Elegant Petit Maître in a light suit with brandenburgs, vest of Indian taffetas, trimmed with little steel buttons; he is coiffed with curls.
The border is surmounted with different fashionable buckles of the newest taste; at the bottom, several painted and embroidered vests. (1786)
"The élégant is never frozen in amber, his body does not appear for an instant under I know not how many attitudes; his spirit never evaporates in compliments to loss of breath; his fatuity is calm, tranquil, studied; he smiles instead of responding; he never contemplates himself in a mirror, he has his eyes constantly fixed on himself, so as to admire the proportions of his waist and the precision of his dress.
" ... Men's hairstyles have become very simple: they no more wear their hair en escalade. These high toupets, so justly ridiculed, have disappeared.
" ... The most difficult thing today, for a man of letters, is not speaking of erudition with wise men, of war with soldiers, of dogs and horses with aristocrats; but of nothing with several women who no longer want to speak, for example of the élégans."
SEBASTIEN MERCIER, Tableau de Paris, 1782
