Daring Dandies: Early 20th Century Men of Style and Scandal

The Gilded Gentleman

In the previous episode "Dandies: Gentleman of Style from the 19th Century to Today", Carl was joined by cultural historian and maker of fine custom clothing, Nathaniel Lee Adams for a look at this most interesting breed of society's tastemaking men. In this new episode, Carl and Natty take the discussion further and focus on the early 20th century, when a new brand of dandy was emerging - one with style perhaps, but also often tinged by scandal.

Being a "dandy" is generally thought to be more than just being a stylish dresser. There is attitude, perspective and perhaps even a sense of the revolutionary that ties many of history's so-called dandies together. In this episode, Carl and Natty start with the world of the dandy immediately following the death of Oscar Wilde and begin with a discussion of the British author and caricaturist Max Beerbohm and the American self-proclaimed inventor of the tuxedo, Evander Berry Wall.

They then discuss the fascinating, complex black American boxer Jack Johnson, who in order to fight not only his opponents but the pervasive prejudice of his time, created a boundary-breaking persona of style laced with scandal. Returning to Europe the discussion continues Oscar Wilde's own nephew and writer (and also boxer), Arthur Cravan, the War Poets including Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon, the minimalist Austrian architect Adolf Loos and finally one of the most polarizing personalities of them all, the flamboyant Italian poet and would be revolutionary, Gabriele D'Anunzio.