Social Caricature in the Eighteenth Century

1905

Special DA485 SZ28

London: Methuen

Despite the fact that this image is a caricature, the ‘Maccaroni’ was a real fashion phenomenon. Popularised in the 1760s, the ‘Maccaroni’ look reached its zenith in the early 1770s. Here is the ‘Maccaroni’ in a dressing room at the Pantheon on Oxford Street in London – an assembly room opened in 1772 where members of ‘high society’ paraded themselves and socialised at balls and masquerades. His outfit is described as ‘high wig, huge nosegay [flower bouquet], tasselled coat, striped hose, and rosette shoes’.