Just Dandy! The life and times of George 'Beau' Brummell with Chris Browne

Saturday 31 May 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

A series of men, all of whom were given the honorific title “Beau”, were the leaders in English social behaviour and arbiters of fashion in clothing from the 17th to the early 19th century. They were history’s equivalent of today’s online influencers. The last of these was George “Beau” Brummell, who was the unchallenged leader of English society and fashion from the 1790s until 1820. Brummell’s focus on elegance in men’s dress has had a lasting influence which still can be seen in the status of bespoke gentlemen’s tailoring in London today.   

In this talk, Professor Browne will explore the life and legacy of George “Beau” Brummell, and will share with the audience examples chosen from his personal collection of male fashion images from the Regency period. 

Professor Emeritus Chris Browne is a retired medical researcher and academic who spent much of his childhood in British colonial Africa and the Middle East, before returning to the UK to attend school. After degrees from the Universities of York and Oxford, followed by five years in medical research at McGill University in Montreal in the late 1970s, he has spent most of his working life in the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University.
He has enjoyed reading from an early age, and became a serious book collector in 1970, and has put together, during the last 55 years, a personal library of around 15,000 books. His main interests are English literature and juvenilia from 1780 to 1940, fine illustrated books, and the history of English publishing and printing. He is currently the Program Director of Melbourne Rare Book Week. Unsurprisingly, his main hobby is reading. His COVID lockdown project was to improve his knowledge of the history of fashion. The present talk is one outcome of that effort.


Your ticket includes tea or Market Lane coffee served before the presentation, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This event is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. NOTE: Tickets for this event do not include access to our house museum, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Image: French, Morning Clothes, 1814 (detail). Private Collection.

Book Tickets

Adult $25

$ 25.00 ea

Student/Concession $23.00

$ 23.00 ea