The London Lounge

I have been reading through the various articles on this forum and I stumbled upon an article written by mr. Alden, entitled 'A Study of Elegance'. Although I think that many of the types mentioned are described quite clearly, I am not quite sure I understand the following part:

Alden wrote:The species of Fop that interests us with respect to a discussion of elegance is known in our argot as "Charlie." Blinded by many of the intellectual limitations of a standard, run of the mill Troggie, Charlie has escaped from the deepest pits of bad taste and has seen enough of the light to desire more of its glow. His intense desire, his wanting so badly to appear, to belong, to be something makes him a notorious pretender and notable arriviste. Ambition and ego are his ultimate undoing. And unlike the "rich" of the nouveau riche, he has a decided taste for bespoke.

Spotting Charlie is quite easy and once again there are Charlie channels on the internet where you can listen to their discourse. Charlie knows that elegance exists, he thinks of it as being stylish or beautiful, and therefore desirable. But ornamenting oneself with stylish and beautiful things renders only distant facsimiles of elegance.

Charlie studies everything, and consequently his look is "studied." Charlie conspires to be elegant on the cheap, and his look is cheapened. Charlie does everything he can to imitate the elegant, and his look is an imitation. Charlie asks advice from everyone and anyone, but is incapable of the first step towards elegance which consists in interrogating oneself.

Charlie cannot conceive that elegance radiates from within, and is always seeking the magic pill that will transform him into the prince he imagines lives under the skin of the beast he sees in the mirror each day. To his constant dismay, no artisan possesses the magic formula, the Ring as it were, so he wanders hopelessly to any and all who will take him as a client. He is always dissatisfied and despite all his travail it never occurs to Charlie to imagine that the magic pill does not exist. It never occurs to him to simply see himself in the mirror, and see a prince if he desires it to be!

Surely it is not difficult to imagine that one whose upbringing did not concentrate on elegant clothing, such an escape is a condicio sine qua non to be able to set foot on the path to elegance?

The mere conclusion that I have escaped/ am escaping leads me to being particularly proud of my ambition to study and understand elegance. I joined this forum to learn more about the subject and share anything that I feel will benefit fellow members. I feel that is the essence and -to a certain extent- the reason why fora exist. I feel that studying the wonderful articles written by Etutee and others in the archive of featured articles helps me understand the concept of elegance, without copying everything and anything I read. However, the article about shoes is what I use to build my shoe wardrobe. On my search for shoes which are depicted in that article is how I discovered Edward Green, Crockett & Jones, etc. Companies which I would have discovered later or not at all, because of the exclusivity of those brands here in Holland.

I do understand that elegance radiates from within (does that disqualify me as a charlie? ), but how is it that one does discern between ornamenting oneself with stylish and beautiful things (which) renders only distant facsimiles of elegance. and commissioning those stylish and beautiful things in order to build a wardrobe that is well balanced and suited for one's needs? I would hazard to guess that all needs radiate from within?

Rather than 'always being dissatisfied' I would think of a purchase as 'another step on the way to build a well balanced wardrobe'. Both equal to the same effect: namely the strive to add more items to ones wardrobe. I imagine that the goal is perhaps different in that the road of the Charlie is to never end where the road of the Elegant Gentleman has a destiny which is set: 'the complete mastery of fundamentals which can lead to individual expressions of elegance' as formulated on the index page of the lounge.

Please do share your thoughts on the subject.

Mr Alden depicts a myth about "the mystery of elegance". In other words, elegance doesn't come from rules or knowledge, but from a mysterious within. I subscribe to that myth, but we ought to eleborate "witin" ...

I don’t suppose there is a doubt that elegance is a naturally occurring phenomenon. Look around and you will learn to recognize it. What we describe as “natural elegance” is a quality one is born with. As Balzac said, “One can become rich, but one is born elegant.”

Elegance can be learned by those who have the capacity to learn. There are traces of elegance deep within each of us, as there are other noble and ignoble qualities. The point is to mine these qualities out and bring them to the surface. It takes a bit of time, reflection and pluck to give form to what are largely, at first, instincts and guesses. Balzac said “a prodigality of color deadens elegance” and a prodigality of purchases can do the same. Go slowly and let each selection inform and guide the next. In the end, you will richer for your patience.

Don’t look for the colors that suit you best, look for the you that suits the colors, no matter what they may be.

M Alden