Not a dandy

[SMCK]

It is difficult for me to know where to post this but I decided that here may do.
There seem to be several threads going on here at the moment ; This one concerning Proust and his dressing habits and several other threads where members are planning their winter overcoats many of which seem to feature fur collars in various permutations. ( could it be that Fur collars are this years bespoke fashion statement, as I haven't seen them for a great many years and they seem to be appearing on the high street also)

Connecting these two themes I have just read a most interesting interview with Lorenza Foschini, about a book writen by her and soon to be published.
the book is "Proust's overcoat" by Lorenza Foschini,and to be published on Nov. 11 by Portobello books.
The coat seems to have been a 6x3 grey wool lined in otter !

[Costi]

According to his maid, it was fully lined in mink and had a black otter collar. I'll translate and post another interesting fragment tomorrow about his topcoats. Your description suggests there might be a photo of it - I haven't found any; THAT would be interesting!

[SMCK]

Lorenza Foschini in her book has traced the history of Proust's topcoat in great detail, and it sounds like a remarkable piece of detective work which I have yet to read; and have just ordered the book.
Proust's overcoat is in the possession of the Musee Carnavalet, 23 rue de sevigne, Paris, but is too delicate to be on general display.
Don't know about photographs.

[Costi]

SMCK, as promised:

As he never dressed lightly, not even in the summer, and regularly changed his underwear – he never wore anything twice – there were a lot of clothes (1). Among them there were two topcoats:
-- I had them made especially to wear them at the seaside, he told me.
They were both made of vigogne (2) – one was very lightweight, in a light shade of gray with a purple lining; the other was brown. For each of them he had a matching round hat.

(1) She speaks about packing for Cabourg, a seaside resort, where she accompanied him once
(2) Textile made of a mix of wool and cotton fibers that imitates the look of vicuna wool.

Besides the vigogne topcoats of Cabourg, which he never wore again since that time, he had another topcoat hanging on the bar at the foot of his bed, which he wore indoors, the new overcoat lined in mink and with a black otter collar and the black topcoat I mentioned before.(3)

(3) which is described better in the following excerpt

To warm up, he would ask me to replace his bed warmers and would pull over his legs a fur coat, an old one, which he kept for this purpose only. He had another one, very beautiful, lined in mink, with an otter collar, which he wore when he went out in cold weather. But he always had to have the old one at hand, at the foot of the bed, on the brass bar, on which he kept another superb black topcoat, with a black and white checked lining, very elegant and in excellent shape, wich his mother had ordered for him long before, and which he now kept for indoors wear only, as a dressing gown – because he never had a dressing gown, only this topcoat, which he would wear over his bed clothes, with his slippers on – only when he was alone and got out of bed to walk around his room, or when the barber (4) came, before he dressed.

(4) he never shaved himself and called the barber at home if he went out or expected guests.

[Costi]

I prefer to study the Baudelaire, Balzac, Byron, Brummels, (and that is only the Bs.)

The painter, the true painter, shall be the one who will know how to seize the epic aspect of today's life and make us see and understand, by colour or drawing, how grand and how poetical we are with our cravattes and our patent boots.

(conclusion to "Le salon de 1845")

Like love, music represents that infinite need for expansion of which any noble soul is possessed.