The latter part of the last century was noticeable for the great, and grave, mutations which took place in masculine attire, and, most particularly, during the times here treated of. Previously, the wig, and dress (quaker cut) coat, had long had a successful run, but people visited the Continent more, especially France, and brought back French fashions, which at this time were particularly fantastic. The Prince of Wales, too, delighted in fine dress, and was "_arbiter elegantiarum_" of his sex. At every levée, and public appearance, his dress was always expatiated on, and the "gilded youth" of the period, dressed _up_ to him, and copied his manner, even to his bow. We, in our days, cannot afford to jeer at the accompanying illustration, when we see, in the advertisement sheets of some of our periodicals, men's stays advertised, and even vividly depicted; and, therefore, we must not throw the first stone of laughter at the fashions of 1788. Here we see the transition stage, the modification of the old courtly wig, with its accompanying powder, and black silk bag for the _queue_, now only to be seen pinned on to the coat collars of court officials, and extremely magnificent _major domos_, &c., and, also, we see the old court dress coat has now taken unto itself a collar, of that exaggerated description which was so much in vogue during the next twenty years. Frilled shirts, and ruffles, still existed, and the curious custom of wearing two watches was the fashion. Here, again, history has somewhat repeated itself in our modern double watch-chain, except that now only one watch is worn, the other side guarding a sovereign purse. Brighthelmstone or Brighton--beloved of George the Magnificent, whether as Prince, Regent, or King--was the place where the fashionable youth congregated, and therefore we may take the following extract from the _Morning Post_ (the _doyen_ of the Daily Press) of 18th September, 1788:-- "Brighton Dress. "The fashionable bathing dress, at Brighton, is chiefly a pair of _buff trousers_, with a slight jacket. "This is adopted by all the young men of the place, and a number of idle, sauntering _land lubbers_ meet the eye every morning on the Steyne, that one cannot help wishing for a sturdy _pressgang_ to give them useful employment, or at least keep them out of mischief. "After breakfast they are accoutred for the sports of the field. "The _sporting dress_ is a _brown jacket_, with a multiplicity of pockets, on each side, that reaches from the bottom to the top, so that, from this appearance, it is somewhat difficult to determine which the fashionable tribe most resemble--a set of grooms, or a company of smugglers.