You may have caught a glimpse of
Dandy Wellington around the streets of New York, on stage with his
band, or on sites such as
Humans of New York, or, of course,
The Dandy Portraits and the pages of
I am Dandy. Or you might be seeing him for the first time. In this film made by
Rarebit Productions, a collaboration between my husband, Kelly Desmond Bray, and I, we wanted to find out more about the man who calls himself Dandy.
His wardrobe is larger than life, and his boutonniere often precedes him entering a room. But for Wellington, dressing is the truest of joys - for him "life is a reason to get dressed up". It's an act of self-creation informed by being a native New Yorker - a place where people aren't afraid to "be bright, be bold". All the world is a stage and he certainly doesn't "wanna get caught in sweatpants". How true!
Special thanks to the band featuring Vinny Raniolo (guitar), Eric Wheeler (bass), Ricky Alexander (reed), and
Mike Davis (trumpet). They were recorded live at
Hotel Chantelle performing "Lulu's Back in Town" by Al Dubin and Harry Warren, and "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" by Fred E. Ahlert and Joe Young.