Miles Lambert, co-editor of Dandy Style and costume curator at Manchester Art Gallery, explained: “It’s about looking at what people have worn and why they’ve worn it. From Oscar Wilde’s penchant for extravagance, to the musicians of today seen through the lens of the best photographers, this show has something for everyone, whatever your style.

At the fringe of its centenary year in 2023, Manchester Art Gallery, declining to trade on seasons past and with an a keen eye on the shape of things to come, is maintaining its position on the cutting edge by cutting the ribbon on a new fashion gallery. The dandy is alive and well, and on city streets around the world. But what does it mean to be a dandy these days? The hallmark of dandy fashion is impeccable tailoring. While the overall style encompasses a range of garments suitable for a variety of occasions, they are all well-cut and show remarkable attention to detail. If it looks good and fits well, then it’s acceptable; anything with poor tailoring or slipshod finishing is out. Tailoring is so vital to a dandy because his clothes are an expression of his self; how he wears these garments conveys to the world that he takes pride in his appearance and, by extension, his own person. He has confidence and accordingly his garments should be spot-on to match. This dynamic exhibition and flexible engagement space supports our ambition to reimagine the costume and dress collection. Bringing this important resource into the heart of the city means that we can show it in the context of the wider collection and as an integral part of the story of art and culture. When it comes to fit, a true Dandy’s clothes fit perfectly. Sleeves are never too long or too short, and clothes are never baggy or loose-fitting. Our slim-fit, 100% cotton Extreme Cutaway White Premium Weave Shirt works perfectly for the Dandy in quality and fit. Paying attention to fabric and tailoring is a must for dandy style, otherwise you’re doing it wrong. Skimping on quality is something a gentleman never does.However, as seen in the picture above, it became more fashionable for these gowns to fit the body more tightly. What is most striking is the bright and fair colour of the gown. It is arguably rather feminine in comparison to today’s standards – we see muted colours taking trend, especially in men’s fashion. Manchester Art Gallery is currently planning a long-projected substantial exhibition ( Dandy Style) focusing on men’s fashion and image over the last 250 years. It will feature selections from our outstanding menswear and portraiture collections. The show will inaugurate our new dedicated first floor Fashion Gallery whilst also incorporating another major gallery area on the second floor. The decision was taken not to exhibit this item within the timeframe of the exhibition because of its physically vulnerable condition. There was neither time nor capacity to carry out the necessary conservation work to display it safely, and we did not want to risk causing further irreparable damage to it. Kani’s resulting artwork A Whisper Behind the Grand Tour 2022, powerfully expresses the wider impact of such decisions, and highlights the complex questions we need to consider in deciding how to prioritise limited resources. In monarchic France, dandyism was ideologically bound to the egalitarian politics of the French Revolution (1789–1799); thus the dandyism of the jeunesse dorée (the Gilded Youth) was their political statement of aristocratic style in effort to differentiate and distinguish themselves from the working-class sans-culottes, from the poor men who owned no stylish knee-breeches made of silk.

There’s relevance, and there’s chasing after every single trend you can get your hands on. The former, realised through a knowledge of the present and utilisation of classic elements, positions you as someone of note. The latter symbolises more desperation – of seeking relevance and having it regularly leap from your grasp every few months. Considering these factors, modern dandy style sits on classic garments, be it Oxford dress shoes with brogue details, a three-piece suit, or silhouettes from no specific point in time. Yet, their combination feels both current and without a direct timestamp, as if you’ve entered from another era but are knowingly aware of all present customs. Some dandy gentlemen are heavily influences by historical dandy fashion, as seen in novels like The Picture of Dorian Grey or The Great Gatsby. However, some dapper gentlemen embrace a modern spin on the style, and you may spy a dandy dresser sporting an impressive (but well-groomed) beard, gauged earrings, or a tasteful and meaningful tattoo. This fusion of rebellion into classic style is yet another way the modern man may choose to stand out from the crowd, style-wise. Regarding the existence and the political and cultural functions of the dandy in a society, in the essay L'Homme révolté (1951) Albert Camus said that: Brummel was the one who was imitated mostly in France hence resulting in adapting the Dandy Style. The birth of many dandies influenced the Symbolist Movement in French Literature. Rosie Gnatiuk, costume curator at Manchester Art Gallery, said: “The fashion gallery supports our ambitions to bring the costume and dress collection into the heart of the city.”In the section devoted to the Tailored Dandy are several outfits from the WMA including a British Army Grenadier Guards Drummer Tunic made by Kashket & Partners Ltd in 1989 – Harry Styles wore a similar one in a photo for Another Magazine taken by Alasdair McLellan. Although the space is apparently no larger than that of the fashion gallery, the chamber in which the displays making up The Tailored Dandy act as companion piece to the gallery below seems somehow that much roomier. If the opening chapters have been devoted to clothes which demand attention, those which complete the tale tell of those which require it. Returning to the beginning of the story, it marks out Beau Brummell, the proselytiser of the first days of Dandy, as the progenitor of the style press. This is clothing as a private language, in which to be attentive to nuance is to set oneself apart. As a teenager, having to grapple for the first time with the force of the white gaze, I’d ask myself this question: how do you live without fear or debilitating anger in a world where you’re constantly reminded that your body doesn’t belong to you? The answer, as proposed by the works in this show, is to demand to be seen on your own terms, via the style and attitude that announces your ambitions and desires, your sense of pride and inner belief. The illustration, by E. J. Sullivan, is from an 1898 edition of the novel Sartor Resartus (1831), by Thomas Carlyle.

Andrew Groves, Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive said: “It’s been fantastic to be able to loan items from the Westminster Menswear Archive to support the curators in bringing their vision alive for the exhibition. Menswear has been overshadowed in fashion collections and exhibitions for decades; however, this exhibition redresses that imbalance, by highlighting the significance of menswear as a compelling force within the fashion industry by showcasing exceptional examples of its craftsmanship, skill, and design.” But in the 18th century, if you were a wealthy aristocrat, bright colours and intricate patterns allowed you to display your wealth. As a result, wealth equates to power, and power equates to respect. The Manchester Art Gallery has a wide variety of banyans in different colours, styles, and patterns, depicted much better than this photo. Photo: Amelia Cole @ The Mancunion Vivienne Westwood striped suit (1991-2) This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2008) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Its two sections – Tailored Dandy and Decorated Dandy – open with imposing imaginary portraits, Tailor and Dandy, by Turner Prize winning international artist, Lubaina Himid.A Dandy is a Clothes-wearing Man, a Man whose trade, office, and existence consists in the wearing of Clothes. Every faculty of his soul, spirit, purse, and person is heroically consecrated to this one object, the wearing of Clothes wisely and well: so that as others dress to live, he lives to dress. . . .

The dandies professed to be unequivocally masculine, although many people found this difficult to believe, not least Jane Austen in Emma: ‘Emma’s very good opinion of Frank Churchill was a little shaken the following day, by hearing that he was gone off to London, merely to have his hair cut.’ This was a round trip of 32 miles, which took all day by horse and carriage. Dandy Style at Manchester Art Gallery Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor Last Updated 15 December 2022 Photograph Ashley Verse Bear in mind that the dandy man does not overdress. His flair for the fashionable doesn’t lead him to over-accessorize, nor does he feel the need to pursue fashion trends simply to stay “in style”. Some dandy gentlemen opt for a style that may appear flamboyant to the untrained eye, but it is really the careful cultivation of textures, colors and other details. Don’t be afraid of the careful mixing of textures, colors and patterns; the overall effect can be quite artful when done carefully.The most spectacular interpretation of the dandy style for women was shown, ironically, not in England, where the style originated, but in Milan. Gianfranco Ferré’s elevated white collars and exaggerated white lapels and cuffs conveyed the essence of the dandy style but in a modern, updated way. Regarding the social function of the dandy in a stratified society, like the British writer Carlyle, in Sartor Resartus, the French poet Baudelaire said that dandies have "no profession other than elegance . . . no other [social] status, but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons. . . . The dandy must aspire to be sublime without interruption; he must live and sleep before a mirror." Likewise, French intellectuals investigated the sociology of the dandies ( flâneurs) who strolled Parisian boulevards; in the essay " On Dandyism and George Brummell" (1845) Jules Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly analysed the personal and social career of Beau Brummell as a man-about-town who arbitrated what was fashionable and what was unfashionable in polite society. [21] The exhibition presents historical fashion alongside contemporary work. These displays aim to draw similarities between styles across history and highlight how often fashion trends repeat.