Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1901-09-04
THE AGE Of DANUlE
RrauTsOu5 ATTIRE o. The SWELL
or THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
SIX and velvet Coats of All the @
or. of the Rainbow Were Tsea T.
Rage-The Reign of the Essence
E,e-ance Beau Brummef.

In tie glorious days OF King Geors
IL men wore silk or velvet coats OF a,
coIors OF the rainbow. They trippe.
mineingly along upon their toes. SUP
porting upon their heads wheelbai
rowfuI of pcruke covered with a bushi
Ell of powder. their ''steinherke We
sprinkled with snuff. their sword kno.
trailed almost on the ground, and the,
swords dangled from the fifth buttos
pearl colored silk stockings and re,
heeled shoes completing their costum,
1t seems almost as though one s
those goddesses the Cummings la
penned the following lines to Geors,
Selwin at Paris in 1866 instead of t,
sporting Earl of March: The mu,
you sent me by the Duke of Richmoti
| like prodig iously-yastly better tha
if it lad been -tigre' or any glaring &C
or Several are now making after IL
And again in 1TI6 he writes, Pr:
bring me two or three bottles or Pc
fumes and some patterns Of velye.,
that are new and lefty. s.
Almost to the last moment of his G
piece Oh IiCI
much an attraction to the great NJ
quis of Wellesley as it would have ba
to any of the most frivolous minq
Young handles about the town indie
this nobleman would frequently
alone in solitary state. Zen gra,
toilette" with his blue ribbon and 6
ter, as if about to appear at ra
'.levee."
In the year 179S there arose on :
horizon of fashion, or, rather. tie
blaZed in it's full meridian. that wonc-
full phenomenon of elegance Geoe
Bryan Brummel. Born in 1II1, e
son of an undersecretary of Id
Norths and educated at Elton, he J.
joyed the credit of being the tst
scholar. the best oarsman and the list
cricketer of the day. Though no
gentleman by descent. he yet mde
plenty Of aristocratic friends and x
perienced little difficulty in obtainaS
the entree to Devonshire House. whre
he was introduced to the prince reG0t,
who gave him a commission in he
Tenth hussars.
Until BrIiInme came upon the scsnt
the pri, se. though not remarkable TO
his taste, had. thanks to his rank. beef
constituted the master of the elegan
cies" or leader of the handles. but b
was at once dethroned by the superio
genius of BrummeI. who retained th
sovereignty till the year 1917. Durin
tea I'll nsriod be beca0s ths model Of a
England he continued to wear pOwue
rather priding himself upon preservi1
this remnant of the vielle cOur. Ii
clothes were a perfect study. The CO
was generally of blue cloth and its &C
lar raised against the back of the hes
like the hood of a monk. style fam
lar to us in pictures and miniatures
the period The buckskin or nanket
breeches were so incredibly tight TIL
they could only be got on with il
mense labor and could only be taks
of in the same manner as an eel Is {
vested of its skin.
Then came a waistcoat about fo'
inches long. open on the chest. displa
ing a stiff white muslin cravat. He
sian boots completed the costume, ar
to these the beau paid particular ate
ton. They We're commonly reported :
being blackened ''au vim de char
! payne" At any rate, two shoemake
/ were supposed to insure the perfectne
! of their fit-one made the right and Il
I other the left boot He had three glo
ers for his gloves. one of whom was e
! clusively charged with the cutting OF
I of his thumbs. Three hairdressers we
/ likewise engaged to dress his hair. 4
for the personal appearance of th
sublime dandy, Ibis face" we req
was rather long. his features neith
plain nor ugly, his forehead unusual
high, hair light brown. whiskers il
clined TO be sandy, eyes gray and fu
of oddity." His conversation, witho'
4 having the wit and humor of Lord a
vanley, another of the handles, ":
highly agreeable and amusing. Indee
Brummel has never been surpassed
.Qualed since. The Prince of Wal
would frequently come of morning
the beau's house in Chesterfield sire
TO witness his toilet and to acquire ii
art OF tying his own neckerchief "a
mode" For many years. notwithstan
ing the great disparity Of rank. Brur
mel continued the princes intima
friend. At last, however, a cooIne
sprang up between them. and the mi
ror of fashion" was forbidden the roy
presence.
The prince-then king-saw the Do,
dandy once many years after whs
passing through Calais. Thackers
says: The bankrupt beau sent hi
then snufbox with some of the snu
he used TO love as a piteous token
remembrance and submission. and Il
king took tne snuff and ordered L
horses and drove on aud had not Il
grace TO notice his old companion. f
yorite. rival. enemy. superior" Brur
mel Of course. had many successor
but the old order changeth," aud mol
of them ever attained to the Olympus
heights OF his dandyisu. not even Il
elegant D'orsay. who for a time W:
constituted the king of fashion al