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The Return of the Elegant Gentleman
Gestalten
September 2013
On Sale: September 1, 2013
256 pages ISBN: 3899554841 EAN: 9783899554847 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Photography
The dandy is back! Gone are the days of arbitrary fashion,
casual sportswear, and slick metrosexuals. Today, more men
are discovering dandyism and giving it their own
contemporary look. Even today, men who devote themselves to
the finer things in life --especially when it comes to
fashion --mostly arouse suspicion. Vanity is frowned upon
and lavish grooming is generally deemed superficial or unmanly. Fortunately, a small but tenacious movement has been defying
these social dictates for more than 200 years. Its adherents
indulge in their love of quality clothing and accessories
not only privately, but also very publicly. Photographer Rose Callahan and writer Nathaniel Adams have
spent years exploring the fascinating phenomenon of
dandyism. They visit contemporary dandies in their homes to
document their impeccably designed lives in both words and
images. Well-kempt to the tips of their beards and wearing
three-piece suits with flawlessly folded pocket
handkerchiefs and supple kid gloves, their protagonists
revive the charm of the past and reveal that cultivated
idleness can be incredibly hard work. These gallant beaus
first came on the scene in eighteenth-century London and
Paris, where they supported the livelihoods of many a local
tailor. today's dandies continue to propagate a look
characterized by trimmed beards, pomade, velvet slippers,
and even a touch of make-up as a shield to mask the darker
sides of life. Yet in their carefully composed portraits, Callahan and
Adams reveal the cracks in this façade. They describe the
sacrifices that many fulltime dandies need to make while
pursuing their personal aesthetic ideals. A refuge for
eccentrics, dandyism has seen a revival in the
Anglo-American realm over the last several years. For example, today's distinguished gentlemen can ride their
vintage bikes around London during the tweed Run to show off
their authentic outfits or attend the Jazz Age Lawn Party on
new York City's Governor's Island to bring the era of the
Great Gatsby back to life, if only for a few hours. Now, the
phenomenon is again going more international. Known for their Dandy Portraits, the spiffy duo of Callahan
and Adams approaches their topic --and their
protagonists--with a keen, yet empathic eye. In this book,
they successfully capture the styles, attitudes, and
philosophies of contemporary dandyism in all its nuances.
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