Death of Beau Brummell – The English Dandy

No man had more of an impact on fashion than Beau Brummell.
He established the basic rules of men’s fashion at the turn of the 19th century.
Men’s style has largely stayed the same, heavily influenced by French royalty.

It was elaborate and flamboyant, a rainbow of hues in billowy silk, satin, and velvet fabrics, lace cravats and cuffs, knee-length breeches with stockings, high, powdered white wigs and makeup.

Elegance became more about cut and quality, rather than colour and decoration.
So begins the mantra of “less is more.”

Beau Brummell dramatically changed the way men dressed in Regency England.

He took men’s clothing from gaudy, flamboyant, and impractical, to the well-tailored garments that eventually morphed into the modern suit.

Brummell is known for turning the idea of dandyism on its head, but what is a dandy?

Essentially, it’s a man who is extremely concerned with how he looks.

Brummell may have simplified the clothing and the general look, but he certainly had the routine of a true dandy.

He would spend hours with his tailor perfecting his wardrobe, and indulged in creating intricate knots for his signature cravat during his ample spare time.

He was also said to take five hours every day to get ready, and even polished his shoes with champagne.

Brummell reportedly also had three hair stylists – one for his fringe, one for the hair at the back of his head, and one for his sideburns.
Yes, he basically had a glam squad, before it was ever a thing.

Brummell also advocated innovations in personal hygiene.
Just as clothes should look polished and clean-cut, so too should one’s person.

He replaced a reliance on perfume and hair powder with the concept of a daily bath.

For his contemporaries, bathing often meant washing only face, hands, and arms in cool water; sweating was believed to rid the body of toxins.

Brummell’s suggestion of a daily soak in hot water was nothing short of revolutionary!

Brummell’s bathing and dressing ritual, which was sometimes attended by the Prince of Wales, occupied several hours of every morning.

He used a silver spittoon instead of spitting on the floor, as was the custom.

He spent hours trying out different ways of knotting his cravat, to make it seem effortless.

One prop Brummell was never without, was his single magnifying lens held in one hand.
This enhanced his ability to haughtily judge those within his glare.
His high-tied cravat, which forced a slight tilt of his head and downward cast of his eyes, achieved suggestion of superiority.

However, Beau’s story is more than just sleek tailoring and subtle shades of black.

From committing social suicide by publicly insulting the King of England, to dying half-mad from syphilis – the story of Beau Brummel’s life is one of stratospheric rises and catastrophic falls from grace……

George Bryan “Beau” Brummel, was born in London, on 7th June 1778.
Brummell was raised by well-dressed men.
His grandfather was a shopkeeper and landlord to aristocrats, and his father was a secretary to a lord.

Having grown up around the aristocracy, Brummell was determined to find a way to be a part of it.

When he went away to school at Eton College as a teenager, he began to use his clothing to make a statement and attract attention.

He became very popular among his peers, and his attention-seeking behavior got the response he had intended.
It was while he was still at Eton that he was first introduced to the Prince of Wales.

It was a combination of his good dressing habits and his friendship with George, Prince of Wales – the Regent and future King George IV – which catapulted Brummell to the top of the English social elite.

George may have given Brummell a platform to launch his new style of fashion, but they were not always on good terms.

Brummell was known to have a quick yet sharp wit, and the legend goes that he fell out of favour with the prince, due to some insensitive remarks made in his direction.

The breaking point occurred at a social function in which the prince stared Brummel in the face without speaking.
The Prince greeted Brummell’s companions, Alvanley and Pierrepont.

Brummel in turn said to his companion,
“Alvanley, who’s your fat friend?”

Calling the head of the royal family fat in public didn’t do much to help Brummell’s social standing.

In 1799, at the age of about 21, Brummell inherited a fortune of £30,000, which is a little over £2,000,000 in today’s money.

His father had died five years before, but had instructed his son wait until he was older to receive the money.

Waiting a few years for Brummell to mature didn’t do all that much good, however.

He spent it somewhat quickly, using the cash for his active social life rather than investing or saving it for his future.
He developed a gambling problem, and spent large amounts of money on his wardrobe and extravagant lifestyle.

For two decades, Brummell exercised his power, frequenting London’s elite clubs, balls, and dinners.

He became an immensely powerful figure in London’s leading circles of the bon ton, the fashionable world. He could make and break reputations.

His lavish lifestyle came at a high price.
Very soon, he was deeply in debt.

In order to avoid debtors prison, Brummell left his lavish life and friends behind, and fled to France in 1816, where he lived out the rest of his life.

Brummell continued to socialize in France with local citizens and was frequently visited by British travellers who wanted to see this living legend.

The discovery that Brummell suffered from syphilis, gave an explanation for his erratic behavior in his later years.

Brummell had fallen about as far as he possibly could – he was in exile, broke, alone, and no longer at full mental capacity.

He had been living in a boarding house for a few years, and would sit by the fire talking to people from his past, at parties that had long been over.

After he could no longer care for himself, he was take to an asylum in Caen France, in 1837.
His appearance was sloppy and dirty, he had sores all over his body, and he was toothless and bald.

He spent his next three years in “an imbecile state,”
in a state of severe depression and self-delusion.

The man who had thought beer the most vulgar drink on earth, confused it with champagne.

He donned an evening coat, lit candles, and hosted parties for nobles who were but ghosts of his imagination.

Beau Brummell died on 30th March 1840, at the age of 61.
He was buried in a coffin paid for by charity – an ignominious end for a man once celebrated for his style.

Brummell’s legacy has carried on throughout history.

There is even a bronze statue of Brummell on Jermyn Street in London, home to the city’s finest men’s tailors.
It bears an inscription that reads,

“To be truly elegant one should not be noticed.”