“Show me a dandy and I’ll show you a hero.”

Some images, websites, and thoughts I came across while I was contemplating dandyism this weekend:

“It is a kind of cult of the ego which can still survive the pursuit of that form of happiness to be found in others, in woman for example; which can even survive what are called illusions. It is the pleasure of causing surprise in others, and the proud satisfaction of never showing any oneself. A dandy may be blasé, he may even suffer pain, but in the latter case he will keep smiling, like the Spartan under the bite of the fox.”— Charles Baudelaire, From “The Painter of Modern Life,” 1863

 

“You can call this a “peacock complex”—I approve of that. Show me a dandy and I’ll show you a hero, as Baudelaire said…And in the nineteenth century it was more…They’re the aristocracy of elegance. It’s the leather, it’s the placement of the gold embroidery, the small casques with one egret feather; the tasseled boots, the sables…They have the real absurdity of style.”—Diana Vreeland, D.V. p. 181

Check out these exhibit sites and other dandytastic sites:

• Dandyism.net, for all your dandified needs
• Modern Dandy, by Sophia Wallace, Photographer
• A Queer History of Fashion Exhibit, Museum at FIT
• Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion Exhibit, RISD
  • Because we missed it Rose Callahan of the Dandy Portraits captured if for us
  • And a video visit to RISD by A Suitable Wardrobe