September 5, 2012
“

I have been so hymmed as the King of the Dudes that I think that I should stand up for myself and my generation. We dressed as we pleased; it is personality that counts in clothes.

People should wear what suits them and pleases them and so add to the individuality of life. This is all that I did.

” — Evander Berry Wall, 1940 (via voxsart)
Posted in Evander Berry Wall King of Dudes
September 14, 2011
“For almost half of his 79 years, E. (for Evander) Berry Wall set a smart sartorial pace as an international clotheshorse. He was called the best-dressed American in Europe, the King of the Dudes. He was reported to possess 285 pairs of pants, 5,000 custom-tailored neckties. It was rumored that he changed his ties six times a day. His conduct was motivated by a great principle: find out what suits you and always wear it. Berry Wall usually wore capes and coats of horse-blanket plaid, high horse-collars cinched with lush Ascot cravats. […] he was leading a tumultuous and crowded existence, he drifted from race track to race track, from hotel to hotel, from gambling casino to gambling casino, with a miscellaneous society that included the Duchess of Windsor, the Grand Duke Dmitri, the Aga Khan, King Alfonso and ex-King Nicholas of Montenegro, ‘a magnificent old darling.’” — Review of Neither Pest Nor Puritan, in Time Magazine, 1940
Posted in Evander Berry Wall
July 3, 2011
Remember Evander Berry Wall? I wrote about him last month. He commissioned Charvet to make him and his dog matching pairs of custom cravats, and they would wear them when they dined together at the Ritz.  Well apparently his dog has a memoir. And you can buy it on eBay.  Kind of makes me feel like a failure as I’m puttering around the house today in my pajamas, eating canned garbanzo beans, and struggling to write my dissertation.  (hat tip to the RJ cat, who is indisputably the King of eBay)

Remember Evander Berry Wall? I wrote about him last month. He commissioned Charvet to make him and his dog matching pairs of custom cravats, and they would wear them when they dined together at the Ritz. 

Well apparently his dog has a memoir. And you can buy it on eBay. 

Kind of makes me feel like a failure as I’m puttering around the house today in my pajamas, eating canned garbanzo beans, and struggling to write my dissertation. 

(hat tip to the RJ cat, who is indisputably the King of eBay)

Posted in Evander Berry Wall Chi Chi
June 13, 2011
The RJ cat sent me this awesome cartoon by Sem. It shows Evander Berry Wall at Charvet, demanding “Look here! I want a Chinese neck-tie [sic] for my dog!” Apparently Charvet has an image of this in their fabric room.  RJ also noted that Wall’s memoir, Neither Pest Nor Puritan, is a nice read. If you’re interested in picking it up, check for it at DealOz. It’s a great site to find the best deals on books. 

The RJ cat sent me this awesome cartoon by Sem. It shows Evander Berry Wall at Charvet, demanding “Look here! I want a Chinese neck-tie [sic] for my dog!” Apparently Charvet has an image of this in their fabric room. 

RJ also noted that Wall’s memoir, Neither Pest Nor Puritan, is a nice read. If you’re interested in picking it up, check for it at DealOz. It’s a great site to find the best deals on books. 

Posted in Evander Berry Wall Sartorial Heros Charvet Definition of Ballin
June 13, 2011
Evander Berry Wall In the annals of menswear there’s the legend of Evander Berry Wall. Wall was brought up in a fairly privileged, gentry-class family, but his lifestyle really took on certain grandeur after he inherited $1.5 million in 1880 (the equivalent of $33 million today) from his grandfather when he was only 20 years old. This allowed some remarkable extravagances. For example, after inheriting his fortune, he’s said to have never drunk water, only champagne. Most of his money and time, however, went to clothes, from which he built quite a reputation.   Wall, the Dandy Wall was known to own over 500 trousers and 5,000 neckties, and he dressed in extraordinary colors. For example, in the image above, he was wearing a reddish, havana brown dustcoat, grey shepherd check suit, and a brightly striped vest. His shirt was striped in red and sky blue, and it had a very high collar made from a contrasting pattern. His tapered trousers ended in a big turned up cuff, so that he could show off his highly varnished lavender spats. This was all accented with a widely spread cravat, bright pocket square, and beautiful cane that he always kept with him.  He was known for having custom made cravats, collars, and ties made for him by Charvet. Matching pairs were also made for his dog, Chi-Chi, who wore the items when the two dined together at the Ritz. He was also renowned for his patronage of Henry Poole & Co., commonly considered the most prestigious tailoring house on Savile Row. Wall said that any man not dressed by Poole was “the sartorial equivalent of Happy Hooligan.”  This is all background, however. There are two legends I wish to tell you about - The Battle of Dudes and The Wager.  The Battle of the Dudes Though Wall enjoyed a reputation for being a dandy through most of his life, he became truly famous when a reporter named Blakey Hall featured him every week in the New York American. The feature was quite popular, and consequently, Wall became a bit of a public figure.  One of the journalist’s rivals decided to take advantage of the buzz and promote his own “sartorial race horse” - actor Robert Hilliard, who was another flashy dresser. Each week, the Wall and Hilliard tried to eclipse each other in sartorial extremes as they were featured in the competing newspapers. This was known as The Battle of the Dudes (dude being a term for a well dressed, city dwelling gentleman).The battle is said to have ended in the Great Blizzard of 1888, when Wall strode into the Hoffman House bar in gleaming patent leather boots that went up to his hips. The battled ended with that one grand display of custom boots and he was thereafter declared to be “The King of the Dudes.” The Wager Wall’s reputation grew when he won another contest. A famous financier named John “Bet-A-Million” Gates made a wager that Wall could not go through 40 changes of clothes in between breakfast and dinner. Rising to the challenge, on their agreed upon day, Wall repeatedly appeared at a racetrack in one flashy ensemble after another. Exhausted but victorious, Wall ended the day by attending a ball at the United States hotel in flawless evening attire. He was received by wild applause.  As you can probably guess, a life of ordering custom Charvet cravats for a dog and engaging in incredible sartorial challenges isn’t cheap. By the time he died, Wall only left $12,608 to his family. I’m sure most people would consider him a bit of a failure, but I kind of love the colorful, extremeness of his life. 

Evander Berry Wall

In the annals of menswear there’s the legend of Evander Berry Wall. Wall was brought up in a fairly privileged, gentry-class family, but his lifestyle really took on certain grandeur after he inherited $1.5 million in 1880 (the equivalent of $33 million today) from his grandfather when he was only 20 years old. This allowed some remarkable extravagances. For example, after inheriting his fortune, he’s said to have never drunk water, only champagne. Most of his money and time, however, went to clothes, from which he built quite a reputation.  

Wall, the Dandy

Wall was known to own over 500 trousers and 5,000 neckties, and he dressed in extraordinary colors. For example, in the image above, he was wearing a reddish, havana brown dustcoat, grey shepherd check suit, and a brightly striped vest. His shirt was striped in red and sky blue, and it had a very high collar made from a contrasting pattern. His tapered trousers ended in a big turned up cuff, so that he could show off his highly varnished lavender spats. This was all accented with a widely spread cravat, bright pocket square, and beautiful cane that he always kept with him. 

He was known for having custom made cravats, collars, and ties made for him by Charvet. Matching pairs were also made for his dog, Chi-Chi, who wore the items when the two dined together at the Ritz. He was also renowned for his patronage of Henry Poole & Co., commonly considered the most prestigious tailoring house on Savile Row. Wall said that any man not dressed by Poole was “the sartorial equivalent of Happy Hooligan.” 

This is all background, however. There are two legends I wish to tell you about - The Battle of Dudes and The Wager. 

The Battle of the Dudes

Though Wall enjoyed a reputation for being a dandy through most of his life, he became truly famous when a reporter named Blakey Hall featured him every week in the New York American. The feature was quite popular, and consequently, Wall became a bit of a public figure. 

One of the journalist’s rivals decided to take advantage of the buzz and promote his own “sartorial race horse” - actor Robert Hilliard, who was another flashy dresser. Each week, the Wall and Hilliard tried to eclipse each other in sartorial extremes as they were featured in the competing newspapers. This was known as The Battle of the Dudes (dude being a term for a well dressed, city dwelling gentleman).The battle is said to have ended in the Great Blizzard of 1888, when Wall strode into the Hoffman House bar in gleaming patent leather boots that went up to his hips. The battled ended with that one grand display of custom boots and he was thereafter declared to be “The King of the Dudes.”

The Wager

Wall’s reputation grew when he won another contest. A famous financier named John “Bet-A-Million” Gates made a wager that Wall could not go through 40 changes of clothes in between breakfast and dinner. Rising to the challenge, on their agreed upon day, Wall repeatedly appeared at a racetrack in one flashy ensemble after another. Exhausted but victorious, Wall ended the day by attending a ball at the United States hotel in flawless evening attire. He was received by wild applause. 

As you can probably guess, a life of ordering custom Charvet cravats for a dog and engaging in incredible sartorial challenges isn’t cheap. By the time he died, Wall only left $12,608 to his family. I’m sure most people would consider him a bit of a failure, but I kind of love the colorful, extremeness of his life. 

Posted in Sartorial heroes Evander Berry Wall