The Glass of Fashion: Some Social Reflections by a Gentleman with a Duster. 3rd edition

1921

Truby King Collection DA566.4 BD21

London: Mills & Boon

Still ringing with the horror of WWI, this book critiques the rise of the new ‘In Crowd’, characterised by cynicism and ‘…the notorious vulgarity of all that is fast, furious, and fashionable’. Begbie asks ‘Are these [fashionable] people useful? Are they happy? Do they make us feel that life is worth living?’ The influence of fashion is corrupting with its ‘…influence of ostentation, self-indulgence, lawlessness, cynicism and frivolity’. He also wonders if fashion could lead us into a renewal of the human spirit, as he comes to grips with the idea of fashion as collective behaviour.