As an author, costumer, and fashion designer, I have an interest in fashion and the history of fashion. I am including a post on men’s fashion to complement the articles I have written about Victorian fashion, women’s fashion, and women’s undergarments throughout the last couple hundred years in the Western Hemisphere.
Notice how extravagant, outrageous, flamboyant, and excessive men’s attire was in the 1700s. Some of the names men were called in that era were: coxcomb, popinjay, peacock, rake, and macaroni.
That look in men’s fashion changed dramatically with the influence of Beau Brummel who simplified men’s fashion.
Beau Brummel was, among other things, a professional dandy.
Without Beau Brummel’s influence, we wouldn’t have that classy look of Mr. Darcy’s attire in Pride and Prejudice.
Let’s take a look at men’s unmentionables (the term the Victorian’s used for underwear) and examine how those have changed over time.
All things being considered, men’s fashion hasn’t changed that much since Beau Brummel’s introduction to the concept of dark suit colors and simplicity. The transition over time hasn’t been as dramatic as the changes in women’s fashion.