# Dandies and Dandies explained — The Works of Max Beerbohm

> Chapter companion for The Works of Max Beerbohm by Max Beerbohm.

## What happens

Beerbohm reflects on the philosophy and practice of dandyism, arguing that the true dandy is an artist who works within the conventions of his age, exemplified by the legacy of Beau Brummell. He contrasts Brummell's restrained, enduring style with the more flamboyant but ultimately lesser art of Count D'Orsay, and discusses the social, aesthetic, and psychological reasons for the triumph of modern costume.

## Themes in this chapter

### Dandyism and Aestheticism

The chapter is a sustained meditation on dandyism as a decorative art, emphasizing the dandy's role as an artist working within fashion's conventions.

### Artifice vs. Nature

Beerbohm argues that modern costume artfully reveals the body's fineness while veiling its meanness, striking a balance between artifice and natural form.

### Critique of Modernity and Progress

The chapter critiques swift rebellions in fashion, advocating for gradual evolution and conformity to the 'last wisdom' of one's age.

## Character check-ins

### Max Beerbohm

Narrator and commentator on dandyism, reflecting on his own occasional desires for antique costumes.

### Mr. Brummell

Praised as the 'Father of Modern Costume' whose precepts of quiet, reasonable, and beautiful dress still dominate fashion.

### Count D'Orsay

Described as a wayward, excessive dandy whose art was marred by showiness and who failed to achieve the greatness of Brummell.

### Mr. Hall Caine

Mentioned as an example of how costume reveals the soul, with his cloak likened to his novels.

### King George IV

Referenced as the Prince whose attempt to revive knee-breeches failed due to the slow evolution of fashion.

### Mr. Oscar Wilde

Not directly named but alluded to through the mention of 'Mr. Whistler's silk hat' and 'symphony en blanc majeur' as examples of expressive costume.

## Key lines

> The dandy is the 'child of his age,' and his best work must be produced in accord with the age's natural influence.

A dandy's greatest achievements come from embracing the spirit and style of his own era.

_Beerbohm's central thesis on the dandy's relationship to contemporary fashion._

> The costume of the nineteenth century, as shadowed for us first by Mr. Brummell, so quiet, so reasonable, and, I say emphatically, so beautiful; free from folly or affectation, yet susceptible to exquisite ordering; plastic, austere, economical, may not be ignored.

Nineteenth-century dress, pioneered by Brummell, is understated, rational, and beautiful, and its principles remain essential.

_Beerbohm's praise of Brummell's lasting influence on modern attire._

> The aesthetic vision of a dandy should be bounded by his own mirror.

A dandy's artistic focus should be solely on his own appearance, not on external creations like painting.

_Beerbohm's critique of D'Orsay's portrait painting as a violation of dandyist principles._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/chapters/dandies-and-dandies
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/chapters