Evening star., 1901-05-31
REIGN OF THE DANDlES.
Gorgeous Male Raiment During the
Days of King George ii.

Days VI Mig "eoTSe
From the London Argosy.
In the glorious days of King George ii
men wore silk or velvet coats of all colors
of the rainbow. They tripped mincingly
along upon their toes, supporting upon their
heads wheelbarrow full of peruke covered
with a bushel of powder, their stein
kerke was sprinkled with snuff. their
sword knots trailed almost on the ground,
and their canes dangled from the fifth but
ton; pearl-colored silk stockings and red
heeled shoes completing their costume. 1t
seems almost as though one Of those god
desses the Cummings" had penned the fol-
lowing lines to George Selwyn at Paris in
1906, instead of the sporting Earl of March
subsequently old o.. The muff you
sent me by the Duke of Richmond L like
prodigiously, vastly better than if it had
been 'tigre or of any slaring color; several
are now making after it, And again in
1916 he writes Pray bring me two or three
bottles of perfumes and some patterns of
velvets that are new and pretty.
Almost to the last moment of his life q
piece of rich wafstcoating was as much an
object Of attraction to the great Marquis
Wellesley as it would have been to any of
the most frivolous minded young dandies
about the town Indeed. this nobieman
would frequently sit alone in solitary state,
zen grande toilette" with his blue ribbon
and garter. as if about to appear at a
royal 'leVee.'
In the year lISS there arose on the hofl-
zon of fashion. or rather there blazed in Its
full meridian. that wonderful phenomenon
Of elegance, George Bryan Brummell. Eorn
in 1177, the son of an under secretary of Lord
North's and educated at Eton, he enjoyed
the credit of being the best scholar, the
best oarsman and the best cricketer Of the
day. Though not a gentleman by descent,
he yet made plenty Of aristocratic friends.
and being regarded as a sort of Admirable
Crichton,' experienced little difficulty in OBJ
tanning the "entree" to Devonshire House.
where he was introduced to the prince re-
gent, who gave him commission In the
10th HuSsars.
Until Brummell came upon the scene the
prince, though not remarkable for his
taste. had. thanks to his rank been con-
stituted the master of the elegancies," or
leader of the dandies, but he was at once
dethroned by the superior genius Of Brum-
nell, who retained the sovereignty till the
year 1917. During this period he became
the model Of all men who wished to dress
well. and when he had struck out new
idea he would smile at its gradual progress
downward from the higher to the lowest
classes. To the last of his stay in England
he continued to wear powder, rather prid-
ing himself upon preserving this remnant
of the "vlelle cour.' His clothes were a
perfect study. The coat was generally OF
blue cloth, and its collar raised against the
back of the head like the hood Of monk
a style familiar to us in pictures and miDla-
lures of the period-the buckskin or nan
keen breeches were so incredibly tight that
they could only be got on with immense
labor and could only be taken off in the
same manner as an eel is divested of its
skin. Then came q waiStcoat about four
inches long, open on the chest, displaying
a stiff white muslin cravat. Hessian boots
completed the costume, and to these the
Beau paid particular attention. They were
commonly reported as being blackened 'au
vim de champagne" at any rate, TWO shoe
makers We're supposed to insure the per-
fectness Of their fit. one made the right
and the other the left foot. He had three
or < nn "
clusively charged with the cutting out OF
Ms thumbs. Three hair dressers were like
wise engaged to dress his hair. AS for the
personal appearance of this sublime dandy,
Ibis face" we read. was rather long, his
features neither plain nor ugly, his fore
head unusually high, hair light brown,
whiskers inclined to be sandy, eyes gray
and full Of oddity." His conversation,
without having the wit and humor of
Lord Alvanley, another of the dandies, was
highly agreeable and amusing; indeed,
Brummell has never been surpassed or
equaled since The Prince Of Wales would
frequently come of morning to the Beau's
house in Chesterfield street to witness his
toilet, and to acquire the art of tying his
own neckerchief "a la mode" For many
years, Notwithstanding the great disparity
of rank Brummell continued the princes
Ultimate friend. At last, however a cool
ness sprang up between them ana the
mirror of fashion was forbidden the royal
presence.
The prince-then king-saw the poor
dandy once many years after when passing
through Calais. Thackeray says: The
bankrupt Beau sent him then a snuff box
with some of the snuff he used to love, as
a piteous token OF remembrance and sub
mission and the king took the snuff ana
ordered his horses and drove on and had
not the grace to notice his old companion,
favorite, rival, enemy, superior Brum-
nell, OF course, had many successors. but
'the old order changeth,' and none of them
ever attained to the Olympian heights Of
his dandyism. not even the elegant d'Orsay,
who for a time was constituted the king
of fashion and held poor Brummell's
scepter.