The New Statesman informs about the dandyism of »Soho flâneur« Sebastian Horsley whose career includes being a »punk rocker, stock-market investor, artist, writer, brothel frequenter and, above all things, dandy«. He says of himself: »I am half-Byronic, half-moronic; part-shaman, part-showman.«[1] Horsley just released his autobiography with the Bolanesque title Dandy in the Underworld. Horsley’s dandyism transcends into his style of writing (he is said to be »consistently witty«) and thus revives the almost forgotten tradition of dandy writers. As we’d expect of a dandy, Horsley is paradoxical as this interview snippet reveals:

What is your idea of complete sophistication?
Complete vulgarity. The vulgar man is always the most sophisticated, for the very desire to be sophisticated is vulgar. And without an element of vulgarity no man can become a work of art.[2]

He’s also amoral in the way bourgeois people misunderstood the dandy since the beginning of this eloquent race:

»It’s not about good or evil to me. It’s about witty or boring. […] People who have a reputation for being evil are usually good. It’s all those Mother Theresa Save the World knobheads you have to watch out for.«[3]

Also, his home reveals the fascination with decadent diabolism as seen with Baudelaire. In real dandy tradition, Horsley’s flat belongs to the bank since he’s busy mortgaging in order to »pay my tailors’ bills«[4]. But don’t let him fool you; Horsley’s more than just a »clothes-wearing man«: He’s a real dandy (thank God we found him) and correctly views his dandyism a »condition […], a spiritual doctrine.« [5] Of course, he’s more the rake/roué type, visiting brothels, doing drugs, coquetting with Satan. Though he stopped doing drugs »because I couldn’t work. And because it was making me too happy. […] and dandyism goes completely out the window.«

Only recently, Horsley was about to go to the US to promote his new book Dandy in the Underground but was denied entry to the land of the free due to »moral turpitude«.

NPR features an excerpt of Horsley’s book defining dandyism:

Dandyism is a form of self-worship which dispenses with the need to find happiness from others , especially women. And yet the estrangement of the thorough going dandy is not from women, but from life. It is taking up a posture of ironic detachment from the world and living it out in scrupulous detail.

Dandyism is social, human and intellectual. It is not a suit of clothes walking about by itself. Clothes are merely a part , they may even be the least important part of the personality of the dandy. Dandyism isn’t image encrusted with flourishes. It’s a way of stripping yourself down to your true self. You can only judge the style by the content and you can only reach the content through the style.

Being a dandy is a condition rather than a profession. It is a defiance against suffering and a celebration of life. It is not fashion; it is not wealth; it is not learning; it is not beauty. It is a shield and a sword and a crown , all pulled out of the dressing up box in the attic of the imagination. Dandyism is a lie which reveals the truth, and the truth is that we are what we pretend to be.

More: Sebastian Horsley’s blog & Sebastian Horsley on My Space