The dandy new romantic metrosexual thing
Now it is naively believed by some that men turning metro is a new expression of self-respect.
I have taken it upon myself to shatter such beliefs via employment of various knowledges truths and fuctoids..
Now
First we begin with the dandy
A metro of yesteryear, what a pioneer.
A Dandy is a clothes-wearing Man (as opposed to all the naked ones), a Man whose trade, office and existence consists in the wearing of Clothes.
Every faculty of his soul, spirit, purse, and person is heroically consecrated to this one object, the wearing of Clothes wisely and well: so that the others dress to live, he lives to dress...And now, for all this perennial Martyrdom, and Poesy, and even Prophecy, what is it that the Dandy asks in return?
Solely, we may say, that you would recognise his existence; would admit him to be a living object; or even failing this, a visual object, or thing that will reflect rays of light.. Thomas Carlyle
So the dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and the cultivation of leisurely hobbies, like polo and the purchase of various boating attire.
Some dandies, especially in Britain in the late 18th and 19th century, strove to affect aristocratic values even though many came from common backgrounds.
Thus, a dandy could be considered a kind of reverse Yippie hipster.
The female equivalents of dandies could be found in the demimonde, in figures such as the extravagant courtesan Cora N Pearl and Dixon Cox.
The defining aspects of the demimonde were an extravagant lifestyle of fine food and fine clothes, easily surpassing that of most other wealthy women of their day, due to the steady income they made in both cash and gifts from their various lovers, the lifestyle was an eclectic mixture of sharp business acumen, social skills, and simple hedonism.
The diva might also be considered a female dandy.
In 1819, a novel "Charms of Dandyism" was published "by Olivia Root, chief of the female dandies"; although the novel was probably written by her lover of the time, Olivia Root may have existed, but as Ashe wrote several novels about manipulating people.
Throughout the novel, dandyism is associated with "That's hot" and the polar opposite of "what a loser"
Post dandy times we hit the new romantic incantation.
Decadence and Narcissism were recurring themes in the New Romantic movement that began in London Nightclubs in the 1980s. The movement was all about style, as former punks clothed themselves in surreal, anarchic glamour and romance, and postured, always on the lookout for new ways to draw attention to themselves.
It was all about making "an effort to look flamboyant in an attractive, luxuriant, beautiful, narcissistic way" with icons such as David Bowie, Adam & the Ants, Bryan Ferry, Gary Numan, Boy George and Duran Duran...like the 80s equivilant of an emo indie hipster wearing the same shirt Andrew G wore on Idol the week before.
And in the current paradigm, the metrosexual, an individual with a decisive sexual interest in various metropolitan transportation systems...
Metro Porn:
To determine a metrosexual, all you have to do is look at them. In fact, if you're looking at them, they're almost certainly metrosexual. The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis -- because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modeling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them but, truth be told, like male vanity products and herpes, they're pretty much everywhere Mark Simpson
He color-coordinates, he cares deeply about exfoliation, he has few interests outside his appearance and has perhaps manscaped.
For some time now, old-fashioned (re)productive, repressed, unmoisturized heterosexuality has been given the pink slip by consumer capitalism.
The stoic, self-denying, modest straight male didn't shop enough (his role was to earn money for his wife to spend), and so he had to be replaced by a new kind of man, one less certain of his identity and much more interested in his image that's to say, one who was much more interested in being looked at (because that's the only way you can be certain you actually exist, when someone else approves of your method of existance).
A man, in other words, who is an advertiser's walking wet dream.
A metro of today, somewhat less of a pioneer.
I have taken it upon myself to shatter such beliefs via employment of various knowledges truths and fuctoids..
Now
First we begin with the dandy
Note the similar stance to modern metrosexuals
A metro of yesteryear, what a pioneer.
A Dandy is a clothes-wearing Man (as opposed to all the naked ones), a Man whose trade, office and existence consists in the wearing of Clothes.
Every faculty of his soul, spirit, purse, and person is heroically consecrated to this one object, the wearing of Clothes wisely and well: so that the others dress to live, he lives to dress...And now, for all this perennial Martyrdom, and Poesy, and even Prophecy, what is it that the Dandy asks in return?
Solely, we may say, that you would recognise his existence; would admit him to be a living object; or even failing this, a visual object, or thing that will reflect rays of light.. Thomas Carlyle
So the dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and the cultivation of leisurely hobbies, like polo and the purchase of various boating attire.
Some dandies, especially in Britain in the late 18th and 19th century, strove to affect aristocratic values even though many came from common backgrounds.
The female equivalents of dandies could be found in the demimonde, in figures such as the extravagant courtesan Cora N Pearl and Dixon Cox.
The defining aspects of the demimonde were an extravagant lifestyle of fine food and fine clothes, easily surpassing that of most other wealthy women of their day, due to the steady income they made in both cash and gifts from their various lovers, the lifestyle was an eclectic mixture of sharp business acumen, social skills, and simple hedonism.
The diva might also be considered a female dandy.
In 1819, a novel "Charms of Dandyism" was published "by Olivia Root, chief of the female dandies"; although the novel was probably written by her lover of the time, Olivia Root may have existed, but as Ashe wrote several novels about manipulating people.
Throughout the novel, dandyism is associated with "That's hot" and the polar opposite of "what a loser"
Post dandy times we hit the new romantic incantation.
Decadence and Narcissism were recurring themes in the New Romantic movement that began in London Nightclubs in the 1980s. The movement was all about style, as former punks clothed themselves in surreal, anarchic glamour and romance, and postured, always on the lookout for new ways to draw attention to themselves.
It was all about making "an effort to look flamboyant in an attractive, luxuriant, beautiful, narcissistic way" with icons such as David Bowie, Adam & the Ants, Bryan Ferry, Gary Numan, Boy George and Duran Duran...like the 80s equivilant of an emo indie hipster wearing the same shirt Andrew G wore on Idol the week before.
And in the current paradigm, the metrosexual, an individual with a decisive sexual interest in various metropolitan transportation systems...
Metro Porn:
A rebellion against the opressive nature of customary sexual practices
To determine a metrosexual, all you have to do is look at them. In fact, if you're looking at them, they're almost certainly metrosexual. The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis -- because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference. Particular professions, such as modeling, waiting tables, media, pop music and, nowadays, sport, seem to attract them but, truth be told, like male vanity products and herpes, they're pretty much everywhere Mark Simpson
He color-coordinates, he cares deeply about exfoliation, he has few interests outside his appearance and has perhaps manscaped.
For some time now, old-fashioned (re)productive, repressed, unmoisturized heterosexuality has been given the pink slip by consumer capitalism.
The stoic, self-denying, modest straight male didn't shop enough (his role was to earn money for his wife to spend), and so he had to be replaced by a new kind of man, one less certain of his identity and much more interested in his image that's to say, one who was much more interested in being looked at (because that's the only way you can be certain you actually exist, when someone else approves of your method of existance).
A man, in other words, who is an advertiser's walking wet dream.
The modern metrosexual, somewhat less of a pioneer
A metro of today, somewhat less of a pioneer.
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
The name got me here... FudgeNutkins... and the words kept me...
...a mass produced, product of Toffler's Third Wave, perhaps
Bravo!!! A good rave, not too harsh....*lol* I had been wondering what a true metrosexual really was and your piece (for me) is very timely... (I'm a older, slower reader)... It is well researched, well done!
Is that FudgeNutkins drawing a Metro-sexual portrait...? I love it, reminds me of stitch..
Lilla...
Nutty Fudgekins
Thankyou for your kind words.
Tofflers third wave echoes a few other works i've read regarding the recent shifts due to information, but perhaps not conscisely as that.
Gracias.
Matt