The · Affected · Provincial’s · Almanack

ps- good luck with the new book, can't wait to read it.

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Glad you picked up a linen suit, M---; I am sorry to hear your trip didn't go as you had planned.

Yes--linen requires plenty of ironing. However, summer is a more relaxed time of year, and the linen suit is a more casual affair than the wool suit you wear in the colder months. There's something rather nice about the rumples and wrinkles that a linen suit accrues over the course of the day; it brings to mind more laid back pleasures. There's a relaxed gentility about it.

Enjoy your summer suit in all its rumpled glory!

~W

Interesting question, S.

I have to say that I've never been a monogram type. My own immediate reaction to conventional initial monograms is that they are a vestige of a once-common East Coast blueblood practice which in more recent times has been adopted by the nouveau riche and middle classes, and so is now seen as hopelessly naff and bourgeois. I see monogram shops around, and they're often rather middling establishments that also deal in sportswear.

When thinking about the sort of person who uses traditional monograms, one thinks of an older, rather butch republican woman with alarmingly short hair and camel hips who golfs--the wife of a petty politician, lower-level judge or doctor. If one does think of a man, one usually thinks of an odious upper middle-class preppy WASP caricature played by Ted Knight, someone who has fox hunting paintings on their walls because they imagine it suggests class--the type of parvenu striver who marks his territory and keeps score. A prick and a square.

That having been said, context is everything. Monograms spied on an elderly person of means who wears worn but impeccably made clothes that he or she has had for decades is charming--such creatures still exist on the Upper East Side.

I suppose one could try redeeming monograms by employing them wryly--that is to say, with an added twist. They're more than ripe for such rehabilitation, precisely because they are so universally dismissed. Imagine Whistler's shirt cuffs emblazoned with his famous stinging butterfly emblem. There's something grandiose and larger-than-life about a personal symbol, but if you have the personality to claim it, a personal mark has a certain cache. Prince comes to mind.

Although monograms may suffer a bad reputation, they are still better than designer labels, no? Better to brand yourself than being branded by others.

Hope this interests,
W

Dear Lord Whimsy,

I am planning a trip to Egypt this summer and I was wondering if you could give me some tips on maintaining ones dernier cri in the arid calefaction of such a clime?

Thank you

ps- is your mailing list operational? I signed up twice a while ago but have recieved nothing!

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Hello M~

Things have been quiet of late, which is why you have not found any dispatches in your mailbox. I've been busy with my new house, setting up the garden, outlining the next book, and contributing to exhibits for a couple museums you've doubtlessly heard of. I'll certainly start sending out announcements when things liven up again. In the meantime, you can find my daily journal here:

http://lord-whimsy.livejournal.com/

Nothing terribly profound there, but there it is.

As to your trip to Egypt: I've been to some out-of-the-way spots myself, and three factors to one's style overrides all other considerations: simplicity, practicality, and versatility. After all, a breezy linen shirt can be just as stylish as a bespoke suit given the right setting. I'd also be open to the local flavor of the place: its colors, textures, forms, etc--and draw inspiration from it. Try a fetching head wrap with your light-colored attire--it's Egypt, after all. Get away with something there you could never pull off at home.

Have a wonderful time--I'm quite envious.

Word to the Aten,
W

Dear Lord Whimsy,

I m very interested how a Dandy wears his Hair. Please send me some Tips. I have long hair, what should I do????

With kind regards,
"J" (Name witheld)

Hello, "J" ~

I hope this letter finds you happy and well.

You pose a very good question; I've always kept my hair close and clean, but have grown it out over the winter, so I am grappling with this subject, too.

I suppose like everything else with dandyism, the form follows the principle; that is to say, a sense of wit should be expressed in one's appearance, and that would include one's hair. One might say that the heart of wit is economy and control, so everything about your appearance should be deliberate, but not contrived. This can be very difficult; I fail at achieving this balance quite often (although intentionally falling short of this ideal has a wryness to it that can provide a kind of saving grace, but that's another matter entirely).

The form one's hair takes is in large part dictated by one's personal style. For instance, some men will dress as neat as a pin up to their neck, only to have their hair somewhat free-flowing to provide a surprising contrast. Other men's hair is conventionally and neatly groomed (which is usually the safest route, but can lack critical panache where it is most needed). Many of the most stylish men I know are shaved completely bald. It's a push/pull dynamic: tight and crisp here, loose and free there. The ideal is a lively balance: the overall effect shouldn't be too loose, nor too tight.

No matter how you decide to wear your hair, it is always important that it is well-groomed, healthy, and suitable to your appearance (facial features, age, weight, height, complexion, hair thickness, head shape, etc). I wouldn't recommend running around looking like Fabio, but I can't dismiss long hair out of hand, because there is an exception to every rule. That said, I will say that I think most men of European descent tend to look better with shorter hair, as our hair tends to be fine in texture and lays flat when long. Whether or not you are the exception is entirely up to you, of course; ultimately, it is your own aesthetic decision. Either way, I wish you good luck in your pursuit of sartorial glory.

With warmest sentiments,
W

so if you don't mind, here is what i would like to ask you (questions attached, below)...

Hello Bjorn,

Thank you for your kind interest. I must say you've posed some very interesting questions (although I should note that I probably think so because your questions pertain to me personally). I'm a bit pressed for time right now, but I'll try to answer them as thoroughly as I can:

( How important is 'time' in your life and you being a dandy? )

( Are you afraid of aging (who isn't one could say)? )

( How important is time to you in your daily schedule? Or how do you experience time during the course of the day? )

( Do you think you will be remembered after your death in the cultural / literary 'memory' of NYC, America or even world wide? )

( If you believe yes, is that one of your intentions of being a dandy? )

( Do you plan on writing more books, perhaps in different literay genres? if yes, which? )

( Do you feel 'prominent' dandys of the past had or still have an influence on your dandyims? )

( Do you feel in some way as an artist / Do you see yourself as an artist? )

( Do you differentiate between public and private sphere in your dandyism? )

~W