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The very model of the dandy in British society was George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (1778-1840), an associate of the Prince Regent: Unpowdered, unperfumed, immaculately bathed and shaved, in a plain dark blue coat, perfectly brushed, of perfect fit, showing a lot of perfectly starched linens, freshly laundered, with an elaborately-tied cravat, from the mid-1790s Brummell became an early version of the celebrity, famous chiefly for being a laconic wit and a clothes-horse.
By the time Pitt taxed powder in 1795, Brummell had already abandoned a wig and cut his hair in a Roman fashion, "à la Brutus". Brummell led the move from breeches to snugly-tailored dark "pantaloons," which led directly to the trousers that have been mainstay of men's wear in the Western world for two centuries. Brummell inherited a fortune of thirty thousand pounds, which he spent mostly on costume, gaming and high living, until he suffered the stereotypical fate of the dandy, and fled from his creditors to France, and ultimately died in a Caen lunatic asylum
People of more notable accomplishments than Brummell adopted the pose as well; George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron occasionally dressed the part, helping to reintroduce the frilly, lace-cuffed and collared "poet shirt." He also had his portrait painted in Albanian costume.
Another prominent dandy of the period was Alfred Guillaume Gabriel d'Orsay, the Count d'Orsay, who had been a friend of Byron and moved in the highest London circles.
Other related archives1778, 1780, 1790s, 1795, 1840, 1890s, 18th, 19th century, 21st century, Alfred Guillaume Gabriel d'Orsay, Algernon Swinburne, Andy Warhol, British, Caen, Charles Baudelaire,
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Beau Brummell and early British dandyism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page |
