WHAT IS A DANDY?
A Dandy is a man whose trade, office and existence consist in wearing clothes. Every part of his soul, spirit and person is referred to wear dresses wisely and well. In fact as the others dress to live, he live to dress. Everything he does is designed to make his social presentation more elegant, as great care has to be taken not to appear too extravagant in his dress and never slovenly. The Dandy, through his life and dress style, enjoyed to surprise public with provocative attitude and motion. His whole life is dominated by a strong beauty desire. Refusing utilitarianism, he loves luxury and everything that is referred to it like chinese porcelains, antique furniture, silver plate, paintings collections, immense garden. But also perfumes, flowers, beautiful dresses, elegance, comfort, good manners, poetry and melodic music. His posture is royal, showing an apparent seriousness and a good boy look.
ETYMOLOGY
The term Dandy was used for the first time in the song “Yankee Daddle Dandy”, sang during the American revolution in 1770. The words of the song joked about the tawdry uniforms of American soldiers. The term Dandy was referred to a man that bragged of his appearance, in spite of he wore ordinary dresses.
HIS PERSONALITY
The Dandy wants to catch the eye of the false moralist with his attitude. He isn’t interested in everything that doesn’t concern his beauty ideal; for example money that is only seen as a way to obtain beauty, that is more precious. He wants to make himself a piece of art in every meaning. But in spite of his unusual attitude he doesn’t want to get himself noticed because he thinks that the real elegance has to make people pass unobserved. From the excessive care of his aspect we can note that the Dandy is the perfect narcissist. He is often homosexual; because of his exaggerated narcissism that pushes him to love himself so much to fall in love with everything that is identical to him, that is the other men. But it doesn’t mean that a Dandy couldn’t love a woman, that often arouses in him only sexual desire or is seen as a decorative object. Besides the Dandy dawdles places of vice, passions and frenzy as brothel and places where is played gambler. His connection with drugs is conflicting; in fact on one hand he shelters in it, on the other he doesn’t tolerate to be slaves of something; so he tend to eliminate every dependence. However this lifestyle has some limits. Dandy’s drama is to become old and lose the prestige and the consideration acquired in the youthful age. Besides Dandy is victim of a world that doesn’t understand him. This can lead Dandy to a depression that he will try to hide with a well-being attitude.
WEARING STYLE
Dandy’s wearing style is very refined and full of particulars. He wear coloured silk and velvet dresses, with stiff collars, velvet brands and coats, true or false waistcoats, peg-top trousers, yellow and pink gloves, turned-down collars, gilded sticks and violet boutonnières. And also tiny bowler, bright tweeds and comfortable trousers, waistcoats and jacket and often a drooping lily. Another frequent element in Dandy’s wearing is the following tie. Among the different types of necktie these are the most frequent. From the point of view of the colours he abhors extreme use of colours and, so, he chooses soft dyes like tan, pink, light blue and duck (that is a light yellow) but he dressed above all in black, grey and white. His habits of dress and fashion were much imitated, especially in France where became a trend, especially in bohemians quarters.
THE DANDY AND THE BOHEMIENNE
The Dandy was often associated to the bohémienne but this two figures are different between them. In Fact while the Bohemian allies himself to the masses, is a poor and is interested in society; the Dandy is a bourgeois man who lives outside the society and isn’t interested on its problems.
DANDYISM
Brummell, the first British Dandy, created the phenomenon of Dandyism during the 18th century as a lifestyle. This trend arrived in France where it was linked to the aestheticism and then it appeared again in England during the 19th century, with the figure of Oscar Wilde. This phenomenon exists also nowadays.
THE DANDY AND THE AESTHETE
This two figure, although they seem similar, are very much different. An aesthete is an artist who uses fashion to promote himself and his art; instead the Dandy is a man of society who uses fashions, manners and conversation to please, seduce and amuse everybody to permit him the access to the higher rungs of society.
THE MOST FAMOUS DANDIES
Among the famous dandies we observe Oscar Wilde who became a fashionable man for his way of dressing. He expressed his individuality with green and large boutonnieres, bright red waistcoats, diamond stud, exaggerated collar, thick tie knot, lots of shirt-cuffs, square handkerchiefs, and loud pin-stripe slacks. His clothes were anti-Victorian; in fact he didn’t bear the middle class hypocrisy that didn’t allow vice.
A Dandy is a man whose trade, office and existence consist in wearing clothes. Every part of his soul, spirit and person is referred to wear dresses wisely and well. In fact as the others dress to live, he live to dress. Everything he does is designed to make his social presentation more elegant, as great care has to be taken not to appear too extravagant in his dress and never slovenly. The Dandy, through his life and dress style, enjoyed to surprise public with provocative attitude and motion. His whole life is dominated by a strong beauty desire. Refusing utilitarianism, he loves luxury and everything that is referred to it like chinese porcelains, antique furniture, silver plate, paintings collections, immense garden. But also perfumes, flowers, beautiful dresses, elegance, comfort, good manners, poetry and melodic music. His posture is royal, showing an apparent seriousness and a good boy look.
ETYMOLOGY
The term Dandy was used for the first time in the song “Yankee Daddle Dandy”, sang during the American revolution in 1770. The words of the song joked about the tawdry uniforms of American soldiers. The term Dandy was referred to a man that bragged of his appearance, in spite of he wore ordinary dresses.
HIS PERSONALITY
The Dandy wants to catch the eye of the false moralist with his attitude. He isn’t interested in everything that doesn’t concern his beauty ideal; for example money that is only seen as a way to obtain beauty, that is more precious. He wants to make himself a piece of art in every meaning. But in spite of his unusual attitude he doesn’t want to get himself noticed because he thinks that the real elegance has to make people pass unobserved. From the excessive care of his aspect we can note that the Dandy is the perfect narcissist. He is often homosexual; because of his exaggerated narcissism that pushes him to love himself so much to fall in love with everything that is identical to him, that is the other men. But it doesn’t mean that a Dandy couldn’t love a woman, that often arouses in him only sexual desire or is seen as a decorative object. Besides the Dandy dawdles places of vice, passions and frenzy as brothel and places where is played gambler. His connection with drugs is conflicting; in fact on one hand he shelters in it, on the other he doesn’t tolerate to be slaves of something; so he tend to eliminate every dependence. However this lifestyle has some limits. Dandy’s drama is to become old and lose the prestige and the consideration acquired in the youthful age. Besides Dandy is victim of a world that doesn’t understand him. This can lead Dandy to a depression that he will try to hide with a well-being attitude.
WEARING STYLE
Dandy’s wearing style is very refined and full of particulars. He wear coloured silk and velvet dresses, with stiff collars, velvet brands and coats, true or false waistcoats, peg-top trousers, yellow and pink gloves, turned-down collars, gilded sticks and violet boutonnières. And also tiny bowler, bright tweeds and comfortable trousers, waistcoats and jacket and often a drooping lily. Another frequent element in Dandy’s wearing is the following tie. Among the different types of necktie these are the most frequent. From the point of view of the colours he abhors extreme use of colours and, so, he chooses soft dyes like tan, pink, light blue and duck (that is a light yellow) but he dressed above all in black, grey and white. His habits of dress and fashion were much imitated, especially in France where became a trend, especially in bohemians quarters.
THE DANDY AND THE BOHEMIENNE
The Dandy was often associated to the bohémienne but this two figures are different between them. In Fact while the Bohemian allies himself to the masses, is a poor and is interested in society; the Dandy is a bourgeois man who lives outside the society and isn’t interested on its problems.
DANDYISM
Brummell, the first British Dandy, created the phenomenon of Dandyism during the 18th century as a lifestyle. This trend arrived in France where it was linked to the aestheticism and then it appeared again in England during the 19th century, with the figure of Oscar Wilde. This phenomenon exists also nowadays.
THE DANDY AND THE AESTHETE
This two figure, although they seem similar, are very much different. An aesthete is an artist who uses fashion to promote himself and his art; instead the Dandy is a man of society who uses fashions, manners and conversation to please, seduce and amuse everybody to permit him the access to the higher rungs of society.
THE MOST FAMOUS DANDIES
Among the famous dandies we observe Oscar Wilde who became a fashionable man for his way of dressing. He expressed his individuality with green and large boutonnieres, bright red waistcoats, diamond stud, exaggerated collar, thick tie knot, lots of shirt-cuffs, square handkerchiefs, and loud pin-stripe slacks. His clothes were anti-Victorian; in fact he didn’t bear the middle class hypocrisy that didn’t allow vice.
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