On 30 March, 1840, the long and terrible suffering of a truly magnificent man finally ended, and the world lost the best example of dandyism it has seen before or since. While I normally love to celebrate the birth of George Bryan (Beau) Brummell with links, facts, and a sense of excitement, there is a sort of quiet acceptance on his death anniversary that some things must, and should, end. The last year and a half of his life was torture. But the life, itself, was one filled with so many highs and lows, from being at the very top of society and friends with the Prince Regent to at the very bottom and penniless in an assylum, from dictating fashions and the whims of the upper eschilons of the bon ton to having only one pair of trousers, that it could very well be a tragedy written for the stage. Yet, in his sixty-one years, Brummell single-handedly changed the face of male fashion forever, and bent the will of his superiors to his own, thereby achieving a goal that most in his own class, let alone below it, could only dream of. And his dreams, when they did come in fits of madness, were not generally of regrets and things that he wished he could have done and seen, but of ones that he actually experienced. From him, we learn not only about the necessity of cleanliness and dressing well, but also about enjoying all that life has to offer, persuing one's passions, and that one not need change the world through grand deeds or conventional accomplishments. Sometimes, just being oneself and following one's own path to reach one's dreams is enough. And really, what do we take with us but our memories? What do we leave behind but the memories of those who knew us, and at times, glimpses into our lives and world via letters, diaries, memoirs, and biographies, if we are lucky enough to have them written about us? The world of Brummell may be long gone, but these lessons, this great achievement of immortality, shall remain with us. And, for those of us who love dandyism, we will have a great model to learn from, and in some cases, to base our own desires for a partner upon. Who better to represent the ultimate ideal than the man who embodied it?
To learn more about The Beau, go to my link on dandyism. There, you will find an entire section on him, with everything from quick articles to books.
https://dandylover1.dreamwidth.org/181996.html
#BeauBrummell #Brummell #dandyism #tribute
#Brummell
On 30 March, 1840, the long and terrible suffering of a truly magnificent man finally ended, and the world lost the best example of dandyism it has seen before or since. While I normally love to celebrate the birth of George Bryan (Beau) Brummell with links, facts, and a sense of excitement, there is a sort of quiet acceptance on his death anniversary that some things must, and should, end. The last year and a half of his life was torture. But the life, itself, was one filled with so many highs and lows, from being at the very top of society and friends with the Prince Regent to at the very bottom and penniless in an assylum, from dictating fashions and the whims of the upper eschilons of the bon ton to having only one pair of trousers, that it could very well be a tragedy written for the stage. Yet, in his sixty-one years, Brummell single-handedly changed the face of male fashion forever, and bent the will of his superiors to his own, thereby achieving a goal that most in his own class, let alone below it, could only dream of. And his dreams, when they did come in fits of madness, were not generally of regrets and things that he wished he could have done and seen, but of ones that he actually experienced. From him, we learn not only about the necessity of cleanliness and dressing well, but also about enjoying all that life has to offer, persuing one's passions, and that one not need change the world through grand deeds or conventional accomplishments. Sometimes, just being oneself and following one's own path to reach one's dreams is enough. And really, what do we take with us but our memories? What do we leave behind but the memories of those who knew us, and at times, glimpses into our lives and world via letters, diaries, memoirs, and biographies, if we are lucky enough to have them written about us? The world of Brummell may be long gone, but these lessons, this great achievement of immortality, shall remain with us. And, for those of us who love dandyism, we will have a great model to learn from, and in some cases, to base our own desires for a partner upon. Who better to represent the ultimate ideal than the man who embodied it?
To learn more about The Beau, go to my link on dandyism. There, you will find an entire section on him, with everything from quick articles to books.
Er war der "Ur-Dandy", der Erfinder einer eleganten, geistreichen, sehr britischen Lebensweise. Am 30.3.1840 starb George "Beau" Brummell - und sah sich selbst im Spiegel dabei zu...
George #Brummell formt Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts den #Stil seiner Zeit. Er lebt vor, dass nicht der Anzug den Menschen, sondern der Mensch den Anzug macht. Er inszeniert sich selbst als #Kunstwerk, schlicht aber perfekt, und verfolgt dabei nur ein Ziel: #Eleganz als #Lebenshaltung. #Dandy
https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/wdr-zeitzeichen/der-erste-dandy-beau-brummells-leben-vom-modekoenig-zum-bettler/wdr-5/14317193/
(@tefferbear@mastodon.art This is in response to your post regarding underwear prior to Victorian times. A friend boosted your post, but when I replied, I received a message saying that your post was marked as followers only or some such and couldn't be replied to. I just wanted to clarify a few things.
The following is from Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style (or the Ultimate Dandy in the UK edition) by Ian Kelly. Please forgive the (x). This was scanned into my computer (I'm blind) and there was an ocr error, so I wrote x.
"Like Brummell, and all young men of fashion, it appears that Byron wore underwear rarely or not at all. A study of Scrope Davies's accounts reveals a similar absence, and Prince (x)-Muskau's mention of the number of "summer trousers" a gentleman needed refers to the same issue. The older generation kept with older ways; some of the very rare examples of male undergarments surviving from the period belonged to Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Coutts, the banker, but in their dotage. The younger set aspired to a different aesthetic, and the line of the trouser was not to be interrupted by rucked shirttails or underwear."
From another passage in the same book. This is from a discussion of when Brummell was still in England (he left in 1816), so it's well within the Regency.
"One Persian ambassador to the Court of St. James's was moved to write that he found the Brummell style of trousers "immodest and unflattering to the figure . . . [they] look just like underdrawers-could they be designed to appeal to the ladies?"
This is directly from Brummell. Keep in mind that he died in 1840, only three years after the Victorian era began. This is from The life of George Brummell, esq., commonly called Beau Brummell by Captain Jesse. It is a biography, not a piece of fiction.
"Pray send me what remains in the drawers of the bed-room there are some waistcoats, drawers, pantaloons, &c., and in the upper tiroir, sundry trifling things which I forgot, but which I may have occasion for."
This is from 1837 or so from the same book.
"I have not a single shirt that will hang to my back, nor are my socks and drawers in a better state."
This is again from Brummell, from a book that he wrote called Male and Female Costume. It was written in 1822 but not published until 1934.
"Ancient drawings and descriptions furnish us with an idea of the remainder of their dress in the resemblance of modern underdrawers."
From the same book.
"The following is the description of the dress of a Running Footman in 1730: ”They wear fine Holland drawers and waistcoats, thread stockings, a blue silk sash fringed with silver, a velvet capwith a great tassel; and carry a Porter’s staff with a large silver handle.”"
It is true that there was a trend to use shirttails as underwear. This remained so even into the Edwardian era. But drawers were certainly known prior to Victorian times.
#AntiqueMenswear #Brummell #clothing #Edwardian #fashion #Regency #Victorian
The following is from Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style (or the Ultimate Dandy in the UK edition) by Ian Kelly. Please forgive the (x). This was scanned into my computer (I'm blind) and there was an ocr error, so I wrote x.
"Like Brummell, and all young men of fashion, it appears that Byron wore underwear rarely or not at all. A study of Scrope Davies's accounts reveals a similar absence, and Prince (x)-Muskau's mention of the number of "summer trousers" a gentleman needed refers to the same issue. The older generation kept with older ways; some of the very rare examples of male undergarments surviving from the period belonged to Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Coutts, the banker, but in their dotage. The younger set aspired to a different aesthetic, and the line of the trouser was not to be interrupted by rucked shirttails or underwear."
From another passage in the same book. This is from a discussion of when Brummell was still in England (he left in 1816), so it's well within the Regency.
"One Persian ambassador to the Court of St. James's was moved to write that he found the Brummell style of trousers "immodest and unflattering to the figure . . . [they] look just like underdrawers-could they be designed to appeal to the ladies?"
This is directly from Brummell. Keep in mind that he died in 1840, only three years after the Victorian era began. This is from The life of George Brummell, esq., commonly called Beau Brummell by Captain Jesse. It is a biography, not a piece of fiction.
"Pray send me what remains in the drawers of the bed-room there are some waistcoats, drawers, pantaloons, &c., and in the upper tiroir, sundry trifling things which I forgot, but which I may have occasion for."
This is from 1837 or so from the same book.
"I have not a single shirt that will hang to my back, nor are my socks and drawers in a better state."
This is again from Brummell, from a book that he wrote called Male and Female Costume. It was written in 1822 but not published until 1934.
"Ancient drawings and descriptions furnish us with an idea of the remainder of their dress in the resemblance of modern underdrawers."
From the same book.
"The following is the description of the dress of a Running Footman in 1730: ”They wear fine Holland drawers and waistcoats, thread stockings, a blue silk sash fringed with silver, a velvet capwith a great tassel; and carry a Porter’s staff with a large silver handle.”"
It is true that there was a trend to use shirttails as underwear. This remained so even into the Edwardian era. But drawers were certainly known prior to Victorian times.
#AntiqueMenswear #Brummell #clothing #Edwardian #fashion #Regency #Victorian
I love this site. They also have fascinating article.s This is great for those of us who love the Regency, as well as those who wear proper period clothing. This partly explains how Brummell's neckcloths were so clean! His were either superfine cambric or fine Irish muslin (he had both). To my blind friends, sometimes, the printed s looked like f during that time, hence the muflin, foap, etc.
regrom.com/2024/12/20/regency-…
#Brummell #clothing #dandyism #fashion #neckcloths #muslin #Regency #washing
I'm in awe right now, but I need some advice. For several years, I've been seeking the book that Beau Brummell used to learn Latin. I know it was Introduction to the Latin Tongue for the use of Youth. There were many different editions, including The famous, but later, Eton Latin Grammar. He attended Eton from 1786 to 1794. I have a digital copy of one published in 1795, wich fits the timeframe perfectly, but it's a mess when trying to read the "full text" with NVDA (my screen reader) or to convert the pdf to text. Likewise, I have one from about 1824-5 that is a reprint of 1795, and though it's a bit clearer, it's still full of errors. The hard copy reprints I've found are all pictures of the originals, not cleanly retyped. Just now, I found an original 1824 edition, and it's in clean condition! I'm quite afraid, because I am totally blind, and in order to read it, I must hold it and turn the pages so that my software can scan it! I can either use my ArX Vision, which I wear on my head, or my Pearl Document Scanning Camera with Openbook. Either way, I would be touching a book that's 200 years old! However, no one seems to have a modern copy that is retyped. All are just pictures of old editions, and when I try to convert the pdfs to txt, or to read the pre-made html versions (all at the Internet Archive), they are full of errors! This would be fine in English, but I'm using the book to learn Latin!
abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetai…
As a side note, here is my post in which I explain my search for a Latin tutor. I have not yet found one. If you think you can help me, please read said post before simply writing that you are a tutor. I am not using modern methods or pronunciation.
dandylover1.dreamwidth.org/768…
Finally, this is the syllabus for the pre-1868 Eton College curriculum that I created after a lot of research. It includes links to the books I plan to use, as well as extras.
dandylover1.dreamwidth.org/994…
#BeauBrummell #books #Brummell #classicaleducation #education #Eton #EtonCollege #Language #Latin #Learning #nineteenthcentury #syllabus #TraditionalEnglishPronunciation #teacher #tutor
Meet George #Brummell. He was the #homo who essentially came up with the OG GQ in the early 19th century
Doesn’t he look dandy?
#ManchesterFinds
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