Dandyism

June 3, 2005 10:54 AM

"The only way to atone for being occasionally a little over-dressed is by being always absolutely over-educated."(Wilde)
A dandy eschews fashion but embraces style.(.pdf)
He is an aficionado of personal elegance and refinement. From the archetype in George 'Beau' Brummell there is a lineage tracking through to Tom Wolfe in which the personal artistry of the dandy knows no bounds save for those of exquisite taste.
posted by peacay (9 comments total)

Damn. All these links are telling me I'm in danger of being a dandy. What if I don't want to be a dandy? :-/

On a related topic, how would you define the connotations of fop relative to dandy? Do people see the words as entirely interchangeable, or does one lean more towards certain connotations? (And if so, what?)
The dictionary and thesaurus I just looked at makes little distinction.
posted by -harlequin- at 1:05 PM on June 3, 2005

Your handle is "harlequin"; you had warning signs.

I have, absurdly, been called alt.religion.kibology's resident fop and/or dandy, by people who use the terms more or less interchangeably.
posted by kenko at 1:22 PM on June 3, 2005

You could be a fop instead...
posted by black8 at 1:23 PM on June 3, 2005

A dandy is also an entirely unoriginal relic of a--were it not for his loudly-dressed insistence--mercifully mostly abandoned trend of narcissistic snobbery and obnoxious mannerisms in speech and deportment.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 6:03 PM on June 3, 2005

The article mocking Native Americans is charming, however. One must never forget that tribal peoples are the dandies that everyone missed. This is something only a pansy who must have his bottom wiped for him can appreciate.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 6:13 PM on June 3, 2005

"Dandy" ? WTF? The word metrosexual has long served to describe this behavior; there is no need to go and make up a *new* word to descrbe it.

Sheesh.
posted by Ayn Marx at 9:25 AM on June 4, 2005

"Dandy" ? WTF? The word metrosexual has long served to describe this behavior; there is no need to go and make up a *new* word to descrbe it.

*snork*
posted by KirkJobSluder at 10:47 AM on June 4, 2005

A metrosexual is a brother of commercialism. A dandy is a brother of style. They may crossover but they are not the same. Read the Moscow Times link.
posted by peacay at 7:44 PM on June 4, 2005

Uh peacay, she was joking. Nevermind, luckily no one cares about this crap.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 9:08 PM on June 5, 2005