Journal #14

Q: Who is Beau Brummel and why is he important to fashion in the 19th century? Do we have a modern Beau Brummel? Who and why and post a picture.

Beau Brummel, originally named George Bryan Brummell, was the 19th century version of a fashion icon. He was likely called Beau, because a beau was a well dressed man often associated with high society and wit. The clothes he was the trend setter for was relatively undecorated (except for the waistcoat which could have designs and embroidery on it), yet perfectly cut (well-tailored), clean (bright, non-faded colors that are perfectly starched) clothing and neckclothes. He is often associated with men’s modern suits today. It was said he took five hours to dress, and he polished his boots with champagne. He was the first dandy. He was often given clothes for free to wear around to drum up business for the stores who gave them to him. He often wore them as a sort of an advertisment.

I think there are many versions of Beau Brummel today. If you go on Instagram, so many people are being given product and money just to post about certain products regardless if they are fans. This is similar to how Beau Brummel would just wear around clothes as an advertisement. I do not know if I can think of one specific person because a lot of celebrities are trendsetters, but the most Beau Brummel-esque man I can think of would be Kanye West with his line, Yeezy, which released the first shoe of the line on Oct 29, 2015. When he first came out with the line many thought it was crazy and wild because it was unlike styles that were being worn at the time. However, in the last few years it has gone from shoes to a whole clothing line that he has started to wear around making it acceptable and cool. If we are including Kanye in this, we also need to talk about Kim Kardashian because he also dresses her in his Yeezy clothes (along with all her sisters). Kim was wearing skin tight bike shorts out to parties and just last year, I saw girls on campus also wearing similar bike shorts. They have created a very unique style that is loved by a particular group of people; just like the Dandy culture.