Oscar Wilde's words that the future belongs to the dandy seem to be coming true in modern media society. Particularly in the fields of art, fashion, and design, the dandy is once again in demand. But are the fashionable trendsetters of postmodernity really dandies? Günter Erbe succeeds in providing a substantial definition of the phenomenon in contrast to the inflationary use of the term "dandy" in public discourse, exposing the pretentious and mislabelled, and restoring the term's unique significance. The cultural scientist combines sociological analysis and intellectual history reflection with portrait sketches of individuals who represent a modern dandyism in varying degrees and connotations: Harry Graf Kessler, Cecil Beaton, Hugo Ball, Francis Picabia, Jacques Vaché, Balthus, Hans Werner Henze, Fritz J. Raddatz, Andy Warhol.