The pattern of modern foppery

[imomus]

Fopling Flutter is a character in George Etherege's 1676 comedy of manners The Man of Mode. But it's also the name of my favourite Berlin clothes shop, on the Lausitzer Platz in Kreuzberg.

Here -- to show you what manner of personage Sir Fopling is -- I reproduce the dialogue introducing him in Act 1 of Etherege's play:

Young Bellair No man in town has a better fancy in his clothes than you have.
Dorimant You will make me have an opinion of my genius.
Medley There is a great critic, I hear, in these matters lately arrived piping hot from Paris.
Young Bellair Sir Fopling Flutter, you mean.
Medley The same.
Young Bellair He thinks himself the pattern of modern gallantry.
Dorimant He is indeed the pattern of modern foppery
Medley He was yesterday at the play, with a pair of gloves up to his elbows and a periwig more exactly curled than a lady's head newly dressed for a ball.
Young Bellair What a pretty lisp he has!
Dorimant Ho, that he affects in imitation of the people of quality in France.
Medley His head stands for the most part on one side, and his looks are more languishing than a lady's when she lolls at stretch in her coach or leans her head carelessly against the side of a box i' the playhouse.
Dorimant He is a person indeed of great acquired follies.
Medley He is like many others, beholding to his education for making him so eminent a coxcomb. Many a fool had been lost to the world had their indulgent parents wisely bestowed neither learning nor good breeding on 'em.
Young Bellair He has been, as the sparkish word is, brisk upon the ladies already. He was yesterday at my Aunt Townley's, and gave Mrs. Loveit a catalogue of his good qualities under the character of a complete gentleman, who (according to Sir Fopling) ought to dress well, dance well, fence well, have a genius for love-letters, an agreeable voice for a chamber, be very amorous, something discreet, but not overconstant.
Medley Pretty ingredients to make an accomplished person!

The shop Fopling Flutter tries -- almost heartbreakingly hard -- to take the basic grammatical elements of contemporary garb (the stuff we tend to buy; hooded tops, hats, t-shirts) and push them, through invention, over the top into mannerism. Dull pragmatic hoods become enormous and decorative, sleeves are tied together at the wrist, straitjacket-style, hats sprout ears. Despite this restless energy (the workshop at the back is full of sewing women chatting and laughing as they corrupt the practical with the fantastic), the shop is always empty when I look in. In contrast to the age of periwigs and powder, ours is apparently a time terrified of all mannerism in its apparel. We seem to agree with Flutter's rival Dorimant: "I would not have a woman have the least good thought of me that can think well of Fopling."

Comments

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

I'm so, so sorry, but my mind is going all kinds of crazy reading this post. I thought the title said "The pottern of modern fappery", and it didn't help with "I reproduce the dialogue". I don't think I will be able to read this seriously when all I can think about is masturbation at every line. :(

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

And by "seriously" I mean "read it out of its true comedic context".

Lisppp

[(Anonymous)]

Interesting - This may not be a popular statement to make, but in todays western society, where homosexuality is commonplace and widely acceptable at all levels i think most people will agree that the line,

"He is a person indeed of great acquired follies."

Could be brandished to a great deal of todays over zealous gays. Not in a derogatory way, but it is certainly successful in describing the mannerisms many of them use - i've added it to my mental dictionary. Thanks Momus.

wewillbecome.com

Re: Lisppp

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Well, Sir Fopling is, despite his lisp, his flamboyance, his preening, thoroughly hetero. I think the line about "acquired follies" is more about English mistrust of the French than anything to do with homosexuality -- which, we now know, is innate, not acquired.

foppery etc

[psalamone.livejournal.com]

I am wracking my brain to come up with some contemporaries of Fopling Flutter, and all I come up with is... Prince? Andre 3000? I think you're right, and the problem is especially acute in Berlin, where H&M may as well be the Haupstadt Ministry of Uniform Dress. But I do wonder if this is about more than risk-averse consumption: don't males normally prefer to do the Observing, rather than to be the one Observed?

"And the main trend I see in today's gay world is a meek imitation of hetero modes -- the right of gays to marry, for instance -- and a downplaying of difference."

Great statement. Reminds me of what K-Punk says in his analysis of Edelmen's "Queer Theory" (http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/005071.html):

"Although Edelman has little to say about capitalism, it is surely not accidental that the production of 'gay' identity over the last twenty five years has coincided with the collapse of effective political alternatives to capitalism."

Re: foppery etc

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Well, I was brought up with the convictions expressed in "My Conviction" in Hair:

[Error: unknown template video]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaactually, [male flamboyance] is the way things are in most species!

Re: foppery etc

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

I am wracking my brain to come up with some contemporaries of Fopling Flutter

They're everywhere.

Re: foppery etc

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

H&M (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/lord_whimsy/Whimsy/DSCN8669-1.jpg)

H&M (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/lord_whimsy/Whimsy/DSCN1504.jpg)

H&M (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/lord_whimsy/Whimsy/Pic-007.jpg)

It ain't always the what, but the how.

[scarletgeryon.livejournal.com]

this post resonates with some thoughts i've had lately on the degree to which subcultural/niche fashions must rigidly adhere to a predetermined aesthetic; perhaps they do so even more than "mainstream fashion" in order to protect themselves from less than chic infiltrators, "performers" of the fashion. i participate in a lot of gothic lolita-themed web communities of various natures, and the most common and most derisive criticism of a poster's clothing is "you look cosplayish" or "your dress looks like a costume". it's not enough to don a ruffled skirt and petticoat; participating in the fashion is about naturalizing the style, however silly that might seem...making the performative elements as invisible as possible.

that's why it's so interesting whenever people do this sort of thing to clothes that mimic the aesthetic of "functional" daywear. it's so clearly performative for the sake of being performative because it strives only to contradict its own aesthetic.

ha, i feel really exposed even writing about this.

Re: foppery etc

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

Well, it's all performance and role play--there's no escape from that. Even dressing drably or anonymously sends a message.

What it comes down to is which form of narcissism we prefer: the kind that takes itself too seriously and plays it safe, or the more social, generous kind that invites others to play along.

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

3cj4w\nyfsez0ED2J3WRY78ESDZ ETHEREDGE

Why will nobody write me Earl of Rochester/George Etheredge slash??! IHU world.

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

I fail to understand why effeminacy always comes up when discussing the peacock aspects of male dress. Are there none among you who have seen the middle-aged black man strutting the streets in radioactive colors? What of the sapeurs of Paris? The swenkas (http://www.filmforum.org/films/swenkas.html) of South Africa? Do none of us remember the plumes worn by the Ojibwa, (http://www.si.edu/ahhp/cbking/Caatousee.jpg) Seminole (http://www.floridamemory.com/OnlineClassroom/seminoles/Rc0-471.cfm) or the Creek? (http://www.si.edu/ahhp/cbking/Selocta.jpg) What of the flamboyant and reckless Confederate generals (http://www.womacknet.net/features/jsmosby/portrait.gif) ("Company Darling" in Mosby's rangers, Morgan's Raiders, etc) who were born of the southern agrarian cavalier tradition? One must back up those feathers, you know.

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

Because there is nothing worse than there being a perfectly cliched, ordinary man underneath all that beauty.

Mosby's rangers

[pay-option07.livejournal.com]

For appearing and disappearing in moments I'm assuming it aided their ghost like assaults on the Union scaring them enough to pull the planks from the Potomac bridges every night.

funny coincidence

[brokenjunior.livejournal.com]

just checked out the shop on my way back home from smartdeli (http://www.smartdeli.de/jp), and found out that a friend of mine is working there.
Linda is an artist/designer, studying at udk and head behind realfakewatches (http://www.realfakewatches.com/).
One can meet her there thursdays and on saturdays (or, on other times, her knitting mother instead).

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

I'm really getting impatient with the kids: They'll idolize the movements of the past, yet in general seem unwilling to pay the dues necessary to make exciting new scenes happen. They seem far too conventional, comfortable, and above all else fretful and worried about what others think of them. "Someone snickered at my shoes. Oh boo hoo!"

Blaze a goddamn trail of your own, and stop being such cowards! Why the hell is anyone under the age of twenty-five even here? It shouldn't be up to old freaks like Nick and I to provide your fodder--we should be written off as irrelevant, marginal old farts, just like we did to the generation that preceded us. Grow a pair and pull your own cultural weight! A youth culture in which you cannot get beaten up for being an open member isn't one worth joining.

Now go out there and make spectacles of yourselves--and don't forget your helmet!

[imomus.livejournal.com]

we should be written off as irrelevant, marginal old farts, just like we did to the generation that preceded us

I sort of agree with what you're saying here, but since you're speaking for me too I should say that I never wrote off the preceding generation. I've never called anyone an "old fart". I was never "punk" in that stereotypical sense. I still think the 1960s is full of the most amazing achievements, and when I was 18 I certainly put people like Ivor Cutler and Viv Stanshall -- or Edith Sitwell, for that matter -- above people like Rat Scabies and Johnny Thunders. Or, you know, old men like Gainsbourg, Brassens, Brel, Cohen, or old ladies like Brigitte Fontaine and Joni Mitchell and Nico. You have to be a pretty amazing young person to be fit to touch the hem of their garments -- probably Afghan coats, by the way.

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

You should have seen what I wore to church every Sunday! I showed all of the other youth that it was okay to look totally flamboyant! Right now I'm wearing a nice little vintage sailor themed dress which makes me look like a little girl, but I like it so that's all that matters! Fuck the haters!

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

I'M SORRY YOU'RE OLD AND BLAMING ME FOR IT.

[kumakouji.livejournal.com]

hm, I've read all the comments.

It's easy to point out that camp, effeminate (assumed to be gay) men are good examples of "folly". What about the typical, hyper-masculine man who exaggerates his masculinity; this is something we see a lot in society. And can any of us say we don't to a certain extent curb our mannerisms? We all do.

Also, that comment Whimsy made about gay men being "a timid lot who dont stray from 3 or so templates"... not really true, you find the utterly dull to the excessively flamboyant, just like with the heterosexuals. Infact I would almost go as far as to say there is a higher proportion of flamboyantly gay men than flamboyantly heterosexual men, purely because we have to battle conformism and embrace being different just to feel comfortable with ourselves. Do you know that you're 4 times more likely to commit suicide as a gay teenager than if you were straight? I know that feeling, and I never came out of that just to be bullied into being something I'm not by society or anyone.

Also, I think the reason why you fail to see anything happening with the youth today in regards to a fashion or style is not because they dont have the balls to stand out, I think its because youth culture has fundamentally changed because of technology -- the trail blazers dont flock to scenes anymore, they dont need to congregate anymore as part of a collective to express a different culture; that doesnt exist anymore. technology and the internet has allowed for greater eclecticism of style, music and culture amongst the young -- its more spaced out and has no central focal point like it did in the past. That doesnt mean individuality of style doesnt exist.

I also think you dont have to dress up in a halloween costume every day to prove youre somehow different and unique. Since when is practicality exclusively a product of conformism? I dont have the money to buy specially tailored jackets and crazy ass clothes, and frankly, they just dont fit in with my everyday life. you'll usually see me wearing polo shirts, plain tshirts, plaid shirts, cotton cords, nothing special. I feel comfortable and its affordable and practical.

I wore a yukata and white jika-tabi last summer when I met a friend in camden for lunch, so its not like I didnt have the balls to be different; I stood out enough to be noticeably unique. not that thats hard to do in Camden seeing as all you ever encounter are skater, punk and goth clones there.

I will however reject one item of clothing on the grounds it's just offensively ubiquitous -- you'd never catch me in a pair of standard blue jeans. Each to their own and all but I cant fucking stand them. Its like some kind of disease under 40s these days, like they were born with blue jeans on or something... i own jeans but theyre red, green, black, purple... also, a lot of my socks are split-toe japanese style tabi socks, not coz normal socks are offensive to me but coz I like tabi.

The day I have servants to dress me 12 layers of fucking silk everyday is the day I dress flamboyantly.

dubious

[(Anonymous)]

that whimpsy fellow is ever so dubious

[count-vronsky.livejournal.com]

... They took position in the blossoming meadow,,, thousands of them as leaves and flowers appear in their season...
He put over his head a helmet of bull's hide... known as the skull cap...
He steered his way through the ranks of the front fighters like a flying hawk
who scatters into flight the daws and the starlings.
He stalked through the ranks of the champions... with a shrill scream...

-Homer

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

Related topic: I have in my stacks an 1811 edition of a beautifully bound little book (http://lord-whimsy.livejournal.com/90059.html) entitled "Portraits of Fops; or Portraits of the Foppish Character in All its Curious Varieties, with Sketches of some of our Principal Modern Fops, and Hints for Young Students in the School of Foppery; with an Outline of a Bill Suggested to the Legislature for their Better Government and Improvement." The author's pseudonym is Sir Frederic Foppling, F.F.F.

It weighs in at 120 pages. Clever and well-written.

[tinyfolk.livejournal.com]

[trickseybird.livejournal.com]

some examples of manly glam rock, for your edification:


BOWIE SINGING A MANLY SONG TO HIS BF. TATTOOS ARE MANLY RIGHT?


SYLVIA IS WEARING A DRESS. THAT IS NOT EFFEMINATE.




MARC TEACHING US ABOUT MASCUNINITY IN TIGHT PINK PANTS


FERRY SEDUCING YOU WITH HIS ANIMAL MAGNETISM


ADAM ANT LEARNING ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY OF DRESS FROM HIS BOYFRIENDS AND DRAG QUEENS


REED BEING MANLY AND NOT LOOKING LIKE A TWINK JUNKY SUCKING COCK


THE SWEET TEACHING US HOW TO BE MEN, IN SATIN AND EYELINER


SKYHOOKS WITH PRETTY BUTTERFLY EYE MAKE UP. MANLY.




MOLKO LOOKING LIKE AN INDIE HIPSTER LESLIEBEAN IN BAD 90S LIPPIE

http://www.youtube.com/v/95jDdBmzyiE
STRIPPING AS A WOMAN FOR YOUR BROTHER. GOOD JOB BOYS.