Quote:
Originally Posted by languagehacker
ダンディ means "dandy" in English. This word is not used anymore. If I go to Wikipedia I see old pictures of men from 100 years ago.
Yet Japanese still use the word ダンディ. I saw someone say he is going to dress like one. What does this look like? It doesn't look like those pictures I saw in Wikipedia, right?
Someone said that Clint Eastwood was a dandy and 高倉健 was one, but why? They wear different kinds of clothes depending on what character they're playing. Does dandy have to do just with what clothes a person wears? Is there more to being a dandy then just what kind of clothes a person is wearing?
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That's a tough thing to answer. In general, yes, it does mean "dandy," and people (even in the US in some circles) still dress like that. But you're right: we hardly ever use the word "dandy" anymore. I think the last time I encountered the word was reading Dorian Grey, written a century ago.
The Wikipedia-JA article for ダンディ mentions that as of the 1900s it's a ladies' fashion that uses the "mannish" dandy style.
As far as these two people being dandies, it's not about the roles—it's about them when they were just being themselves. And maybe a modern equivalent is "pretty boy" or "prep" or something, but I'm not sure. Also, in English anyway, dandyism was not just a fashion choice, but a way of life. Pick up a copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. One of the major characters is a real hardcore dandy.
As for the technical fashionista meaning of ダンディ, perhaps you'll have to check on a fashion board or something. I sure don't know!