From childhood and school times, we remember that the Pushkin hero Eugene Onegin was a fan of Adam Smith and meticulously took care of the beauty of his nails, at the same time he also dressed up perfectly like a real dandy. However, not everyone still understands what the phrase “how a London dandy is dressed” means. Why was the “dandy” considered the standard of male beauty? What are these pedantic personalities? Let's get to the heart of England at the end of the 18th century and find out who such a dandy is.
London dandy - who is it?
Dandy is a historical term for describing a person who pays particular attention to their appearance. Dandy, as a person, in many respects differs from other representatives of society not only in his appearance, but also in his habits: he has an exquisite speech, he engages in some leisurely hobbies, he has the inherent manner of a pedant, he likes to stand in front of a mirror for hours, is careless and self-confident. The course of dendism arose in England at the end of the 18th century in response to an overly elevated role in the society of the wealthy estates (bourgeois). London Dandy is a representative of the middle class who seeks to lead an aristocratic lifestyle.
What does dendism mean?
From this it can be understood that dendism is purely a political protest that developed in the 18th century in Great Britain and became the forerunner of the “American revolution” (political events in the British colonies of North America 1775-1779 that ended with the formation of the United States). Given these connotations, panache of this kind can be seen as an attempt to protest against the leveling of “egalitarian principles” with elements of a nostalgic commitment to feudal and pre-industrial principles.
Started with improvisation
So-called dandies set fashion trends during the last decade of the 18th century. In history and literature, there are many funny stories about how the fashion of Dendism was improved. One of them is dedicated to the notorious dandy - Lord Spencer (representative of the largest British aristocratic family). Once, while resting in an institution, he accidentally burned the tails of his tailcoat, stepping close to a burning fireplace. Without thinking twice, the lord circumcised them and continued to have fun. So there was a new type of outerwear - a narrow coat without a floor "Spencer". For a while, men wore a “light spencer” under a blue tailcoat or shirt, and this was considered fashionable. But soon this coat gained popularity among women, and they also began to wear it.
London dandy: who is that? How did you dress?
At the beginning of the XIX century, male dendism began to develop at a rapid pace. "London Dandy" dressed sophisticatedly and elegantly, in a word - "from the needle." The dandy's ideology was that the appearance should not constrain him. Careless movements and grace immediately distinguished such an individual from the crowd. Men, it would seem, dressed moderately and elegantly, but their appearance demanded a large monetary outlay. London dandy is the most fashionable representative of the male community!
Let us cite as an example and confirmation one more excerpt from the novel in the verses "Eugene Onegin" of the Russian classic:
“... Here is my Onegin free;
Cut to the latest fashion;
How dandy London dressed ... "
The image of a real dandy now did not require the presence of various ornaments and colorful accessories. Now men are worried about the quality of the cut, which should be perfect. Tailcoats and vests became the main elements of everyday men's wardrobe, they were sewn from high quality cloth. The style of clothing was selected for simple reasons: in the evening, men put on tailcoats of dark color (black or blue), and in the afternoon - light (most often gray).
Only two details of the male image could be bright in color - a vest and tie, they were selected very carefully and reverently. Real dandies believed that one of the main objects of their image is a vest, which should perfectly fit into the overall color scheme of the costume and have the most sophisticated pattern. Among wealthy dandies, it was customary to collect large collections of vests of different textures, cuts and colors (one of these was the famous English playwright and prose writer Oscar Wilde). The last step on the path to perfecting the perfect look was choosing a tie (or neck scarf), which should be tied in the most picturesque way.
A tie was considered the main attribute of the dandy look.
The art of tying ties was valued above all. A real dandy (London) was different from this ordinary representative of society. Creative and diligent site is evaluated as a separate attribute of the image. The excellently tied tie was distinguished by a slight sloppiness of the knot and resembled a quick improvisation, but a considerable amount of time was devoted to this. This lesson gained such popularity that at the beginning of the 19th century whole books were devoted to the question of how to skillfully tie a tie or neck scarf. One of the authors was Honore de Balzac (French writer, founder of realism in European literature), who in 1830 wrote a whole textbook entitled “A Treatise on Elegant Life”.
Rules and whims of representatives of "dendism"
First-class dandies were overly capricious and picky personalities. The aristocratic approach to choosing clothes had a lot of patterns and rules. True representatives of "Dendism" considered it bad form to be dressed in a suit, the novelty of which is sharply noticeable. To avoid this, they allowed their servants to wear their tailcoats and vests, so that after some time the outfit would become a little worn and worn. Sometimes clothes were specially wiped with objects with an abrasive surface - sandpaper or rough glass. London Dandy, whose photo with images is presented below, always cared about his appearance.
Particular attention was paid to personal hygiene. Clothing should always be clean and smelling good. Shirts and gloves required the most thorough and reverent care. Real dandies had an unwritten rule: in a week a man should change about twenty shirts, thirty handkerchiefs, fifteen kinds of trousers, more than thirty ties and an infinite number of socks and vests.