← Dressed: The History of Fashion
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- [00:02]
April Callahan
On WhatsApp, no one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone with the Venmo Debit card, you can Venmo everything. Your favorite band's merch. You can Venmo this or their next show, you can Venmo that.
- [00:36]
Cassidy Zachary
Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more.
- [00:38]
April Callahan
The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated Card may be used everywhere. MasterCard is accepted. Venmo purchase restrictions apply. Dress listeners, Bonjour from Paris.
- [00:48]
Cassidy Zachary
Yes, we are currently on our annual summer hiatus from the show as we conduct our summer fashion history tours of the City of Lights. But worry not, we will be back in August with brand new content dedicated to all of the exciting fashion history exhibitions and other behind the scenes experiences we have encountered while here.
- [01:06]
April Callahan
Until then, please enjoy this episode from the Dressed archive of over 500 past shows. The History of Fashion is a production of dressed media. With over 8 billion people in the world, we all have one thing in common. Every day, we all get dressed.
- [01:28]
Cassidy Zachary
Welcome to Dressed the History of Fashion, a podcast that explores the who, what, when of why we wear. We are friends, fashion historians and your hosts, April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary.
- [01:41]
April Callahan
April, when I say the word dude, what comes to mind?
- [01:47]
Cassidy Zachary
Well, let's see. I would have to say probably like Valley Girls speak like Dude I can't believe you just did that. Or dude where's my car?
- [01:58]
April Callahan
Yes, absolutely. And I love saying the word dude personally. It's definitely part of my slang vocabulary.
- [02:04]
Cassidy Zachary
I like calling my girlfriends Dude. Yes.
- [02:08]
April Callahan
So for me at least prior to this episode, dude was absolutely epitomized by the Dude Jeff Bridges character in the 1998 film the Big Lebowski. You know, he's a stoner. He basically lives in a bathrobe and sweatpants. He has little to no care in the world until this giant controversy surrounding a rug that, quote, really tied the room together, turns his chill world upside down. And needless to say, dress listeners, both April and I have the same response to you, I'm sure, as to what a quote unquote dude is. Because today dude is really slang for guy kind of similar to bro.
- [02:45]
Cassidy Zachary
Yeah because it has associations with surfer hippie stoner culture, thanks in part to its popular use in film and TV from the 70s and 80s and onwards. But historically it had very different connotations and very, very fashionable connotations at that. And we know what you might be thinking, dress listeners. What exactly does quote unquote dude have to do with fashion? Well, we were thrilled to discover the term actually has everything to do with fashion.
- [03:14]
April Callahan
I mean everything. And when we say fashion, we mean fashion. So, so much fashion is coming your way on this week's investigation into the inner sanctums of Dudum. And yes, that is a historically accurate term. And there's so much fashion that it required two episodes. And it's not just any fashion either, dress listeners, but men's fashion at that. And we actually don't have a lot of episodes in our repertoire dedicated to fashionable young men. So you really are in for a treat. Lots of dapper and dashing gents, or we should say dudes coming your way.
- [03:49]
Cassidy Zachary
You have heard us talk a lot about how society has policed and satirized women's fashion historically, but less about the male peers who in the early 19th century, according to John Flugel's famous great male renunciation theory, quote abandoned his claim to be considered beautiful and henceforth aimed at being only useful.
- [04:10]
April Callahan
Yeah. And as the theory goes, with quote unquote rational men's universal adoption of the dark colored suit during this period, the ornamentation and expressive side of fashion was thereafter left to women, the so called irrational sex. That all being said, April Flugel had clearly never met a dude.
- [04:29]
Cassidy Zachary
No, he had not. And actually, we have one very specific dude to thank for inspiring today's episode. A dude who was so famous for what he wore that the popular press christened him the King of the Dudes.
- [04:42]
April Callahan
And quite frankly, we might never have discovered the specific dude and dude fashion history in general had it not been for this year's Met Gala and the actor Emma Corin, star of the most recent season of the Crown. They played Princess Diana.
- [04:56]
Cassidy Zachary
Emma walked the red carpet wearing a somewhat whimsical take on turn of the century menswear, donning a custom mew mew ensemble that consisted of an oversized double breasted plaid coat with giant buttons worn over a black lapel, double breasted vest and shorts number. And the outfit was accessorized with antique Cartier jewels, including a 1913 pocket watch, a 1938 brooch, and 1934 earrings, and topped with a foot high worth and worth top hat.
- [05:26]
April Callahan
Yeah, and then hidden was a phrase written in black cursive on a grosgrain ribbon that was sewn into the coat's lining. And on that ribbon was the phrase the King of the Dudes.
- [05:35]
Cassidy Zachary
The.
- [05:36]
April Callahan
And it was only after Googling that phrase out of sheer curiosity that we gained full appreciation for just how spot on the gala's Gilded Age theme Emma's outfit was and really how clever it was because it turns out that Emma and we should also say Miu. Miu and Emma's stylist Harry Lambert, who all collaborated to make this happen, while they were all paying homage to one of the era's most fashion forward and fashion obsessed figures. And that is a New York socialite by the name of Evander Barry Wallace. Emma's look was based on a look Evander was wearing in an illustration of him from the 1880s.
- [06:09]
Cassidy Zachary
While we had never heard of Evander prior, we were quick to discover that our fashionable new friend, a self described man about town, was an active participant in the festivities of Gilded Age America, the latter half of the 19th century, early 20th century, which witnessed the rise of an incredibly, albeit small, wealthy upper class. And let's just acknowledge here the fact that many of these titans of industry that we're talking about built these fortunes literally on the backs of enslaved immigrant and other laboring populations.
- [06:42]
April Callahan
Yeah, and something we actually talked about because some people got really creative with their looks for the Gilded Age theme in reference to this particular topic. And we talked about that on our Met Gala episode. So if you're interested in that, check it out. So Evander himself was born on January 14, 1861 in New York City to parents Charles and Elizabeth Wall. And his grandfather was the owner of a successful rope making business, of all things. And it was he who had the most sartorial influence on the young Evander's life. In the first chapter of his memoir, Neither Pest nor Puritan, and in a chapter entitled Horses and Clothes, as we will Learn, he loved both. Evander reflects on his early childhood and his kind hearted grandfather from whom he inherited his appreciation for being well dressed and the belief that clothing was an expression of one's character. He writes, quote, no doubt I got from him my sense that clothes and character should accord his did. I never saw him clothed other than in lavender trousers, strapped under patent leather boots, frock coat with velvet collar, stock tie and silk hat.
- [07:45]
Cassidy Zachary
Evander was just 18 years old when he inherited his father's and grandfather's reported two million dollar fortune. And he went about split, spending all of it. He engrossed himself in the titillating world of 1880s New York, enjoying all the booze, food, theater, horse racing, fancy dress balls and parties that the period had to offer. And his memoir provides a fascinating glimpse into a New York City that looked very different from today. It was a time, for instance, when 14th street was the center of all happening things.
- [08:18]
April Callahan
A world traveler, he writes of wining and dining with the who's who of American and European society. So courtesans and stage stars, industry magnates, politicians, ambassadors, future presidents, kings. He is what one might call a name dropper. April and he writes, quote, my idea was that life was worth enjoying. And he did it all dressed listeners with a dedication to being impeccably well dressed. And where today we might call him a Gilded Age playboy of sorts, the popular press of that period was entirely focused almost exclusively, exclusively on what he wore, dubbing him not just a dude, but king of the Dudes. And let's just say this was not meant to be a compliment and we're.
- [09:03]
Cassidy Zachary
Going to learn a lot more about Evander. But first, what exactly does dude have to do with fashion? Right? Well, in a nutshell, the term was used mockingly to describe a subculture of fashion obsessed young men akin to dandies or fops. So men who really cared about their appearance and personal dress above and beyond the status quo. And I'm curious, etymologically speaking, how the word dude kind of made this transition in meaning from meaning dandy to kind of now meaning quote unquote bro. But that query is outside the scope of today's podcast.
- [09:40]
April Callahan
And that may be but an investigation into the origins of the word are not and dress listeners, you know that we love a good hunt for the origin of a word on dress.
- [09:50]
Cassidy Zachary
Love it.
- [09:51]
April Callahan
My favorite thing it is. It's so much fun. And you may remember we've done past episodes on the origins of Silhouette, Leotard, Flapper, to name a few. However, in the case of the word dude, inquiring minds had actually already done a lot of the research for us.
- [10:07]
Cassidy Zachary
In fact, Barry Poppock and Gerald Cohen and their colleagues reportedly spent a decade combing over 19th century periodicals to discover the origin of the word. The findings were then published in 2013 in 129 page articles article in Cohen's journal comments on etymology and what Barry and Gerald discovered might just surprise you.
- [10:30]
April Callahan
I mean, it certainly surprised us because it leads to the familiar childhood nursery rhyme of all things, Yankee Doodle Dandy. So Yankee Doodle went to town riding On a pony, stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni. April, I don't know about you, but I had never previously known the origins of this song. I much less considered its fashionable connotations. Not that at first glance they are glaringly obvious, but still, they are definitely.
- [10:58]
Cassidy Zachary
Not obvious, you know. So the word quote unquote doodle, first appeared in the English language in the 17th century, derived from Lower German words meaning fool. And also one who plays music badly love that. So from its very origins, it appears to have been a mocking term and it was certainly used in that same way, mockingly. And an 18th century version of this hymn, Yankee Doodle Dandy, which was sung by British officers during the American Revolutionary War. And the song was intended as an insult to the rebellious Americans that they were fighting against.
- [11:35]
April Callahan
So let's unpack that a bit further, shall we? Why was this an insult? Well, we have Yankee, which was a term for the inhabitants of the British colony of New England in America. So first recorded in the 1760s. Then we have doodle, translating to fool or simpleton. And then we have dandy. And so although the term dandy is most often associated with the 19th century and men like most famously Beau Brummel, who were devoted to a life of high style and affectation, as this song shows, it was actually in use as early as the 1770s and at the very least implies an association with wanting to look dapper and dashing. And April, this was of course achieved by sticking a feather in his hat and calling it macaroni.
- [12:20]
Cassidy Zachary
Yes, your favorite pasta dress, listeners, is also a fashion related term. Historian Kate Hallman defines the macaroni as referring to both a quote, particular short lived fashion for men in the early 1700s and to a certain kind of man, often derisive. The term applied to elaborately powdered, ruffled and corseted men of fashion, successors to the Restoration era, fops and prince, predecessors to the 19th century, Dandy, end quote and fop.
- [12:49]
April Callahan
There is another fashion term you do not hear much of today. And much like doodle fop was first synonymous with fool, first recorded use in 1440. And the Oxford English Dictionary tells us that by 1672 it had also taken on a fashion related definition as quote, one who is foolishly attentive to and vain of his appearance, dress or manners. So again, not meant to be a compliment.
- [13:14]
Cassidy Zachary
In particular, it was applied to a subculture of white British bourgeoisie appearance obsessed young man who traveled across Europe in the latter half of the 18th century as part of the so called Grand Tour tradition, a sort of coming of age rite of passage for upper class young men. And the story goes that it was on these trips that these travelers took a liking for the Italian pasta macaroni. The term would soon become their nickname, given to them by those seeking to make jest of the young men's dress and affectations. As was the case with a lot of fashion of this period, these young men were the subject of much satire.
- [13:53]
April Callahan
Which is actually fascinating when you consider that for upperclassmen across Europe in the 18th century, participating in the luxuries and ornamentation of fashion was very much socially acceptable. So the macaronis must really have outdone themselves.
- [14:10]
Cassidy Zachary
Turning up that volume.
- [14:11]
April Callahan
And that's evidenced in numerous satirical plays produced in the 70s and 80s poking fun at their attire. So think, you know, three foot high wigs with a tiny hat perched on top, giant cravats and overflowing floral boutonnieres.
- [14:26]
Cassidy Zachary
And much like the creators of these satirical prints, the British fighting in the American Revolution intended the song Yankee Doodle Dandy to stand similarly mock their American counterparts. It implied that the only way the impoverished colonists could afford to imitate British macaronis was by sticking a few feathers in their cap for adornment. So the macaroni subculture is actually a fascinating topic that absolutely deserves its own episode, preferably with the reigning expert on the topic, historian Peter McNeil, who has studied it in relationship to queer identity, which. Which is of course absolutely fascinating.
- [15:03]
April Callahan
Yeah. And while investigating the sexual preferences of dude culture is perhaps outside the reach of this podcast today, it would actually be a really fascinating topic for a scholar to take a deep dive into. So, George Chauncey, I'm looking at you. Chauncey, of course, wrote the award winning, groundbreaking book Gay New York, which came out in 1994 and remains an invaluable and defining touchstone for queer studies. And he doesn't actually mention dudes in the book, but I would be curious if there were any connections. Dude King Evander Barry Wall was a dear friend of Oscar Wilde. Just saying. And regardless, there's definitely a commentary there on how transgressive the dude's engagement with this, you know, feminine sphere of fashion was. And this is certainly one of the reasons dudes made the public and the press so incredibly uncomfortable. And we're going to hear a lot more about that. More on dude fashion coming your way after a brief word from our sponsors. Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying Today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class.
- [16:11]
Cassidy Zachary
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- [16:14]
April Callahan
Oh my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe.
- [16:16]
Cassidy Zachary
Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry.
- [16:23]
April Callahan
Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order.
- [16:28]
Cassidy Zachary
1-800-Contacts. It's the Smuckers Uncrustables podcast with your host, Uncrustables. Okay, today's guest is rough around the edges.
- [16:39]
April Callahan
Please welcome crust.
- [16:40]
Cassidy Zachary
Thanks for having me. Today's topic is round with soft pillowy bread. Hey. Filled with delicious PB and J. Are you talking about yourself? And you can take them anywhere. Why'd you invite.
- [16:51]
April Callahan
And we are out of time.
- [16:53]
Cassidy Zachary
Are you really cutting me off? Uncrustables are the best part of the sandwich. Sorry, crust. Welcome back. So in the 18th century we have the Yankee Doodle Dandy. And by 1883, so 100 years or so later, we have the Dude. And in fact, in 1883, that was the year when the so called dude craze began in New York City. And this is according to Barry Poppick, who, as you may remember, was one of the researchers on the decade long Dude Origin Discovery project. As it turns out, Barry is an expert etymologist, contributed to not just Cohen's comments on etymology, but also to, among many other publications, the Oxford English Dictionary.
- [17:42]
April Callahan
And according to his website, berrypopic.com, he is also a recognized expert on the origins of the following words, Big Apple, Windy City, hot dog, hamburger, and of course, for today's intents and purposes, dude. So again, he traced the term's Origins to 1883, and specifically to a poem that was published on January 14th of that year in the New York World newspaper that he says, started it all. And this playful poem is entitled the True Origin and History of the Dude. And we present an abridged version for your pleasure here. Long ago, in ages crude, before there was a modem O, there lived a bird they called a dude, resembling much the dodo.
- [18:25]
Cassidy Zachary
Its stupid airs and vanity made other birds explode, so they christened it in charity. First cousin to the dodo, it plumed.
- [18:35]
April Callahan
Itself in foreign plumes and thought home products no O for idiocy, it ranked with loons, and hence surpassed the dodo.
- [18:44]
Cassidy Zachary
Not lately in this hemisphere, through some amalgamation, a flock of dudes I greatly fear, are added to our nation.
- [18:52]
April Callahan
Their features. First I would explained are of the washed out order mild dissipation, feeble brain with cigarette smoke border their feathers o'.
- [19:01]
Cassidy Zachary
Er their brow they bang their cheek resembles leather Their style inclusive is a slang the strike me with a feather.
- [19:08]
April Callahan
Their father's cuff supports a hat, the head just seen between them A coachman's riding coat at that envelops and screens.
- [19:15]
Cassidy Zachary
Them saved just below the code is seen where muscles ought to be. Sir, a pair of pipe stems cased in green, skin tight and half mast high.
- [19:24]
April Callahan
Sir, to this please add a pointed shoe, verandas built around it, a necktie either white or blue say Funny if you doubt it, someone went to a lot of trouble. Yeah after sharing this poem, Barry then presents us with a series of other articles that followed in its wake almost immediately, all of which to attest to the term's more widespread adoption and its satirical application to a newly arrived fashion obsessed subculture of young men, reads the.
- [19:56]
Cassidy Zachary
New York Mirror on February 24, 1883. QUOTE during the past few days a new and valuable addition has been made to the slang vocabulary of the period. We refer to the term dude, and here it's spelled D O O D. For a correct definition of the expression. The anxious inquirer has only to turn to the tight trousered, brief coated, eyeglassed, fancy vested, sharp toed, shod, vapid youth who abounds in the metropolis. At present he is a dude. Where or how the name originated we cannot say.
- [20:31]
April Callahan
In April of the same year, the Brooklyn Daily Times commented, our language has been enriched by a new word, the dude, and this is spelled in our familiar spelling. The article to which the name applies is not new, however, it is an old thing in a new dress and a high collar. The dude, in short, is a fop, a little more lifeless, a little more stupid, a little more negative than the average fop, end quote. So it should be obvious by now that the dude, much like its 17th and 18th century antecedent fop, was intended to be a pejorative, a word expressing disdain for a group of men who are perceived as being concerned with their appearance to the point of excess, well beyond what society considered to be good and respectable taste.
- [21:12]
Cassidy Zachary
This association is encapsulated by the title of an April 1883 Chicago Tribune article which reads, the Genus dude and all of his manifestations of gorgeous idiocy. And there is another page long article that ran that same year in the Boston Globe entitled what the Dude Is and what It Is Doing in this World and I just want you to to notice here the use of the term it. Numerous articles refer to Dudes as some sort of new specimen or creature to study and dissect. And perhaps this is a reflection of a sort of post Darwinian evolutionary theory world because this was a hot topic at this time. But this particular journalist professed to have interviewed a number of prominent people. And I think this list of who these prominent people are is hilarious because it includes a fashionable tailor. Okay, fine scientist. Yeah. Cool boot maker, an etymologist, a poet, a dog fancier, a political candidate, a bartender, and finally, the dudes themselves. Prominent people, AKA your bartender.
- [22:23]
April Callahan
Yeah. And I mean, this is the point where we have to acknowledge that a lot of these articles, including this one, are no doubt written in jest or at the very least, an exaggeration of facts. So, you know, something like 19th century clickbait. Have you so sensationalized stories that help to both create and then continuously satiate the fashion and gossip hungry appetites of their readers? I mean, these articles abound and it's not always easy to decipher fact from fiction. And I'm going to tell you an interesting story from my own experience because at one point when writing these episodes, I literally spent three hours figuring out to how to address a concerning article about a mass meeting of dudes that had assembled in 1887 in support of a lawyer named Delancey Nichol who was running for attorney General in New York. And this article really painted the dudes as like vapid class obsessed egotists. They were shouting slogans such as the common herd. HE LAUGHS to score. He is a gentleman well born. And it took me an embarrassingly long time to finally determine that this giant article was actually one giant joke.
- [23:33]
Cassidy Zachary
You actually texted me she's. You were like, oh, I spent this amount of time. And this article is actually complete satire.
- [23:41]
April Callahan
Yeah. And it wasn't like a respectable, you know, newspaper. Super interesting. And. And you would think that names such as like Wooter, Van Twiller, Smith, Smyth would have ticked me off. Or the fact that dude supported the candidate because, quote, he was an authority on silk stockings, bathrobes, and embroidered flowered night shirts, but Al and I can be fooled.
- [24:04]
Cassidy Zachary
Yeah. Well, I mean, this brings up a really excellent point about source material though. You know, as. As historians, we can't take our source material at face value. You have to really critically analyze and interrogate sometimes primary sources and obviously secondary sources with an eye for the time period in which it was written, you know, who was writing it, and were there any ingrained biases that they may have had and a whole host of other factors. And despite the fallacies in many of these articles, they are still very helpful in establishing just how culturally relevant the dude had remained in popular culture for years after his first appearances in 1883.
- [24:45]
April Callahan
And I think it's safe to say, April, that historically it would seem that the public at large, or at the very least journalists at large, are just not appreciative of the experimental, excessive and expressive sides of men's fashion. And remember, Dudes were directly challenging strict societal gender codes at the time that deemed any interest in fashion as a purely feminine pursuit. But let's not confuse this utter disdain for the dude as dismissal of their appeal or the public's lack of fascination with them. Because as mentioned, there are scores and scores of articles about the dude and dude subculture and in fact, a keyword search in the newspapers.com archives from 1883 when the dude craze began to 1899. So just a short like 1716 years returned over 400,000 results.
- [25:32]
Cassidy Zachary
That's. That's crazy. And after reading loads and loads of these articles about dudes, you can get a pretty general idea about where they came from and what a dude was. And while opinions can vary, there do appear to be some consistent qualifications across the board. More on that after a brief word from our sponsors.
- [25:58]
April Callahan
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- [26:26]
Cassidy Zachary
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April Callahan
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Cassidy Zachary
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April Callahan
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- [26:57]
Cassidy Zachary
Welcome back. So what qualified a person as a Dude? For one, it was pretty agreed upon that the age of dudes average 20s to early 30s, with one article citing 30 as the dudes best age. And speaking to the contradictory nature of sources, dudes either originated in Ivy League colleges or are never to be confused with college boys. It is agreed upon, however, that wherever dudes came from, they were a class.
- [27:27]
April Callahan
All of their own, but not, it would appear, a class of their own making. Because there is a pretty general consensus that dudes were young, rich, entitled white men living a life of leisure thanks to daddy's dime. And an 1883 article identified students dudes as, quote, young men who are nothing but the sons of wealthy New Yorkers and who do nothing except imitate English stupidities personal and social, try to be fast and blase and assume to be superior, end quote. And this actually reflects another common commentary about dudes being that they affected aristocratic English manners and speech while putting on airs. This same article called Dudes wanna be gentlemen and among other things, nincompoops, which is actually a very common term from this period, which I find hilarious. Depending on which article you read, dudes who traveled in groups either wreaked havoc wherever they went or were the welcome life of the party. Although I guess those two things are not mutually exclusive.
- [28:26]
Cassidy Zachary
Yeah, I guess it would depend on where you were exactly. But as is evidenced by an extremely lengthy August 1887 article entitled Dudes held up to View, which professes to tell readers everything they need to know about these still thriving due to subculture, quote, their clothes, their manners, their looks, and the way they carry their walking sticks, end quote. As well as dudes favorite pastimes while in resort towns they frequent, quote, they flirt with married ladies, drive stunning carts, order champagne by the pale after the ladies have retired, gamble like army officers, sleep till noon, and exercise like laborers to keep their waist slim. End quote. Oh, and of course, Cass, they do not call themselves dudes. As the same article reads, quote, there is nothing so hideous to a dude's ears as the word dude. To them the word is reproachful and shocking.
- [29:24]
April Callahan
Fashion. And the fashion self was really at the heart of dude subculture. And there are so many incredibly lengthy articles dedicated entirely to the scrutinization of dude wardrobes, reporting everything down to the smallest details. This particular article just mentioned paints a highly detailed portrait of the precision so called, quote unquote, perfect dudes paid to dress as seen in Saratoga. The perfect dudes, the rich ones who have taste, nearly all dress precisely alike in the evening. The rule is to have very loose trousers of dark cloth with a faint stripe a cutaway frock coat button to show only two or two and a half inches of a scarf of a delicate light shade, decked with a small pin of dark stones such as rubies, garnets or emeralds. And just a note, dudes loved their jewelry.
- [30:13]
Cassidy Zachary
The article continues. Quote the collar is quite high and turned down in two broad bends. In front, patent leather gaiters, a high black hat or brown derby complete what is visible of his dress. They still carry big canes and all appear to have ordered their tailors to make their clothes so loose and big that their heads look small. End quote and apparently for daytime wear, the quote looseness of dress is carried to an extreme. End quote Wearing huge light colored and checkered suits with hats but no gloves. And as to facial hair, quote Nothing more than a mustache is permissible on.
- [30:50]
April Callahan
The face so are these journalists dude fans? Not particularly, but you still get an idea of what qualified a dude despite the obvious bias. These are young men, educated travel, they had money that they like to spend on having a good time together and most importantly on exploring the creative and expressive side of fashion. And the latter is actually the most defining feature and to journalists, their most egregious offense and dress Listeners, if you are thinking these descriptions sound a lot like our dear friend Evander, you are not wrong. An illustration of Evander from 1887 reveals him to be the same spitting image of the aforementioned dude. In the illustration he dons a short brimmed hat, high collar with turned down points, an eyeglass watch chain, a cane and a mustache.
- [31:37]
Cassidy Zachary
Evander wrote in defense of he and his friend's dress in his memoirs. Quote A high collar was simple to wear. It had a horsey military appearance. With it I wore a tie a yard long, wound around twice and knotted into a bow. It seemed to suit me. As for plaids and such, we liked them for the race course. Women kept apart those days and so men dressed to enliven the scene, AKA they were dressing for each other. He concludes, besides, in the evening we all wore dark clothes, so in the daytime we felt it might be a good idea to brighten things up a bit.
- [32:12]
April Callahan
And we want to take a moment and acknowledge that. It can definitely be argued that the public's infatuation with Evander and his every move and article of dress is largely responsible for the Dude's widespread infiltration of popular culture and parlance. In fact, it was very likely that Evander was the dude, the first dude, sorry, Jeff Bridges, that set the fashionable standard by which many a dude would follow. And it is no coincidence, after all, that he was named King of the dude just mere months after the first news articles reporting on the Dude's arrival agreed.
- [32:46]
Cassidy Zachary
And as Glen Falls, New York's Post Star newspaper tells us in a July 30, 1883 article, Evander's arrival that summer from Europe to the fashion ball resort town of Saratoga meant, quote, every eye is out for a glimpse of E. Barry Wall, the King of the Dudes, who arrived in the United States on Friday. He lounged about the piazza Friday night, smoking La Ferma cigarettes in a suit of dark clothes, a white tie and a stiff hat, a costume at once notable for elegance and inconspicuousity. Mr. Wall walks slightly Spanish, whatever that means, perhaps a nuance that the Post Star readers would have understood at the time that's slightly lost to us today, but it's probably like some sort of, like a swagger or a little bit of an affectation. And as another article from October of that same year tells us, quote, the papers poked no end of fun at him, calling him the King of the Dudes, end quote. Needless to say, the moniker stuck and so did Evander, and his sartorial escapades are what legends are made of.
- [33:52]
April Callahan
An article from 1885 reads, the dudes flocked in crowds all day to pay homage to their sovereign and listen to the latest news from England and admire the latest thing in waistcoat. Another article from that same year says Mr. Wall's happiest moments are when he is astonishing a gaping crowd by his attire just to give them something to wonder at. He will change his costume three or four times an hour when, conscious that he is being pointed out as the bow of the fashion plates he looks like, excuse himself from his friends for a space of five or ten minutes to return in a spick and span outfit of an entirely different design. The transformations and dress are made by two valets who are always on duty in his apartment to strip and rehabilitate him as they would a dummy model in a millinery store. The fellow is not bad at heart, as liberal as a profligate prince, and nobody's fool by any means.
- [34:42]
Cassidy Zachary
And let's not forget that he reportedly owned over 500 pairs of trousers and one suit for every day of the year. And he famously had matching collars made for himself and his dog. Okay, I can kind of get down with that, just saying, you know? But then of course, there is also Evander's nationally publicized battle to maintain his royal dude status all the while dodging court appearances for unpaid tailor bills.
- [35:11]
April Callahan
The intrigue, the suspense. But dress listeners, you'll just have to hold your clothes horses and wait for Thursday's episode to learn all about it. We have lots more dude fashion coming your way. Well, that does it for us today, dress listeners, may you consider channeling the dudes of fashion and your clothing next time you get dressed.
- [35:34]
Cassidy Zachary
Please head to restpodcast on Instagram or Rest podcast with out the Underscore on Facebook to check out the visual content associated with each week's episodes.
- [35:45]
April Callahan
And remember, we always love hearing from you, so if you'd like to write to us, you can do so@hellorusthistory.com dressed history.com is also our website where you can sign up for our monthly newsletter, our in person tours and online fashion history courses and you can check out whatever else we have up our finely tailored sleeves.
- [36:04]
Cassidy Zachary
We get so many questions from you all about our recommendations for fashion history books, so if you are interested you can always find a link in our show Notes to our Bookshop Bookshelf. So that address is bookshop.org shop dress and there you can find over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles.
- [36:25]
April Callahan
And do you love Dressed but want to skip the ads? You can now sign up for ad free listening with any tier on our Dress History Patreon where you can also chat with your fellow fashion history lovers and attend one of our live Q&As and so much more.
- [36:39]
Cassidy Zachary
We are also excited to now be part of the Airwave Network and their premium ad free history subscription Airwave History plus available on Apple Podcasts. The subscription brings dress and also 27 other popular history podcasts ad free for just $5.99 per month. More information on Patreon and Airwave is available at the link in our bio.
- [37:03]
April Callahan
Thank you as always for tuning in and more Dressed coming your way very soon. The History of Fashion is a production of Dressed Media de la Vuelta Clases de Amazon Amazon Gasta menos son Riemas.
- [37:29]
Cassidy Zachary
This is Jen and Jenny from Ancient History fangirl and we're here to tell you about Jenny's scorching historical romantasy based on Alaric of the Visigoth's Enemy of My Dreams. Amanda Boucher, best selling author of the Kingmaker Chronicle says quote this book has everything high stakes action, grit, ferocity and blazing passion. Julia and Alaric are colliding storms against a backdrop of the brutal dangers of ancient Rome. They'll do anything to carve their peace out of this treacherous world and not just survive, but rule. Enemy of My Dreams is available wherever books are sold.