horsley (1962-2010) (sebartianhorsley.blogspot.com

  Take a deep breath, dear reader. This rant simmered under four monarchs prior to print in 1866 : "How unspeakably odious - with a few brilliant exceptions, such as Alvanley and others - were the  dandies of forty years ago. They were a motley crew, with nothing remarkable about them but their insolence. They were generally not high-born, nor rich, nor very good-looking, nor clever, nor agreeable; and why they arrogated to themselves the right of setting up their own fancied superiority on a self-raised pedestal, and despising their betters, Heaven only knows. They were generally middle-aged, some even elderly men, had large appetites and weak digestions, gambled freely - and had no luck. They hated everybody, and abused everybody, and would sit together in White's bay window, or the  pit  boxes at the Opera, weaving tremendous crammers. (1) They swore a good deal, never laughed, had their own particular slang, looked hazy after dinner, and had most of them been pat...

'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...

  Bemused by Baroque at City Hall, Cardiff There are limits to Time Travel - so they say. At least in terms of physics and what have you. . . so this is as good as it gets. And as bad, as I'll explain. I was reminded of the occasion by this week's gaff celebre in UK politics. Courtesy of prospective Prime Minister Liz Truss. After her speech about leading the nation (and so on) - Mrs. Truss proved unable to exit the press gathering without basic supervision. Or at least that was the social media narrative, 'no more of a clue than Boris Johnson'. Only worse: being clueless beyond the scope of her chosen style! Anyway not to dwell on politics. For Quentin Crisp has declared that activity "the art of making the inevitable appear to be a matter of wise human choice." And besides, Lizz Truss's modest meander implied no more than a touch of ADD (of which it takes a master practitioner to know a novice). So back to my encounter with Oscar. . . when his Trials w...

  Is the Dandy a rebel?  Absolutely!  Beau Brummell may have been a model of moderation.  But his influence on mens' fashion was a revolution in itself. Within a decade of Brummell's departure to France in 1816 -   his unruly successors were all but competing for the ridicule of caricaturists. (1) Count Alfred d'Orsay became the leading London dandy by the 1820s. And flamboyance - or fashion rebellion - kept him at the hub of celebrity status for decades. As did his elan, amidst far more exuberant spectacles.  By 1850, d'Orsay had returned to his native France. In the debt-ridden manner of Brummell before him. And Victorians slammed the door on the last few Regency rascals in their midst.     Which is where we return to the scene: as retro-Dandyism meets modern celebrity tailoring. (via a raid on Vivienne Westwood's 1970s punk-era zips, studs and leathers) Dandy Rebels takes up themes explored in the recent Joshua Kane collections, Ceremon...

  Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post   April 11, 1925 'Beau Brummell is the Fairest'   by Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874 - 1951)