Young Fogey

"Young fogey" is a term humorously applied, in British context, to some younger-generation, rather buttoned-down writers and journalists, such as Simon Heffer, Charles Moore and, for a while, A. N. Wilson. The term is attributed to Alan Watkins writing in 1984 in The Spectator.

"Young fogey" is still used to describe conservative young men (aged approximately between 15 and 40) who dress in a vintage style (usually that of the 1920s-1950s, also known as the "Brideshead" look (after the influence of the Evelyn Waugh novel Brideshead Revisited), and who tend towards erudite, conservative cultural pursuits.

The movement reached its peak in the mid eighties with adherents such as A.N. Wilson and Gavin Stamp. The movement declined in the nineties, but still has a following amongst students at Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, St Andrews and other universities, as well as in some professions (in particular the antiques and arts dealing world, and the minority classical architecture practices). At Oxford and Cambridge, teenage undergraduates can be seen wearing tweed and affecting mannerisms that are reminiscent of a long-gone era; particular strongholds of young fogeys include the Oxford University Conservative Association and Trinity College, Cambridge, but they are also seen elsewhere.

The young-fogey style of dress also has some surface similarity with the American preppy style, but it is essentially an Anglo-centric style, restricted to the United Kingdom and the more anglicised areas of the British Commonwealth such as Australia and New Zealand.

The Chap magazine has revived many aspects of the young fogey, albeit in a somewhat boisterous and tongue-in-cheek manner.

People

Irish broadcaster Ryan Tubridy, who hosts The Late Late Show, has described himself as a "young fogey".^[1]

British Member of Parliament Jacob Rees-Mogg was described as a "young fogey" after his 2010 election to Westminster.^[2]

Literature

• Suzanne Lowry, The Young Fogey Handbook: a guide to backward mobility. Javelin Books, 1985. ISBN 0-7137-1633-9, ISBN 978-0-7137-1633-7, 96 pages

See also

• The dictionary definition of fogey at Wiktionary and of old fogey

References

External links

• The Young Fogey - An Elegy, 2003 Spectator article
• Reflections of a Young Fogey