1818 September 18th Le Palais Royal de Paris, Or ‘A Peep at the French Monstrosities’. By George Cruikshank. Two English tourists, both dressed as dandies, walk arm-in-arm under the arcade of the Palais Royal, interested in the promenading courtesans. Two Frenchmen make more direct overtures to two women. Their dress is rather similar to that of the Englishmen, but the latter wear bell-shaped top-hats, while the Frenchmen have flower-pot shaped hats. An officer wearing a large cocked hat addresses a girl, and a man, said by Reid to be Irish, jovially accosts another. Some of the women are in evening-dress, others in street costume. Behind are iron railings between the supports of the roof; on one of these is the inscription ‘Caveau des Sauvages’. Published by: George Humphrey. via British Museum.
1819 January ‘Going to White’s’. By Richard Dighton. Lord Alvanley walks on the pavement going to White’s Club for gentlemen in London wearing a top-hat, double-breasted coat, strapped trousers, and the high collar of a dandy. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
White’s was an exclusive Gentlemen’s Club on St. James Street, London, U.K where well-dressed men, or Dandies, gathered at a special table in front of the large bow window looking out at the street. This became known as a seat of privilege and was used by London’s most famous Dandy, Beau Brummell. Other well-known dandies were William Arden, Joshua Allen, Thomas Raikes and Ball Hughes. Cartoonists loved to ridicule these high-in-the-instep gentlemen who wore the most fashionable clothes and set the fashion trends for the Regency years, and the years when Jane Austen was writing her famous novels.
1817 Dandy In Blue Tailcoat, French. White breeches tucked into black boots with tan leather high tops, fob at waist, high white cravat, red waistcoat, black top hat and walking stick. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Dandy: The author of The Hermit in London, a series of sketches published in 1819—1820 observed: ‘A distinguished Exquisite is padded all over to-day; and all the other foplings are, on the morrow, mere walking pin-cushions. A fat prince, or a fat dandy, requires confinement in his limbs; and all his subjects are immediately restrained within the same limits. One day, the back is to be as broad as an Irish chairman’s, and the shoulders to be bolstered up to imitate a hod-man; and the next, the shoulders are to be flat, and a man is to be pinched in and laced up until he resembles an earwig. All these are Master Snip’s maneuvers, who continues to make his bill equally long, whether the spencer or the box-coat be in vogue.
Beau Brummell was one of the most celebrated dandies of all time. Cartoonists ridiculed these high-in-the-instep gentlemen who wore the most fashionable clothes and set the fashion trends for the Regency years, the years when Jane Austen was writing her famous novels and the years when the Bridgerton series is set.
1800 Young Dandy’s Morning Outfit, French. Brown, doublebreated, cutaway coat, striped trousers tucked into high black boots with tassels, gloves, small jaunty hat and a walking stick. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
From the finish of the 18th century until 1820, men’s fashions in European and European-influenced countries moved away from the formal wear of brocades, lace, wigs and powder to more informal and relaxed styles. Focus was on undress rather than formal dress. Typical menswear in the early 1800s included a tailcoat, a vest or waistcoat, either breeches, pants, or the newer trousers, stockings, shoes or boots, all worn with an overcoat and hat. This basic ensemble was accessorized with some form of neckcloth or cravat, gloves, walking stick, cane or riding crop, handkerchief, fobs, watch and perhaps a quizzing glass or eye glass.
Skirted coats were replaced with short-fronted, or cutaway, tailcoats worn over fitted waistcoats and plain, white linen shirts. Knee breeches were gradually replaced by tight-fitting pantaloons and later trousers, decorative shoes with buckles were replaced with a variety of boot styles, and fussy and ruffled neckwear gave way to intricately tied, white linen neck cloths. A Regency Era, or early 1800s, gentleman was outfitted in more practical fabrics, such as wool, cotton and buckskin rather than the fussy brocades and silks of the late 1700s.
1802-1812 ca. Dancing Or La Dansomanie Series. Four women being instructed in dancing before a mirror by a master playing a violin. Le Bon Genre Description Plate 12. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1818 ‘The Stamford Dandy or A Modern Peeping Tom’. Lord Stamford rides past a row of houses looking through his glass at a woman who stands at an open first-floor window. Other women watch him from the two other windows. Dressed as a dandy with red tailcoat, high white collar and cravat, black top hat and wearing loose white trousers. Artist not known. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
From the finish of the 18th century until 1820, men’s fashions in European and European-influenced countries moved away from the formal wear of brocades, lace, wigs and powder to more informal and relaxed styles. Focus was on undress rather than formal dress. Typical menswear in the early 1800s included a tailcoat, a vest or waistcoat, either breeches, pants, or the newer trousers, stockings, shoes or boots, all worn with an overcoat and hat. This basic ensemble was accessorized with some form of neckcloth or cravat, gloves, walking stick, cane or riding crop, handkerchief, fobs, watch and perhaps a quizzing glass or eye glass.
Skirted coats were replaced with short-fronted, or cutaway, tailcoats worn over fitted waistcoats and plain, white linen shirts. Knee breeches were gradually replaced by tight-fitting pantaloons and later trousers, decorative shoes with buckles were replaced with a variety of boot styles, and fussy and ruffled neckwear gave way to intricately tied, white linen neck cloths. A Regency Era, or early 1800s, gentleman was outfitted in more practical fabrics, such as wool, cotton and buckskin rather than the fussy brocades and silks of the late 1700s.
1808 Walk in the Tuileries Gardens. A dandy of the Year VIII. According to Baudelaire, a dandy was, “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.” Dandies tried to imitate the aristocracy in manner and appearance. This man wears short breeches, usually worn by the aristocracy, that were out of fashion and had been replaced by the ‘more-democratic’ ankle-length pants. His outfit and manners are a throwback to a pre-Revolutionary era. llustrations by François Courboin from Octave Uzanne’s Les Modes de Paris. Fashion in Paris : the various phases of feminine taste and aesthetics from 1797 to 1897, William Heinemann, London, 1898. (PD-Art) via Brown University Library.
From the finish of the 18th century until 1820, men’s fashions in European and European-influenced countries moved away from the formal wear of brocades, lace, wigs and powder to more informal and relaxed styles. Focus was on undress rather than formal dress. Typical menswear in the early 1800s included a tailcoat, a vest or waistcoat, either breeches, pants, or the newer trousers, stockings, shoes or boots, all worn with an overcoat and hat. This basic ensemble was accessorized with some form of neckcloth or cravat, gloves, walking stick, cane or riding crop, handkerchief, fobs, watch and perhaps a quizzing glass or eye glass.
Skirted coats were replaced with short-fronted, or cutaway, tailcoats worn over fitted waistcoats and plain, white linen shirts. Knee breeches were gradually replaced by tight-fitting pantaloons and later trousers, decorative shoes with buckles were replaced with a variety of boot styles, and fussy and ruffled neckwear gave way to intricately tied, white linen neck cloths. A Regency Era, or early 1800s, gentleman was outfitted in more practical fabrics, such as wool, cotton and buckskin rather than the fussy brocades and silks of the late 1700s.
1820 ca. Groups of Dandies fashionably dressed. Hand Colored etching. Published By J. Le Petit, Dublin, U.K. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1820 Dandies. Hand Colored etching. Published By J.Le Petit, Dublin, U.K. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
A dandy is a man who places a lot of importance on his appearance, on having refined language living his life in a leisurely manner. A dandy didn’t have to be an aristocrat. He could also be a middle class man or a self-made man of wealth who could afford to place all his emphasis on his clothing and his leisure time.
From the finish of the 18th century until 1820, men’s fashions in European and European-influenced countries moved away from the formal wear of brocades, lace, wigs and powder to more informal and relaxed styles. Focus was on undress rather than formal dress. Typical menswear in the early 1800s included a tailcoat, a vest or waistcoat, either breeches, pants, or the newer trousers, stockings, shoes or boots, all worn with an overcoat and hat. This basic ensemble was accessorized with some form of neckcloth or cravat, gloves, walking stick, cane or riding crop, handkerchief, fobs, watch and perhaps a quizzing glass or eye glass.
Skirted coats were replaced with short-fronted, or cutaway, tailcoats worn over fitted waistcoats and plain, white linen shirts. Knee breeches were gradually replaced by tight-fitting pantaloons and later trousers, decorative shoes with buckles were replaced with a variety of boot styles, and fussy and ruffled neckwear gave way to intricately tied, white linen neck cloths. A Regency Era, or early 1800s, gentleman was outfitted in more practical fabrics, such as wool, cotton and buckskin rather than the fussy brocades and silks of the late 1700s.
1804 Dandies In Morning and Evening Dress. By Isaac Robert Cruikshank. ‘Dandies In A Morning Dress’. Man in morning suit with hat and umbrella, woman with large hat and shawl. ‘Dandies In A Evening Dress’. Man in short evening jacket with handkerchief, woman with large feather headpiece. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
From the finish of the 18th century until 1820, men’s fashions in European and European-influenced countries moved away from the formal wear of brocades, lace, wigs and powder to more informal and relaxed styles. Focus was on undress rather than formal dress. Typical menswear in the early 1800s included a tailcoat, a vest or waistcoat, either breeches, pants, or the newer trousers, stockings, shoes or boots, all worn with an overcoat and hat. This basic ensemble was accessorized with some form of neckcloth or cravat, gloves, walking stick, cane or riding crop, handkerchief, fobs, watch and perhaps a quizzing glass or eye glass.
Skirted coats were replaced with short-fronted, or cutaway, tailcoats worn over fitted waistcoats and plain, white linen shirts. Knee breeches were gradually replaced by tight-fitting pantaloons and later trousers, decorative shoes with buckles were replaced with a variety of boot styles, and fussy and ruffled neckwear gave way to intricately tied, white linen neck cloths. A Regency Era, or early 1800s, gentleman was outfitted in more practical fabrics, such as wool, cotton and buckskin rather than the fussy brocades and silks of the late 1700s.
1818 December 11th A dandy fainting or – an exquisite in fits. Scene a private box opera. A dandy lies back fainting in a chair, his limbs rigid, supported by three others while a fourth (left) draws the curtain, cutting off a view of the (distant) stage where a singer is posturing. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1818 December 11th A dandy fainting or – an exquisite in fits. Scene a private box opera. A dandy lies back fainting in a chair, his limbs rigid, supported by three others while a fourth (left) draws the curtain, cutting off a view of the (distant) stage where a singer is posturing. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1818 December 11th Dandy Fainting In A Private Opera Box. #Regency #Cartoon #England
