Macaronis and Dandies

Not to be mixed up, Macaronis and Dandies are two very different breeds of flamboyant males.

Macaronis came about toward the late 18th century and were dubbed as such due to their taste in anything "exotic" including rare Italian cuisine. They remind me of the Emo boy of today in that they traveled in groups; wear extremely tight, feminine clothing; are extremely egocentric, and basically annoyed everyone else with their flamboyant presence. They rivaled the ladies with their tall wigs and were even known to powder it different colors like blue, pink, purple, etc. The hung out in gentlemen's clubs such as The Macaroni club and gambled, womanized, sodomized, gossiped, and wasted countless pounds of frivolous things. Charles Fox was once known as a macaroni, despite him being a tad too overweight to look decent in his tight clothing. Fun Fact: Oh course we all know Yankee Doodle's sad attempts at becoming a macaroni but more interesting is that Macaroni Penguins received their name from these fops.


The Dandy was a much rarer breed that appeared at the very end of the 18th century and into the regency period. Dandies were much more mysterious and good-looking. They were the dark, handsome, unobtainable male. Not just anyone can be a dandy it takes a certain "cool" dexterity to pull off. He's always wearing something unique but very fashionable, never says anything to make himself seem weak, is always calm and collected, and never appears to falter. The Dandy makes you fall in love with him although he is untouchable and impenetrable to love, which of course in the literary sense always happens. Two great examples of Dandies are Mr. Darcy and Johnny Depp (as well as his role of the Earl Rochester in The Libertine). Fun Fact: Lauren and I spotted a Dandy in Barcelona and just about melted. Fun Link: www.dandyism.net