The Demon of Fashion

• Fashionable Reading. vide New Church - Oxford
• Hand coloured satirical print, circa 1818
• 114 x 190mm (4½ x 7½in)
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Mercy! Is this a Regency dandy at the pulpit, or a parson making a spiritual fashion statement?

Adorned with the Holy Trinity of Regency excess—gold rings on his fingers, a monocle poised in his left eye, and an impeccable high collar—this sartorial saviour commands not just reverence but admiration. What better audience to showcase his cultivated elegance than a worshipful congregation?

The parson’s long, graceful fingers hover over a substantial volume of sacred scripture, resting regally upon a plush red cushion trimmed with gold fringe. The flicker of candlelight dances across its gilded edges, casting a theatrical glow over the holy words as he delivers his sermon with dramatic flair.

With an air of indulgent piety, he concludes: And behold in these times the Dan-dees were arrayed in Garments of divers fashions, - and in fine linnen [sic] curiously wrought - and moreover they were gazed upon by brethren of the Land in which they dwelt - and the people marvelled.