Another Version of Beau Brummell's Demise

In this YouTube clip about George Brummell, find a discussion about this fascinating man and the Prince Regent and how their relationship ended in an entertaining monologue by George Stuart, artist and raconteur.

Mr. Stuart sculpts historical figures using art historical sources to guide him. Then he speaks about the personages in different venues around California, including Ventura County Museum, using the information he researched. Much of what Mr. Stuart says rings true in this Teapots and Tyrants account, but there are enough deviations with which an historian might find reason to quibble. Regardless, the clip is entertaining and provides one with a pleasant way to spend seven minutes.




Learn more about Beau Brummell and Mr. Stuart at these sites:

• Visit Mr. Stuart's website here.

• Learn a wealth of information about George Brummell at Dandyism.net

• Shows all posts about Mr. Brummell on this site
  

• Rake Superior, Brummell Gets His Due

• Stroll through St. James's here and view a statue of Beau Brummell on Jermyn Street. Find also a photo of the window of Lock's, the hatters.

Attire of the Regency Dandy

In The Corinthian, Georgette Heyer describes Sir Richard in her inimitable fashion:

"He was a very notable Corinthian. From his Wind-swept hair (most difficult of all styles to achieve), to the toes of his gleaming Hessians, he might have posed as an advertisement for the Man of Fashion. His fine shoulders set off a coat of superfine cloth to perfection; his cravat, which had excited George's admiration, had been arranged by the hands of a master; his waistcoat was chosen with a nice eye; his biscuit-coloured pantaloons showed not one crease; and his Hessians with their jaunty gold tassels, had not only been made for him by Hoby, but were polished, George suspected, with a blacking mixed with champagne. A quizzing-glass on a black ribbon hung around his neck; a fob at his waist; and in one hand he carried a Sevres snuff-box. His air proclaimed unutterable boredom, but no tailoring, no amount of studied nonchalance, could conceal the muscle in his thighs, or the strength of his shoulders. Above the starched points of his shirt-collar, a weary, handsome face showed its owner's disillusionment."

In High Society: A Social History of the Regency Period, 1788-1830, Venetia Murray writes:

"...admirers of dandyism have taken the view that it is a sociological phenomenon, the result of a society in a state of transition or revolt. Barbey d'Aurevilly, one of the leading French dandies at the end of the nineteenth century, explained: Some have imagined that dandyism is primarily a specialisation in the art of dressing oneself with daring and elegance. It is that, but much else as well. It is a state of mind made up of many shades, a state of mind produced in old and civilised societies where gaiety has become infrequent or where conventions rule at the price of their subject's boredom...it is the direct result of the endless warfare between respectability and boredom.

In Regency London dandyism was a revolt against a different kind of tradition, an expression of distaste for the extravagance and ostentation of the previous generation, and of sympathy with the new mood of democracy.

Also view:

Gentlemen's Clothing of the Regency Era

Men's Fashion from the Jane Austen Centre

Fashionable Gentleman prints

A biography of George Brummel

Menswear from 1790 to 1830