Regency Fashion Victims

In my last post I discussed Beau Brummell’s sophisticated manner of dress, and what a contrast Brummell’s understated style was to the flashier styles worn by some of his contemporaries.

While Brummell may have disapproved of their fashion sense, the men and women whose dress he criticized provided excellent fodder for the caricaturists of their day, especially for two brothers of the Cruikshank family.

Here is George Cruikshank’s 1819 sketch titled “Lacing a Dandy.” Note the corset and padding!

In a similar vein, here’s his brother Isaac Robert Cruikshank’s hand-colored etching, “Exquisite Dandies,” mocking both male and female dandies (“dandizettes”), published in 1818.

Finally, here’s yet another 1818 caricature from I.R. Cruikshank, titled “Dandies Dressing.”

It’s easy to see how Beau Brummell’s style dictates were a much-needed antidote to this type of fashion excess!

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Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons