"Dressed like a London dandy," Beau Brummell (1778–1840) has been synonymous with the very concept of fashion for two centuries.
He has been written about by Balzac, Barbey d’Aurevilly, and Conan Doyle, and his life has inspired countless musical, theatrical, and cinematic works.
This book brings Brummell to center stage, presenting a monologue attributed to him—an artifact of the Georgian era that captures the phenomenon of fashion as a realm of collective imagination, back when it was first beginning to evolve into a commercial product.
The "axioms" of the Beau are not merely about how to wear clothes (though they cover that, too); rather, they are about how to endure reality—"fashion as an attitude."
The essays by Baudelaire and Agamben included in the appendix, both inspired by Brummell, offer a cultural and philosophical exploration of his persona and his role.
The appendix features essays by Charles Baudelaire and Giorgio Agamben.