12. Beau Brummell
George Bryan Brummell established himself as a celebrity in early 19th century London through the simple means of his manner of dress. He was well educated and inherited a small fortune when his father, a government functionary, died. Brummell served in the 10th Royal Hussars at the time of his father’s death, the personal regiment of the Prince of Wales, He ingratiated himself so thoroughly that the future King George IV spent hours watching the fastidious Brummell dress. It was Beau Brummell who developed the high white stock as well as popularized the wearing of long pants, often tucked into high boots. He recommended the boots be polished with champagne.
From a home on Mayfair’s Chesterfield Street, Brummell became the undisputed dictator of male fashion in London society. His friendship with the Prince of Wales notwithstanding, his reign did not last. By 1813, Brummell and the Prince had fallen out, and three years later Beau’s unpaid, and unpayable, debts forced him to flee to France to avoid prison. In France, the former peacock gradually grew less concerned with his appearance, particularly as his funds rapidly depleted and his prospects to gain more grew slim. In 1835 he was briefly imprisoned in France for unpaid debts. Friends in England, remembering his former celebrity, had him released. He died in 1840, penniless, from complications of syphilis.