Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Artful Dandy

"The Dapper Dodger, The Baron of Beggars, The High King of Plundering"

But the question still goes unanswered. Who is The Artful Dandy?
Will we ever know?
And.. why is my fob-watch missing?



Photo by BabetteKD.
And if you enjoy this picture, please visit the link above and vote for her!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Caleb


When this chap was first recommended as a Featured Dandy, I agreed on the spot.
One must look away from the screen and then look back to catch the details in his ensemble and facial hair.
His choice of a subtle grayscale for the majority of his outfit was a brilliant choice. It allows the details to pop more, from the light stripe pattern on the hat, accented by the peacock feathers, to the small brooch and expertly curled sideburns, nothing gets lost.
And though I feel it's obvious, I still must say it. His bow-tie is absolutely magnificent. I'm glad to see a resurgence of the bow-tie in dandy fashion.

A hearty Thank You to Michael Chase for recommending this utterly delightful gentleman.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

At Long Last!

I've been a busy dandy as of late, what with all the looking marvelous and such, that I've yet to do my Steampunk World's Fair Dandy-Related Event wrap up post!

All photos are courtesy of the absolutely amazing Babs Who Takes Pictures, who can be found on Flickr here.

And here we go!


It was Saturday, around 2:00 or so, if my gin-soaked memory recalls correctly, when Misters Phil Powell, H.M., and myself began our leisurely Look At This *Ahem* Dandy Fashion Walk. Now, we weren't sure exactly what it was going to be, but we knew one thing for certain, we looked smashing. So, we began our perambulation through the corridors of the hotel, gathering up any other dandies we happened to see. As our luck would have it, by the time we made it to the courtyard, A Count Named Slick-Brass was awaiting our presence at the courtyard stage. Indeed, we had a stage!

So, being the humble curator of this very blog, I took the lead and meandered stagewards to forcefully remove the microphone from Slick-Brass's begauntleted hands. (Slick-Brass, I merely jest, please don't feel the need to use said gauntlets on me. Thank you -JMR).


It wasn't long before my fellow dandies had gathered about and stormed the stage.


I, of course, had much to say on the topic of Dandyism and of this blog, and refused to relinquish my hold on the microphone.


Much to my chagrin, I soon had to surrender the spotlight to the others. They introduced themselves and gave a bit of an explanation of their particular style and such. Apologies if I don't get everyone's name. If you see yourself or someone you know, let me know in the comments.

Twice-Featured Dandy, Phil Powell, was one of our first to speak. As always, his attire was impeccable and well coordinated. Purple is indeed the color of the year for dandies.


Another past Featured Dandy, The Late Lord Maxwell Huxley gave a bit of a demonstration of his unique blend of gypsy spiffiness. He's there with the microphone.


A new addition to this blog, Tristan (also, The Artful Dandy) made quite an impression on this blogger as a smashing dandy to make a note of.



And of course, another veteran LATFDer, Danny Ashby made it out in his battle-ready finery.


This next chap was downright brilliant. Evan Taylor. Indeed, he is wearing three shirts with clever collar arranging. Something I had only ever thought of doing. The next day, he donned what I imagine were all the ties he had on him at once.


Brendan Coleman was certainly prepared. His grey and silver ensemble was brilliantly assembled, and he had props! A Victorian pipe with a windcover, and what I'd like to refer to as a switchblade lorgnette.


And sporting some sporty summer dandy fashion was H.M., fellow Gin Rebellion member and co-moderator of the LATFD Facebook page.


This mysterious chap, his name eludes me, further represented a more badass dandy look, with a long leather coat and stark silver accenting.


There were many, many others, some of which didn't get a chance to speak, due to time limits and the sheer amount of them that showed up.


And, thankfully, we had a few lady-dandies, or dandizettes (as the historic term goes) that came up.



Of course, there were many group shots, which I will assemble for yet another future post.


Until then, there's this lovely, albeit obstructed, photograph.

Thank you, and don't you ever stop being dandy.

-JMR