OH! THAT'S JUST DANDY!

We have added toxicity to masculinity, can’t shake weakness and vulnerability from femininity, and view the androgyne as dull, grey, and an unwanted bridge between the masculine and the feminine. We are suffering from gender norms, and when people are suffering, rebellious acts of protest follow. >>

 >> Originally, dandyism can be perceived as a reaction to changing times. The late 19th century was a time of the aristocracy’s decline, the upcoming middle class, and the rise of the individual. In particular, this was seen among artists and intellectuals as individualistic aestheticism, independent and non-conforming. It was all tied to an age of decadence, symbolism, and the urge to elevate life and the individual to beauty as an object d’art—simultaneously performance art and protest—by dressing fashionably elegant. This escapism in a period of transition wasn’t unlike our   need to redefine our individual connection with humanity and the challenges that come with it in today’s world of growing global interconnection, cultural changes, the increasing influence of AI, and technological advancements. 

The Londoner George Bryan “Beau” Brummell (1778–1840), often considered the first dandy, wore his smart and sharp style as a character with an air of indifference, seemlingly fearless about breaking with the dress style of the powerful masculine energy of his time. Shaking off his background as a commoner, Brummell was a pioneer, breaking out of and redefining the confinements of conventional rules held up by the aristocracy. So, he masqueraded with conviction as a superior being who looked better than he actually was, and found that appearance alone sufficed.

The origins of dandyism are rooted in the French courts of the 18th century. Toward the end of the 19th century, it was generally accepted that dandies in every city and time period looked different from each other. True dandyism had no real substance. It was a visual spectacle that was intended to fascinate. At that time, extravagant dress naturally had an androgynous style, since the idea of gender had not solidified into how we have come to know it today.

Brummell uncovered that style and personality rather than birth and wealth could herald status and strength, but his understated, plain style of elegant simplicity was one of transgressive masculine renunciation. It subsequently led to fashion becoming associated with femininity. Extravagance and grooming were left to women, while men’s fashion became one inspired by social equality. Masculinity was meant to be neutrally uniform. Have we all fallen victim to the whims of the ‘first dandy’?

Dandizettes wearing well cut suits and pants is widely accepted today, even regarded as a statement of feminine empowerment and emancipation. But men wearing something delicate, even close to resembling feminine, is emasculating, and therefore condemned, mocked, or cause for violence. Voices of protest rebelling against this, unsurprisingly, are considered offensive by some.

If we are to change the world from one suffering at the hands of gender norms into one of compassion, won’t we have to be making it truly visible to the disinformed? This world of love going viral on the world stage of the social media landscape, which has taken the place of news sources these days, would be a good start. Our views on gender and the sexes are aspects of our broader daily existence. Shouldn’t this be reflected in the performance art of the modern dandy? Isn’t the dandy a reflection of a zeitgeist, challenging norms with eloquence and flamboyance?

For decades fashion has challenged rigid and controlled gender roles, yet in daily life we usually dress according to which sex we belong. In a still dominantly masculine world, we still want women to dress subjectively “sexy,” and men to be muscular and strong. The men’s suit and tie is still the symbol of strength and authority, less colourful and decorative than what women wear, and certainly less “sexy” according to certain standards. We seem to find ourselves in an instant state of confusion, when this binary is twisted.

Psychologically, we need these ideas and many other boundaries to understand the world we live in, but it begs the question whether it is desirable when our roles—specifically our sense of gender, its fluent dynamics, and its non-conforming curious nature—are challenged by what we now know is not set in stone.

Artistic expression of nuanced and blurred roles of gender conformity as a form of sartorial protest for human rights and social advancement is peaceful and thought-provoking. Reviving the highly stylized and carefully constructed object d’art, it is also where the individual and the individual’s authenticity may seep into the dandy’s look. The dandy’s sense of masculine superiority slips into a sense of feminine belonging, no matter what class, sex, gender, group, or race we were born into.

The androgyne dandy seeks to unite and integrate the feminine and the masculine, transcending identity. As our consciousness collectively meets with the individual’s persona in the physical world, there’s one message that can be conveyed: this is who we are, we are aware, and we want to be seen. All characteristics that we recognize within ourselves have a way of showing as we move individually through the world. The dandy, as ever, refuses to conform to this world’s conventional societal norms that are traditionally and conservatively pushed on our beings, and portrayed in our daily dress.

More than ever, a dandy’s garments may go much deeper and hold more substance than solely appearance and a need for expression. So, whatever we choose to wear, we make an effort to put in a lot of attention and a love for wearing what we wear, with pride. It is deliberate. The dandy is no longer just a character that we play, but all that we are, merged into who we choose to show outwardly. In wonderment, seeing how every human being is an extension of the self as it appears, unapologetically finding beauty in the style of dress, and being able to say: “Oh! That’s just dandy!”

All Images are generated with KLING AI 1.5 by Trudy Giordano