Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Cut of the Clothes A Story of Prinny and Beau Brummell by Erato George Bryan Brummel (England, 1778-1840) One of the most noted figures in men's clothing is Beau Brummell. George Bryan better known as Beau Brummel was the most famous of the dashing young men of the Regency. We know little about his childhood at this time. He was not of aristocratic birth, but was drawn to the upper class life style. After becoming Prince Regent he became friends with Beau Brummel. While known as a flashy dresser today, Brummel in fact believed in a much more sober style and less bright colors. Prinny's approval caused many aristocrats to adopt Brummel's style. High heels and bright colors for gentlemen went out of style. Brummel began to regarded in the circles around the Prince as a virtual oracle on matters related to dress and etiquette. He played a major in popularizing trousers as opposed to knee breeches. Biography. Beau Brummel was the most famous of the dashing young men of the Regency. He was not of aristocratic birth, but was drawn to the upper class life style. He was the son of Lord North's private secretary (1770-82). Lord North was George III's prime minister who played a major role in the American Revolution. He was born in London as George Bryan Brummell (1778). I know little about his childhood at this time. Given his father's position, he must have been exposed to the aristocracy at an early age. His grandfather was a a humble shopkeeper in St. James Parish. To earn some extra money, his grandfather would rent rooms to aristocratic gentlemen which further acquainted George to aristocrats, how they behaved and dressed. Apparently for some he reason he even as a boy was struck with how they dressed. I have no details on how George was dressed as a boy. Given the time, it is likely that he wore skeleton suits as a boy. This could be part of the reason that when he latter became the fashion arbiter for Regency England that he promoted trousers over knee breeches. Brummel was educated at Eton where he became known as Buck and was extremelly well liked by the other boys. He spent a short period at Oriel College, Oxford. His literary talent and wit are demonstrated by the fact that he was second for the Newdigate prize. It was at this time that the Prince Regent who had been told that Brummel was a witty fellow, obtained an appointment for him in his regiment (1794). Brummel eventually became a Captain of the Tenth Hussars and providing him the right to wear a fancy uniform. He became a friend of the Prince of Wales, the future George IV, who was a good bit older but impressed with Brummel's wit and dress. He was constantly in the Prince's company. Because of this relationship and his dress, he began to regarded in the circles around the Prince as a virtual oracle on matters related to dress and etiquette--vurtually a court fashion arbiter. He resigned his commission just as the Napoleonic Wars were beginning (1798). Soon afterwards with the death of his father he inherited what at the time was a small fortune, about �30,000 (1799). Brummel maintained an elegant establishment in Mayfair (London). Here his witty remarks became the talk of London society. He was reported an exceptional story teller and conversationalist. Brummel because of his life style rapidly depleted his funds. When his money ran out, in part from reckless gambling, he lost his high-placed friends. He even insulting his friend the Prince Regent with his biting and sometimes all too accurate wit. Brummel was forced to leave England for France (1816). Here is timing was impeccable. Fleeing to France a few years earlier when the Napoleonic Wars were raging would have been more difficult. The flight to France was necessary, otherwise he would have been arrested and put in a debtor's prison. He struggled with debts in France as well. Friends in England helped, even securing an appointment as British consul in Caen, France (1830-32). He spent a time in a French debtor's prison until rescued by friends. By this time he was no longer interested in clothes. He was normally slovenly and always dirty--despite the fact that he had once been so meticulous about personal cleanliness. He was taken in by the Asylum du Bon Sauveur, a mendicant hospital in Caen for the insane (1837). He died a pauper in Caen (1840). George IV (1752-1830) George IV as Prince of Wales, or Prinny as he was called, was quite a flashy dresser. Indeed he dressed like a typical 18th century dandy. The Prince turned 21 in 1783. At the time this made him eligible to engage in the proceedings, including the debates, in the House of Lords. THe Prince for his first speech showed up in pink high heels which matched the pink satin lining of his black velvet, gold-embroidered (and pink-spangled) suiting. After becoming Prince Regent he became friends with Beau Brummel. While known as a flashy dresser today, Brummel in fact believed in a much more sober style and less bright colors. Prinny's approval caused many aristocrats to adopt Brummel's style. High heels and bright colors for gentlemen went out of style. Clothes. France for some time, especially with Louis XIV and his successors dominated European fashions. After the French Revolution (1789) and especially the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815), anything French became suspect in England and this especially included men's but not so much women's fashions. As a result, English men's fashions became increasingly important in the early 19th century. It was precisely at this time that Brummel was in his ascendancy as a fashion arbiter in England. His influence on men's fashions was quite important. He stressed the cut of the garment and the quality of the fabric rather than fancy trim which had been very important. He discouraged not only the fancy trim, but also the bright colors that were popular in the late 18th century. Lord Byron is reported to have said, that there was nothing really exceptional about Brummel's dress save �a certain exquisite propriety�. Brummel preferred simple lines in the garment cut. Brummel also played a major role in popularizing trousers rather than knee breeches for men. Brummel gave great attention to neckwear, especially how to tie them. Regency Fashion. A typical Regency outfit for day wear was a jacket cut away in front, but with tails at the back. There is no waist seam, a feature present in Victorian coats. The open area around the hip has a distinctive curve pulling slightly around the waist. Even more notably, the sleeves are particularly long and seated high on the shoulder. There are virtually no shoulder pads. Normally jackets had fabric-covered buttons. An exception was blue jackets with often had brass metal buttons--perhaps because of an association with military styles. Company Name. Beau Brummel is an upscale menswear specialty retailer located in the heart of Soho, New York. Beau Brummel carries men's clothing including: suits, sport jackets, slacks and overcoats; sportswear including: casual slacks, sweaters, knitwear, sport shirts, leathers and outerwear; furnishings including: dress shirts, ties, socks, belts and accessories. Movies. The life of Beau Brummel has been made into several movies. There was a silent film in 1924 and another film in 1954. Legendary actor John Barrymore played Brummel in 1924. The plot has Brummel engaging in a war against high society when he cannot marry the woman he loves because of his social position, he becomes a faddish fop. This is not a very good characterization of his fashion sense. Beau Brummel has been a character in many other films. The 1954 film is a lavishly told costume drama describing how Brummel a commoner during the Napoleonic era through his social skills, especially his sartorial sence, to align himself with the Prince Regent--the future King George IV. Liz Taylor helps enliven the film. Created: May 20, 2002 Spell checked: August 26, 2003 Last updated: 3:59 AM 7/31/2009. Fine and dandy. This immensely entertaining book, as stylish as its subject, tells the story of the man who became king of Regency London society by sheer force of personality and has since fascinated people as diverse as Baudelaire, Barthes and Virginia Woolf. George Brummell is a curiously modern figure; the first English celebrity famous for being famous, though Kelly never loses track of the extent to which he was also a man in and of a particular moment. Byron declared: 'There are three great men of our age: myself, Napoleon and Brummell. But of we three, the greatest of all is Brummell.' However, unlike Byron or Napoleon, Beau Brummell's extraordinary fame arose entirely from his acting out an idea of himself. Handsome, clever and rich (though of undistinguished origins), he dedicated his life to the embodiment of a precise and austere visual aesthetic; a style rather than a fashion, because once created, he stuck with it. His vision was so persuasive that, almost singlehandedly, he took rich men out of the brocade and taffeta that had expressed wealth for centuries and put them into the broadcloth and linen they have worn ever since. He was the apostle of the principle that a peculiarly masculine elegance is best expressed by neutrally coloured clothes cut with the precision for which Savile Row became famous. It was a new, understated, less-is-more stylishness, in which extravagance was no longer to be expressed by perfume or jewellery (he banned both) but by perfection of line and exquisite cleanliness, the latter a sufficiently difficult and expensive enough business in 18th-century London to sort out the rich from the poor by itself. One of the many pleasures of Kelly's text is a splendid chapter on Brummell's clothes, written with an informed passion for the tailor's art. He brings into focus what a sexy style Brummell's was. He was tall, with an excellent figure, and the pale trousers he popularised, often made of stockinette or even chamois leather, were close-fitting, worn without underpants and framed by a dark cutaway coat to display the wearer's thighs and groin with the candour of a ballet dancer's tights. The coat was artfully structured and padded to give at least the illusion of wide shoulders and a narrow waist. It all looked wonderful on Brummell, less so on the averagely shapeless man, let alone the obese Prince Regent. Later generations hung on to Brummell's basic idea, but evolved a less taxing version: the three-piece suit. Sang-froid and stoicism were attributes necessary for surviving the brutality of the 18th century, but Brummell transformed these contemporary virtues into something more like modern 'cool'. It was the essence of his style: he was witty rather than warm; sociable and attractive, without ever committing himself to relationships. Kelly comments shrewdly that he liked the company of courtesans, being seen in dégagé pursuit of noted beauties and engineering situations that put girls at a disadvantage. The only things he was serious about - his clothes and deportment - were so self-evidently absurd that his whole life looked like an elaborate practical joke. His humour was throwaway, and he won or lost fortunes at the gambling table with equal imperturbability, a posture that made him, for many years, impregnable. Brummell's charm is apparent even after 200 years. Everyone wanted to know him and, after reading this book, you want to have known him too. He was humorous and reliably witty; he had a very light touch. Above all, he had the complete self-confidence that forced others to take him at his own valuation. Though he was a rigorous snob, he was, paradoxically, the first commoner to rule English society. His downfall came when he allowed himself to believe his own propaganda. Cut by the Prince Regent, his temper flashed and he returned insult for insult. 'Alvanley,' he demanded, 'who's your fat friend?' But the Prince Regent's power was real, the dandy's fictive. George never forgot or forgave. Brummell's 23 years of glory as Petronius to Prinny's Nero ended in a moment of hubris. Twenty-four years of eclipse followed, culminating in his death of the man of pleasure's typical disease, syphilis. To live rich and die poor is hardly unusual for a celebrity, but there is a peculiar ugliness about a man of balletically exact deportment and almost unprecedented personal cleanliness ending his days drooling and doubly incontinent. Kelly argues that syphilis was taking its toll years earlier. Towards the end of his reign, there were signs that Brummell was losing touch with reality. The depression and headaches he was beginning to suffer may also have been caused by syphilis. But, while this is a tragic story, it is a tragedy of fashion, of a butterfly broken upon the wheel. Brummell ruined himself (and others) but probably, if he could have foreseen the end, he would have gone on regardless. In classical style, he lived for fame and achieved it; he also had the saving grace of not taking himself too seriously. His biographer manages the remarkable feat of taking him just seriously enough, without ever descending into solemnity. #SpotlightMonday – The Cut of the Clothes. Beau Brummell is the king of fashionable society, a fact which torments the eldest son of Mad King George, who would do anything to be the master of the mode. With the help of his secret Catholic wife and Dick the Dandy-Killer, the rakish Prince has everything required to ruin his rival fashionisto. Will His Royal Highness survive the obsession, or will he be destroyed by his own yearning to outdo the Beau? This honest tale of the Georgian/Regency era reveals the charm and cattiness of the two “first gentlemen” of one of history’s best-dressed moments. From Brummell’s ditzy quips of “Brummelliana” to the Prince’s overdramatic lamentations, the reader is sure to be swept up in a sparkling and humorous world of fashion, passion and jealousy. About the Author. Erato is an American autodidact who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The name Erato belonged to one of the nine muses of Greek mythology: that who ruled love stories. The author’s own given name being that of a different muse, the name Erato was chosen as the nomme de plume that seemed especially fit for writing stories with a romantic theme, though she does also write some historical novels without strong romantic elements. Her works often include a subversive tonality. The Cut of the Clothes: A Story of Prinny and Beau Brummell. If clothes make the man — what is left when he undresses? Beau Brummell is the king of fashionable society, a fact which torments the eldest son of Mad King George, who would do anything to be the master of the mode. With the help of his secret Catholic wife and Dick the Dandy-Killer, the rakish Prince has everything required to ruin his rival fashionisto. Will His Royal Highness survive the obsession, or will he be destroyed by his own yearning to outdo the Beau? This honest tale of the Georgian/Regency era reveals the charm and cattiness of the two “first gentlemen” of one of history’s best-dressed moments. From Brummell’s ditzy quips of “Brummelliana” to the Prince’s overdramatic lamentations, the reader is sure to be swept up in a sparkling and humorous world of fashion, passion and jealousy. Beau Brummell. George Bryan Brummell , commonly known as "Beau" Brummell , (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840 ( 1840-03-30 ) (aged 61)), was an iconic figure in Regency England, the arbiter of men's fashion, and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV. He established the mode of dress for men that rejected overly ornate fashions for one of understated, but perfectly fitted and tailored clothing. This look was based on dark coats, full-length trousers rather than knee breeches and stockings, and above all immaculate shirt linen and an elaborately knotted cravat. [ 1 ] Beau Brummell is credited with introducing, and establishing as fashion, the modern men's suit, worn with a tie. [ 2 ] He claimed he took five hours to dress, and recommended that boots be polished with champagne. [ 3 ] His style of dress is often referred to as dandyism. [ 4 ] Contents. Biography. Brummell was born in London, the son of William Brummell, a Politician, of Donnington Grove in Berkshire. The family was middle class, but the elder Brummell was ambitious for his son to become a gentleman, and young William was raised with the understanding. Brummell was educated at Eton and made his precocious mark on fashion when he not only modernized the white stock, or cravat, that was the mark of the Eton boy, but added a gold buckle to it. [ 5 ] He progressed to Oxford University, where, by his own example, he made cotton stockings and dingy cravats a thing of the past. While an undergraduate at Oriel College in 1793, he competed for the Newdegate Prize. He lost the award, and was reportedly so put out by losing that he not only developed an aversion to books and bookish men, but was disinclined to ever exert himself again. He was fair complexioned, and had "a high nose, which was broken down by a kick from a horse soon after he went into the Tenth Dragoons". [ 6 ] In June 1794 Brummell joined the illustrious Tenth Royal Hussars as a cornet, or lowest rank of commissioned officer. [ 7 ] In April 1795 he was promoted to lieutenant. [ 8 ] His father died the same year, leaving an inheritance of £65,000; of which Brummell was entitled to a third. Normally an extensive sum, it was not an adequate inheritance for an aspiring officer in the 10th. The officers, many of whom would be inheriting noble titles and lands "wore their estates upon their backs - some of them before they had inherited the paternal acres." [ 9 ] Officers in any military regiment were required to provide their own mounts and uniforms and be responsible for mess bills, but the 10th in particular had elaborate and almost unending variations of costume. In addition, their mess expenses were enormous as the regiment did not stint itself on either banquets or entertainment. And, at the head of it all, was the Prince of Wales, the future George IV, whose personal regiment this was. For such a junior officer, Brummell took the regiment by storm, and the prince was fascinated and drawn by the force of his personality. He was allowed to miss parade, shirk his duties, and in essence, do exactly as he pleased. Within three years, by 1796, he was made a captain, to the combined envy and disgust of the older officers, who felt that: "our general’s friend was now the general.” [ 10 ] When his regiment was sent from London to Manchester he immediately resigned his commission, citing the city's poor reputation, lack of atmosphere, and an absence of culture and civility. [ 11 ] Although he was now a civilian, Brummell's friendship with, and influence over, the Prince continued. His simple, yet elegant and understated manner of dress, coupled with his natural wit, gained him entree to the Regent's royal society. The life and the daily routine of most aristocratic men of the time included making one's toilette and shopping in the morning; riding in Hyde Park or making the round of gentlemen’s clubs in the afternoon; followed by the theatre, gambling at Almack’s or a private party, or visiting the brothels in the evening. He took a house on Chesterfield Street in Mayfair and for a time managed to avoid the nightly gaming and other extravagances needed to move in that elevated level. Where he refused to economise was on his dress. Brummell put into practice, perhaps instinctively, the principles of harmony of shape and contrast of colors, with such a pleasing result that men of superior rank sought his professional opinion on their dress. The Duke of Bedford once did this touching a coat. Brummell examined his Grace with the cool impertinence which was his Grace’s due. He turned him about, scanned him with scrutinizing, contemptuous eye, and then taking the lapel between his dainty finger and thumb, he exclaimed in a tone of pitying wonder, “Bedford do you call this thing a coat?” [ 12 ] When asked how much it would cost to keep a single man in clothes, he was supposed to have replied: "Why, with tolerable economy, I think it might be done with £800." [ 13 ] That amount is approximately $162,400 in 2012 currency; the average wage for a craftsman for that time was £1 a week. [ 14 ] His personal habits, such as a fastidious attention to cleaning his teeth, shaving, and daily bathing exerted an influence on the ton , upper echelons of polite society, who began to do likewise. Enthralled, the Prince would spend hours in Brummell's dressing room, witnessing the progress of his friend's lengthy morning toilette. Unfortunately, Brummell's wealthy friends had a less than satisfactory influence on him; he soon began spending and gambling as though his fortunes were as extensive as theirs. Such liberal outlay began to rapidly deplete his capital, and he found it increasingly difficult to maintain his prestige. He economised by keeping horses, rather than a carriage, but was famously embarrassed when "Wales" rang for it one night and it did not appear. His debts mounted, but he could still float a line of credit. This changed on July 1813 at a masquerade ball at Watier's private club, when Brummell, who was one of the hosts, openly antagonised the Prince Regent, thereby forcing society to choose between them. Brummell, Lord Alvanley, Henry Mildmay and Henry Pierrepoint were considered the prime movers of Watier's, dubbed "the Dandy Club" by Byron. All four were hosts at the ball, where the Prince Regent greeted Alvanley and Pierrepoint, but then "cut" Brummell and Mildmay by snubbing them, staring them in the face but not speaking to them. [ 15 ] This provoked Brummell's famous remark, "Alvanley, who's your fat friend?". The Prince Regent was not amused; this incident was the final and most public sign that Brummell was no longer favored by "Prinny". This finalized the long-developing rift between them, dated by Campbell to 1811, the year the Prince became Regent and began abandoning all his old Whig friends. Normally, the loss of royal favour to a favourite was doom, but Brummell ran as much on the approval and friendship of other rulers of the several fashion circles. He became the anomaly of a favourite flourishing without a patron, still in charge of fashion and courted by large segments of society. [ 16 ] Alvanley continued to support Brummell, sending money to his friend during Brummell's exile in France. However, his debt spiralled out of control, and he tried to recover by devices that only dug the hole deeper. [ 17 ] In 1816, he fled to France to escape debtor's prison – he owed thousands of pounds. Usually, Brummell's gambling debts, as "debts of honour", were always paid immediately. The one exception to this was the final wager recorded for him in White's betting book. Recorded March, 1815, the debt was marked "not paid, 20th January, 1816". [ 18 ] He lived the remainder of his life in France, acquiring an appointment to the consulate at Caen due to the influence of Lord Alvanley and the Marquess of Worcester, only in the reign of William IV. This provided him with a small annuity. He died penniless and insane from syphilis in Caen in 1840. Cricket. Brummell played a single first-class match for pre-county club Hampshire in 1807 against an early England side. Brummell made scores of 23 and 3 in the match to leave him with a career batting average of 13.00. [ 19 ] In popular culture. Brummell appears as a character in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1896 historical novel Rodney Stone . In the novel, the title character's uncle, Charles Tregellis, is the center of the London fashion world, until Brummell ultimately supplants him. Tregellis' subsequent death from mortification serves as a deus ex machina in that it resolves Rodney Stone's family poverty, as his rich uncle bequeaths a sum to his sister. [ 20 ] Brummell's life was dramatised in an 1890 stage play in four acts by American playwright Clyde Fitch and starred Richard Mansfield. This in turn was adapted for the 1924 silent movie with John Barrymore and Mary Astor. [ 21 ] Another play about him, authored by Bertram P Matthews, is only remembered because it had incidental music written for it by Edward Elgar. It was staged at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham in November 1928, with Elgar himself conducting the orchestra on its first night. Only the minuet from this is now performed. [ 22 ] Earlier movies included a 10-minute film by the Vitagraph Company of America (1913), based on a Booth Tarkington story, and the 1913 Beau Brummell and his Bride , a short comedy made by the Edison Company. Brummell's life was also made the subject of a 1931 three-act operetta by Reynaldo Hahn, later broadcast by Radio-Lille (1963). In 1937 there was a radio drama on Lux Radio Theater with Robert Montgomery as Brummell and Gene Lockhart as the Prince. A further film, Beau Brummell , was made in 1954 with Stewart Granger playing the title role and Elizabeth Taylor as Lady Patricia Belham. [ 23 ] There were also two television dramas: the sixty-minute So war Herr Brummell (Süddeutscher Rundfunk, 1967) and the UK Beau Brummell: This Charming Man (2006) starring James Purefoy as Brummell. [ 24 ] Georgette Heyer, author of a number of Regency romance novels, included Brummell as a character in her 1935 novel Regency Buck . He is also a minor character in T. Coraghessan Boyle's 1982 novel, "Water Music". More recently, Brummell is the detective-hero of a series of period mysteries by Californian novelist Rosemary Stevens, including Death on a Silver Tray (2000), The Tainted Snuff Box (2001), The Bloodied Cravat (2002), and Murder in the Pleasure Gardens (2003). These are written as if related by their hero. [ 25 ] Brummell's name became associated with style and good looks and was therefore borrowed for a variety of products or alluded to in songs and poetry. One product named after the dandy was the Beau Brummell rhododendron, hybridized in 1934 by Lionel de Rothschild and still available. Flowering in late June, it has red, waxy flowers with darker speckling. [ 26 ] Then during the 1940s and 1950s watchmaker LeCoultre marketed a watch of that name. It had a minimalist design with no numbers and a small modern face. [ 27 ]