The Prophet Of Dandyism

If it weren’t for Barbey d’Aurevilly, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. What do we mean? That if he hadn’t been born this week in […]

Dandyism & Decadence

From “The Idea of Decadence in French Literature” By AE Carter, 1958 Dandy and decadent are fused in Baudelaire’s work and life. He affected an […]

Spleen On Me

Since 1863, a certain type of young man — talented perhaps, but not creative; spiritual and philosophic, yet with expensive tastes; dismissive of commercial success, […]

Dandy Of The Apocalypse

  The Dandy Of The Apocalypse By Christian Chensvold   I am the dandy of the zombie apocalypse  Riding the underground tunnel amid blips, Lights […]

Symphony In Spite

Being accosted by a fellow American in London put Gilded Age painter and dandy James Abbot McNeill Whistler into a caustic funk. When the uppity […]

The Prince Of Chic

It’s not often one happens upon a gem in the papers, especially one with something poignant and propitious to say about the body dandiacal. Well, […]

Born To Be Wilde

Oscar Wilde was controversial almost from the start. The languid pose he struck during his days at Magdelen College, Oxford in the 1870s would become […]

Dandyism As Spiritual Path

Dandyism As Spiritual Path By Christian Chensvold From “The Philosophy Of Style,” 2023 Can dandyism actually serve as a spiritual path, guiding us through the […]

The Canon

This list of canonical texts has not been updated since the belle epoque of Dandyism.net circa 2006, but perhaps it will be someday.  Principal Texts […]

A Man For Times Of Decadence

From “Essai de psychologie contemporaine: Charles Baudelaire” by Paul Bourget La Nouvelle Revue 13, 1881 If a special nuance in the meaning of love and […]

Majestic Though In Ruin

You probably remember the ancient riddle about the traveler who meets a fork in the road and isn’t sure which path to take. In the […]

Opposition & Revolt

The Dandy From “The Painter of Modern Life,” 1863 By Charles Baudelaire Translation by P.E. Charvet The wealthy man, who, blasé though he may be, […]

Saint-Loup

First impressions of Robert de Saint-Loup From “Within a Budding Grove” By Marcel Proust, 1919 One afternoon of scorching heat I was in the dining-room […]

Gautier On Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire By Theophile Gautier, 1867 Although his existence was short — he lived scarce forty-six years — Charles Baudelaire had time to assert himself, […]

Eye For Elegance

  Eye For Elegance By Christian Chensvold Ralph Lauren Magazine, Fall 2008 Norman Rockwell’s name is synonymous with the golden age of American illustration, while […]

The Beau Of Our Times

The Beau of Our Times From Apparel Arts, Spring 1933 Article unsigned “If there were no God,” said Voltaire some little time before he embraced […]

Robert de Montesquiou

Robert de Montesquiou: The Magnificent Dandy From “Elegant Wits And Grand Horizontals” By Cornelia Otis Skinner, 1962 In a charming book of memoirs Elisabeth de […]

Heroism In Times Of Decadence

Baudelaire’s 1863 essay on dandyism, after characterizing the tradition as a “strange sort of spirituality,” declares it “the last stroke of heroism in times of […]

Pelham’s Maxims

From “Pelham: Or the Adventures of a Gentleman” By Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1828 1) Do not require your dress so much to fit, as to adorn […]

In That Suit You May Pass Anywhere

Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1896 novel Rodney Stone follows the adventures of a young and ambitious boxer as he navigates the world of professional prizefighting in […]

Treatise On Elegant Living

Every era has its particular expression of elegance. But while that expression is forever in flux, the principles that govern it are fixed and eternal. […]

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