"Dapper" be damned?

I was reading this month's edition of GQ, today delivered on to my doormat, when I discovered an article about HRH The Prince of Wales. Now, that in itself is a cause for celebration: I think HRH one of the best-dressed figures in the public eye, and his championing of traditional British tailoring and craftsmanship is to be lauded.


So what, dear reader, caused me not only to pause, but to share my thoughts with the great ether-world? I shall tell you. The article described HRH as "dapper". I confess to this being a long-standing bugbear of mine. I don't like the word. I don't like its implications, or the inferences which people draw from it. And I don't think it should be pinned to HRH's (no doubt double-breasted) lapel.


Why? Well. Partly it is a matter of familiarity breeding contempt. Any man who takes care of his appearance and enjoys the occasional touch of flamboyance will rapidly used to being "complimented" on being "dapper". Some people seem to think it is some great catch-all term for being well-dressed and well-groomed, and that the recipient of their careless verbiage will beam with pride. Alas, not so.


I think I have two objections to the word "dapper". One is, perhaps, a personal kvetch: I just think it implies smallness of stature. How easily the words "a dapper little man" come together, with all the contemptuous damnation that the English language can put into the two commonplace words "little man". This is bad enough, but if, like your correspondent, one is of decent height, it seems doubly galling.


There is something more general, though, I think. "Dapper" implies a degree of smoothness, a sheen which is not wholly complimentary. It is a good long way along the road to "smarmy". There is something not quite right about the dapper man. Something, well, simply not U. When I think of "dapper", I think of David Suchet's Hercule Poirot, all glistening moustaches and foreign affectations. I think of John le Carré's Toby Esterhase, superficial charm hiding great weakness behind a dandified exterior. I think of Mad Men's Roger Sterling, a sybarite's hero in some ways but a bad man in many others; not the sort of fellow with whom you'd leave your niece.


Perhaps I'm being too pernickety (but I doubt it). "Dapper" is a loaded word. "Elegant" is fine. "Groomed" and "polished" are just about all right, though both have shades of meaning which can imply excessive effort. "Well-dressed" is definitely acceptably. But please, let's be careful when we use the D-word.