Dandyism

The term Dandyism commonly refers to a special style or appearance of men in 19th century British culture. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, a dandy is “a man who cares too much about the smartness of his clothes and his appearance”.

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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 quoted on mtholyoke.edu). 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.

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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 distances himself from common or normal people. A dandy is always perfectly dressed, but being a real dandy means to incorporate dandyism into one's behaviour, manners and language as well. The perfect dandy personifies ideal beauty in all aspects of his being.

A dandy has the money to live and dress extravagantly, behaving like a member of the aristocracy (but actually not being born into it). Through this behaviour, the dandy criticizes the arrangement of social hierarchies; through his perfect appearance, he reflects the artificiality of culture. For the dandy, this culture he lives in is superficial and believes what it sees, not looking under the surface of the obvious truth. Thus, he mirrors society by imitating and exaggerating its way of life (Feldmann, 271).

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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 19th 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.

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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.

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. <http://www.dandyism.net/> 30.10.2010

Bishop, J. P. "The Golden Age of the Dandy". Vanity Fair, September 1920. <http://www.dandyism.net/> 30.10.2010

"Beau Brummell". Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, 1844. <http://www.dandyism.net/> 30.10.2010