Beau Brummell

Excerpt from the historical monologue "400 Years of English History" presented by artist/historian George S. Stuart as part of an exhibit of his Historical Figures at the Ventura County Museum of Art and History in Ventura California. Visit the Gallery of Historical Figures online at www.galleryhist....

[@Ingleseeuu]

Fascinating commentary. Thanks...

[@mybluecat1]

Thespian James Purefoy was a perfect Brummel.

[@mharrsch]

I watched an interesting movie about Beau Brummel just the other day on BBC America starring James Purefoy. In the movie, he initiated the change in dress and grooming from the powdered, wigged look with feminine-looking shoes and accessories to a more "manly" appearance with natural hair, shirt with ascot, close-fitting pants, and cavalry boots. Of course James Purefoy (Marc Antony in the recent "Rome" miniseries on HBO) was quite fetching!

[@EvilDandy]

Absolutely. Brummel was a dandy...sleek and elegant (remember the key to elegance is simplicity). Whereas a fop is over-done, pointlessly dressed, and basically trying too hard, what today we would call camp.

[@ruthshelton1924]

Very interesting !ObsoleteOddity channel does very interresting videos & historical videos like the ones he made on Brummel. You should see the ones on the Titanic. Very cool.

[@angelm237]

he was more of a trend setter than a dandy! he was the one that set trends dandys were more whats new in fashion.

[@ete4]

I think he's putting Brummell in context. He was certainly *fastidious*, but a dandy in his time wore lace, garters, bright silk, wigs, etc. Compared to them, he wasn't a dandy. In the modern sense, we most certainly would call him a dandy.

[@abc64pan]

True about the upper class men in the 18th century, but the period being spoken of here is actually the 19th century.

[@weilandiv8310]

He is no Percy Lefroy

[@PhilippineAmerican]

The men in the eighteenth century looked like dante women with powdered make up and whigs, they felt naked much more than the women did without their whigs on. It is good that he dressed in a masculine fashion where men looked like men.

[@retrodarth]

I said there are many types of Dandyism, maybe Mr. Stuart was talking about the postmodern mis-concept of it.

[@retrodarth]

So inoportune witty mind but certainly charming until the end.