The Eccentricities of Gentlemen

Illustration by: © Daria Hlazatova I was mad for Moon Maid. As illustrated by Chester Gould, she was buxom with hypnotic, lushly lashed eyes, a platinum-blonde...

Vogue, a century or so ago, often featured the “fancy dress balls” of the day, especially as they pertained to charity events and the idling of the rich—the magazine proclaimed such costume parties (in the 1913 article “On With the Masque!”) to be a “whirling vortex of  merriment in  the guise of bird, beast, or flower, or as the elements of nature, or in plumes borrowed from many nations.”

A Cup of Chocolate (1844), by Charles Beranger © Christie's Images / Bridgeman Images At nine o’clock the next morning his servant came in with a...