DressSpace

(Tours 1729- Paris 1850)

Balzac in his” Traitè de la vie élégante” goes back to Brummel.
Brummel’s ideas on elegance had definitely taken hold. His arguments inspired magazines like “La moda” and Balzac recalls them insisting on the relation between clothing and architecture.
Balzac borrows from Brummel, besides the idea that an elegant life is closely connected to a perfect human society, two essential traits of the dandy:

- a necessary sobriety of style made possible by the black suite over white clothes,
- the importance of not attract attention.
According to Balzac the dandy’s elegance originates from the disintegration of the ancient regime which knew just about luxury.
The dismantlement of the old social structures caused by the revolution, with the sale of the national possessions, the abolishment of the right of primogeniture, the redistribution of the wealth, the abolition of the aristocracy, cause the concept of dressing to be questioned.
From then on the dress will serve to display the socio-cultural differences as – Balzac writes in one of his texts:

“The brute covers himself
The rich man and the fop adorn themselves
The elegant man dresses”

Consequently it is easy to understand how important fashion is, however at this stage it regards just the non productive class and the desire to appear different.
Balzac looks favourably at fashion because it creates needs, assures the circulation of money and creates a certain social dynamism. Its implications are therefore economical, psychological and humoral.

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