Fashion in Restoration England
Gentlemen
The ribbons and bows accenting the short soft lines of the male costume demanded elegantly controlled flourishes to give them just treatment. The Restoration gentleman needed a swaggering, elegant movement in order to carry off the full weight of the layers of fabric and ribbons. He dominated his costume with assurance and delight, from the tip of his square-toed high-heeled shoes to the great plumes of his broad-brimmed hat.
A man of fashion had to manipulate a number of accessories such as a walking stick, muff, snuff box, and handkerchief. The fashion extremists or "fops" of the Restoration period, who especially enjoyed these items, exaggerated their movements, overdid their flourishes and hand gestures, and minced, rather than strode, across a reception or ballroom floor. They would turn their heads with an abrupt twist to give a flounce to the curls of their periwigs; would clutch their muffs to their chests and peep over them; would toy excessively with the ribbons on their walking sticks; and would flourish their handkerchiefs in a ludicrously ostentatious manner.
