London (England) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
For him the cheap Tailor announces the “Gent’s Vest”—which is the Hebrew
for “Snob’s Waistcoat”—as patronised by the nobility. To catch his eye
alone, are the representations of men of _ton_ put at the side of the
advertisements; and, for his inspection, do the dummies stand at the
doors of the shops, invested in the splendour of an entire suit, with an
impossible waist, “made to measure for the same terms.”
And we may observe that the Gents usually speak of their get-up as _the
ticket_—the term possibly being used in allusion to the badge which
distinguished their various articles of dress when exposed for sale.
And, in writing these, the leaning of the Gents towards distinguished
associations is very evident. A great coat must be a “Chesterfield,” a
“Taglioni,” or a “Codrington;” a little rag of coloured silk for the
neck is called a “Byron Tie;” and so on. If the things are not dignified
by these terms, the Gent does not think much of them.
To his taste does the ready-made Shoemaker appeal in the short fancy
_Alberts_, ticketed “The Fashion.” If you are accustomed to derive a
little gratuitous amusement from shop windows, as you go along the
streets, you will see in them the funniest things, meant for the Gents,
that it is possible to conceive. The most favourite style of _chaussure_
is a species of cloth-boot, with a shiny-leather toe, and a close row of
little mother-of-pearl shirt-buttons down the front; not for any
purpose, for they are simply sewn on, the real method of fastening on
the brodequin being by the humble lace and tag of domestic life, at the
side.
[Illustration]
But it is with the Haberdashers that the toilet of the Gents comes out
strongest.
You will see “Gents’ Dress Kid” ticketed in the window. Be ye sure that
they are large sized, awkwardly cut, yellow kid gloves, at
one-and-sixpence. The tint is evidently a weakness with the Gents, who
think them dashing, and say they come from _Hoobegongs_. But the
merchants, lacking discrimination, believe that the predisposition is
general. We will wager a dozen pairs of them that you never went into
one of these establishments, and simply and decidedly demanded a pair of
white kid gloves, but you were immediately asked “if you would not
prefer straw-coloured?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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