BANDIES OF THE FIFTIES.

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 15885, 25 July 1923, Page 6

BANDIES OF THE FIFTIES.

Apparently the wearing of neckcloth, says the Manchester Guardian, produced a tendency among dandies to swathe themselves all ever as. tightly as possible. Could any form of dress be more uncomfortable than that worn by Sir Algernon West (as he relates) in the early ’fifties? “Trousers . ■ . buttoned under the foot with broad straps; a coat so high in the collar that the hack of the hat rested on it. Indeed every hat had a crescent of cloth on the back of the brim to prevent the rubbing of the beaver of which the hat was made. The scarf, never folded less than twice round the neck, bulged out from a double breasted waistcoat, and was ornamented with two pins joined with a gold chain. In the evening we wore a blue coat with tight sleeves, a waistcoat of flowered or brocaded silk, and black trousers fastened by straps under patent leather pumps. A folding ‘chapeau bras’ was always carried under the arm; for nobody but an apothecary or a soldier would have dreamt of leaving his hat in the hall of the house where he was calling or dining.”