Poll - What colours is Oscar Wilde wearing?

[talkhot]

Dear Style Forum members, how about a little historical question?

I'm working on a new sartorial passion project with a very talented art historian. We're currently creating the first articles for our new blog for which we uncover stories of past and present figures who inspire critical thinking. Our first article is an easy-to-read but fully cited piece on the true story behind Oscar Wilde's green carnation.

I found some black and white photos that I'd like to have historically accurately coloured, and this is where I would be curious about your input and sartorial knowledge. We know Mr. Wilde was a flamboyant person, so which colours would he have chosen for his outfit? The criteria are that they should be historically accurate (1890s), combine well (it's hard to imagine he would pick something that wouldn't match), and suit his flamboyant character.

I thought to put some of the options below, but I'm also happy to elaborate on any of the subjects. What we know is that his carnation may be green. Also, combinations of various colours were not uncommon in 1890s fashion, although men usually wore more subdued hues.

 

[double00]

your friend is an art historian ? so ... why not simply research color portraits of wilde ? probably more accurate than a contemporary poll would be


henri toulouse-latrec 1895

 

[double00]

robert goodloe harper pennington 1884

 

[talkhot]

your friend is an art historian ? so ... why not simply research color portraits of wilde ? probably more accurate than a contemporary poll would be

View attachment 1946575
henri toulouse-latrec 1895

The post-impressionists such as Toulouse-Lautrec weren't exactly renowned for their photorealistic (or even realistic) style of painting.

My question pertains to the exact outfit he is wearing in the photograph above. There are no primary sources about this exact outfit. There are sources on the general style in the time (see attachment), but Oscar Wilde was known not to stick to conventions, so that leaves room for interpretation. For example frock coats came in different colours at the time, black would be a safe choice, but OS might have chosen something slightly less safe.

 

[double00]

hm , maybe i'm not understanding the point of the project but this seems a bit lazy ngl .

i'm sure there are contemporaneous accounts of wilde's dress or maybe that is also a dubious record ? lol .

or you could analyze the dandy characters that he wrote about and were presumably modeled to a degree on the author himself .