Lately, I have taken a fancy in discovering the identity and history of the Dandy. After reading countless articles on dandies, I will have to confess that I am nowhere nearer to understanding the essence of the dandiacal man.
Backtracking a little, let’s briefly examine the dandy in general. He is a man who is wholly vain, taking extreme pride in his appearance. Being a dandy embodies not only the physical aspect of a person, but the intellectual aspect as well. One cannot expect to qualify as a dandy if he is not well-mannered. He has to possess a myriad of the highest distinctions, whether physical or behavioural.
Historically, the first recognised dandy is Beau Brummell, an Englishman who paid painful attention to his attire. He only sent his laundry to the country, claiming they were the only ones who knew how to bleach correctly. His habits of cleaning his teeth, shaving, and bathing daily became well-known and popular.
Another famous dandy is none other than Oscar Wilde, who possessed equal amounts of razor sharp wit and preposterous aesthetics. He accessorised himself with huge sunflowers, lilies, and peacock feathers.
What fascinates me about the Dandy is the combination of intelligence and the calculated choice of looking sharp and well-dressed. After all, it’s hardly the case where a geek looks absolutely sleek. A fashionable person may be well acquainted with his Hermès, but I’ll be surprised if he knows the difference between Plato and Proust. So historical dandies like Count D’orsay and Wilde leaves me wondering endlessly about the conundrum of their characters and behaviour.
What makes a dandy, you ask – apparently this is a mystery in itself. There is no code, because as French novellist Barbey d’Aurevilly writes, “If there were, anybody could be a dandy.” This quote from Dandyism.net, a website with delightful articles all about dandies, sums it up succinctly:
“Because dandies are an enigma wrapped in a labyrinth, and because dandyism makes its own rules, the final quality is the ability to negate all the others.”
As for me, I will be looking forward in seeing a dandy in Singapore with my own eyes, with a walking stick and all!
(Photo credit: Dandyism.net and Wikipedia)
Delighting in the perfection of dandies
Stephie
7 Comments
June 7, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Oscar Wilde is EXACTLY who I think of when I think of dandies
June 7, 2008 at 3:45 pm
A friendly message from your friends at Dandyism.net:
At the moment, you’ve just linked the posted image to our server, instead of uploading it onto your own. Though we appreciate the citation, if you could rectify this issue it would be greatly appreciated; we don’t particularly enjoy paying bandwidth charges so people can look at sites that aren’t ours.
Thank you, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at ryan@dandyism.net.
June 7, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Hello Ryan – I’ve uploaded the image so it should be fine now.
June 7, 2008 at 8:42 pm
wow this concept is totally new to me but i love it! definitely looking for my own dandy man too
June 7, 2008 at 11:54 pm
This makes me want to read every Georgette Heyer novel I can lay my hands on….the pic on top looks a bit like a Tamara de Lempicka painting.
June 8, 2008 at 10:27 am
Great Article
Thanks
Michael
June 9, 2008 at 1:38 am
thank you for this nice post!
sebastian