What is Dandy?
[[File:Dandys 1830.jpg|thumb|upright|Two dandies in [[Paris]] in the 1830s. The man on the left wears a [[frock coat]],; [[Brummell]] would have worn it with a stand-tall collar. The man on the right wears a [[morning coat]]]] A '''dandy''' (also known as a '''beau''' or '''gallant''')<ref>{{cite book | title=Oxford English Dictionary | year=1989 | url=http://dictionary.oed.com/ | quote=dude, n. U.S. A name given in ridicule to a man affecting an exaggerated fastidiousness in dress, speech, and deportment, and very particular about what is æsthetically ‘good form’; hence, extended to an exquisite, a dandy, ‘a swell’. | publisher=Oxford University Press | access-date=2010-09-29 | archive-date=2006-06-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060625103623/http://dictionary.oed.com/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> is a man who dresses elegantly and fashionably, but that was not necessarily of [[Aristocracy|aristocratic]] origin. He [[wikt:exaggerate|exaggerate]]s his manners, including the way he stands and moves, and the way he speaks. He promotes himself. This is called '''dandyism'''. The word 'Dandy' was originally a version of 'Andrew'. The female equivalent is a ''dandizette''.<ref name=ety/> The word ''dandy'' first came out in the [[Scottish language|Scottish]] [[verse]] of about 1780: <blockquote><poem>I've heard my granny crack O' sixty twa years back When there were sic a stock of Dandies O.<ref name=ety>{{Cite web |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=dandy&searchmode=none |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |work=etymonline.com |accessdate=6 August 2010}}</ref></poem></blockquote> Dandies in the 18th and 19th centuries in the [[United States]] and [[Great Britain]] were often men from middle-class backgrounds who were trying to become people from high society. The model, or [[archetype]], of a dandy was [[Beau Brummell]] from the [[Regent|Regency period]] of [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]]th. He was a friend of the then [[Prince of Wales]]. [[Lord Byron]] is also an example.