Portrait of a Dandy: Considered an outstanding conductor and interpreter of the music of Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Liszt, Arthur Nikisch (1855-1922) knew a thing or two about classical and masculine refinement.
Consider the difference between the dandy of yesterday and the metrosexual of today:
Today, metrosexual is used to describe an urban heterosexual male in touch with his inner Carrie Bradshaw. But don't confuse him with a dandy. Created by advertising execs, consumed by consumption, he is a gay stereotype trapped in a straight cliché, sipping crantinis in between shopping, the gym, and laser hair-removal appointments. Contrary to popular belief, not all gay men were born with the Manolo-detection gene any more than all straight men were born scratching their crotches."Dandy isn't a fashion slave but a well-dressed philosopher. I don't think too many metrosexuals can quote Alexander Pope." Read on about the difference between dandies and metrosexuals.
Once upon a time, after the fops and before the metrosexuals, dandy referred to a well-mannered fellow who dressed with flair and knew a thing or two about art, literature, gentlemanly sports, and the finer things in life. He was just as likely to fancy the ladies as the lads. The dandy did not follow trends; he set standards. The metrosexual is his flickering holograph.
At a cocktail party, you'd be well-advised to skirt around the metrosexual and sidle up to the dandy, if you can find one. The metrosexual would be the clotheshorse checking out his freshly dermabraded complexion in the mirror over the mantelpiece. A dandy never consults the looking glass in public because he is confident. This frees him up to show off the dandy's must-have accessory: a keen, sly wit.
Tweedsmuir, a fine portrait but this is a little edgy for The Monarchist.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I of course agree that dandies were elegant and elitist, whereas modern latte sipping metrosexuals are nincompoops and narcissists. Neither are really my cup of tea, I'm a little too wasp and traditional for this kind of foppishness. I admire elegance, but of the understated and more conservative variant.
Indeed, Mr. Tweedsmuir, I believe Lord Beaverbrook prefers the stark elegance of a Victorian gentleman in black to the gaudy, colourful foppishness of a dandy of George IV's Regency.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to agree. But in any case, I'd prefer a dandy to a metrosexual! A dandy has a certain... spirit to them. A certain air of education and honour that the metrosexual lacks. I think it's the distinct lack of duelling these days, hehehe.
Well, the portrait is certainly of an elegant Victorian gentleman (conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra no less), it's the hair that's a little edgy for Victorian times. He has dandy hair and a dandy poise, but still very refined, elegant and masculine.
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