Beau Brummell and His Times H H E F

BEA! BR! M M ELL AN D HIS TIM ES INTROD! CTORY DRESS AND THE DANDIES IT is a prevalent belief that worship of dress mono ol of Woman is the p y , but when the Preacher denounced all as vanity he was t f and be both tru h ul wise, because included Man in his category . The w s of un Hebrew Sage a , course, of the acquainted with Narcissus, the first D or no andies, he would doubt have been more explicit ; obviously his mind was dwelling on “ ” the extravagance of the purple and fine linen worn by his contemporaries . However, it is a fact that since the far-off times of the f Preacher, and the beauti ul Greek youth, men a ff h ve displayed at di erent epochs as much, nay 7 Introductory e r h mor , pe sonal vanity than t e most luxurious e of b auties ancient or modern ages. To trace the progress of Dandyism in u e t Europe wo ld be an int resting ask, but it would make too long a curtain raiser for the tu of e accompanying s dy G orge Brummell. u r s The Bea epresent , with Sir Lumley Skeffin ton g , Lord Alvanley, King Allen, ’ D Orsa few the Count y, and a others, apogee of f fas e the cult o hion. Thes dandies con sidered s s dre s and demeanour fine art , and when they died the picturesque Man about wn a of To bec me a thing the past. There is of necessity a commencement to r t s t r all eccent icities. Doub less ome prehis o ic males had a way of wearing their skin garments was of f which the despair and envy their ellows, and the ancient Briton whose distinctive treat ment of woad showed a fertile imagination in patterns must have inspired the envy and s of a re pect those less imaginative, who p inted r r f r ff themselves without due ega d o colour e ect. When the Roman legions set foot on s and e re English oil, th ir settlements g w , the con u ors s u re q er lived ide by side with the conq e d, 8 Dress and the Dandies r e e who disca d d th ir woad and skin trappings, the of C ef to and sons the hi tains, according d Tacitus, gradually adopted Roman ress. e 8 D of The y ar 7 5 A. marked an era ’ e e spl ndour in men s attir , especially among the - e e e Anglo Saxon cl rgy, whos extravaganc was denounced at the Council of Cloveshoe by some austere members who did not approve of beaux among the bishops . The Danish dandies completely eclipsed for the e e e the Saxons, young Dan s d light d in display ; and Canute himself wore most costly a h his n r iment , w ile flowi g locks were slavishly imitated by his courtiers . With the Norman Conquest French modes were introduced into England, and general 1 1 luxury prevailed . In 04 an ardent priest who a e of the named Serlo, strongly dis pprov d ’ e S e e th n mart S t s vagari s, braved the wrath f of e I. e the H nry , and pr ached a sermon be ore King in which he inveighed against the pre f of e vailing ashion w aring long hair. So eloquently did he preach that the long-haired e f e on s wept over their olli s, whereupon Serlo, of e e who was a man action , promptly d scend d b 9 Introductory f r a of rom the pulpit, whipped out a la ge p ir ar e t e e she s, and th n and h re clos cropped the locks of his untrimmed congregation . f 111 . o Henry was somewhat a dandy, and favoured a special material known as cloth of ” Baldekins e B aldeck , which was wov n at V e fur (Babylon). elv t and ciclaton and costly e lined mantles wer worn by the King, whose sumptuous garments were rivalled by the vest of e ments his clergy, gl aming with gold and gems massed among intricate and exquisite e embroideri s. Dandyism received a check at the accession of Edward 1 who detested foppery ; but his son ’ f of inherited all his grand ather s love dress . I At the Court of Edward I . Piers Gaveston f f ’ e e o . was a worthy xpon nt ashion None, old writes an chronicler, came near Piers in ” u bravery of apparel . His cost mes were re e for t e u and markabl h ir prodigal lux ry, , as he ’ the f was King s intimate companion, the ashions set by the monarch and his favourite were naturally followed by the ruling classes , There is no doubt that this period was pre e f emin ntly avourable to the dandy. Every 10 Dress and the Dan dies impetus was given to display by the recurrent r e and s s f tou n ys joust , to which knight came rom foreign countries wearing quaint and costly de s in f s the vice new a hions ; and English nobles, not to e e be outdone, vi d with the strang rs in sum u pt ous and varied habiliments. In 1 363 the House of Commons passed an Act prohibiting the wearing of furs and cloths of silver and gold among those whose yearly incomes did not justify such lavish expenditure. The fine for disobedience was not imposed in m e e con on y, but the prohibited luxuries w re fi c are e s ated tea . ins d However, laws mad to ’ be and of n . s broken, the beaux Richard day the u s a e e defied s mptuary t tutes, and xtravaganc ran e f a riot. The most dainty raim nt rom It ly made vivid masses of colour in the dark o s the L ndon street , and King was the greatest d of d andy at a Court andies. Richard seems to have had all the qualifica t of for e ions an artist in dress, he invent d wonderful combinations of colour and design . borderings which edged his surcoats and r r Introductory s of the e mantles, and his badge whit hart, - e the sun, and the broom plant wer constantly the decorative motifs in the embroideries of his magnificent ceremonial garments . IV e Henry . r vived the strict sumptuary ’ s the a e of edict , but w rlik times his son s reign ’ f V e I. did not oster men s vanity. H nry was averse to extravagant attire ; Edward of York e h e was no dandy, and his broth r Ric ard se ms o t have had no liking for elaborate dress. e The Court of Henry vu . was auster ly of plain and guiltless dandyism, and although e VIII e he H nry . loved to make a brav show, enforced certain laws to check extravagant e f e s l anings on the part o his subj ct . When Queen Elizabeth succeeded her em a f bittered and melancholy h l sister, dress s its the rea serted importance at Court , and ’ Spanish fashions introduced by Mary s husband were discarded in favour of the modes in V vogue with the gallants of Italy and enice. The Elizabethan elegant was a wonderful r ff a vision in his exagge ated ru , his It lian doublet and e fine leather sho s, and it is said that Lord Leicester brought into favour the wearing of I z Dress and the Dan dies n off of lo g stockings to set his fine legs, which h e . s e e was childishly proud Corset , too, w r e a worn by th se Court dandies, whom H ll satirised in the following biting lines W hat monster meets mine eyes, in human show ? ’ So slender waist with such an abbot s loin ” Did never sober nature so conjoin. Even Sir Walter Raleigh was a corset ea e so in it w r r, and girt was his waist that e rivalled that of a slender girl. Wh n Jam es of n e e e u e Scotla d cam ov r the Bord r, the co rti rs r did not abandon this disfigu ing custom, which any King more of a man than James would have discountenanced . I the f s In the early days of Charles . a hion e e e abl noblemen wore long arrings, which th y thought became them mightily ; they covered their own hair with scented perruques ; they sported spangled gar ters which dangled nearly to h e e down t eir rosetted shoes, and th ir loos knee breeches replaced the disproportionately n padded trunks of the previous reig . The Cavaliers were negligently artistic with e e ef a studied negligenc , and they mad grac ul ” d “ e e fi e figures at Court an in the t nt d ld . 1 3 Introductory N ever surely did more picturesque soldiers meet their fate than those devoted men who fought and died at Naseby and Marston Moor. The stem Commonwealth vetoed beautiful e e attire. The gay Court butt rfli s had dis e e e app ar d, th ir wings torn and stained by the of e e storm civil war, and in their st ad mov d e e e e e dull, prosaic figur s, whos pr s nc cast an added gloom over the sour days in which they lived .

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