Evander Berry Wall was a New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 dude

Dude

A dude is an individual, typically male. The female equivalent, which is used less often, is "dudette" or "dudess". However, "dude" has evolved to become more unisex to encompass all genders, and this was true even in the 1950s....

  who became famous in the 1880s for his extravagantly refined look.

A Young Prince Prodigal

He was the son of Charles Wall and Elizabeth A. Wall, and the brother of James R. Wall, and Mrs Louise Berry Wall Ladew who died on 22 April 1910 and who divided her property between her son Harvey Smith Ladew and Elise Ladew (later Mrs William Russell Grace), and left an annuity of $3000 to her brother James, but none to Evander.

At the age of 16, Wall owned his first race horse. Having inherited $2 million before the age of 22, he became a leader of the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 cafe society

Café Society

Café society was the collective description for the so-called "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafes and restaurants in New York, Paris, and London beginning in the late 19th century...

. He was popularly credited with the possession of over 500 trousers and 5,000 neckties.

He generally wore "very extraordinary" costumes, such as the one pictured on the right: a dust coat of a reddish havana brown, a suit made of a large grey shepherd plaid check; extremely wide trousers tapered at the ankle, and turned up several inches to display white spats and highly varnished shoes; a "startling" striped shirt in red and sky blue, with very high false collar of a pattern different from the shirts, a striped vest and a widely spread stock-cravat.

He is credited for having been the first person in the United States to have worn during a ball, at a time when the tailcoat

Tailcoat

A tailcoat is a coat with the front of the skirt cut away, so as to leave only the rear section of the skirt, known as the tails. The historical reason coats were cut this way was to make it easier for the wearer to ride a horse, but over the years tailcoats of varying types have evolved into forms...

 was still the rule, a white dinner jacket, sent to him by the London tailor Henry Poole & Co

Henry Poole & Co

Henry Poole & Co is a gentleman's bespoke tailor located at №15 Savile Row in London. The acknowledged 'Founders of Savile Row' and creators of the Dinner Suit, the company has remained a family-run business since their establishment in 1806...

 "to be worn for a quiet dinner at home or at an evening's entertainment at a summer resort". He was immediately ordered off the floor.

King of the Dudes

A journalist of the New York American

New York Journal American

The New York Journal American was a newspaper published from 1937 to 1966. The Journal American was the product of a merger between two New York newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst: The New York American , a morning paper, and the New York Evening Journal, an afternoon paper...

, Blakely Hall, made Wall famous, proclaiming him in 1888 "King of the Dudes" for having won the "Battle of the Dudes" against Robert "Bob" Hilliard, another sartorial dude when, during the blizzard of 1888, he strode into a bar clad in gleaming boots of patent leather that went to his hips. Nevertheless, some historians still consider it was Hilliard who won that dude battle.

Wall won another contest in Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...

 against John "Bet a Million" Gates, for having changed clothes 40 times between breakfast and dinner, appearing on the race track "in one flashy ensemble after the other until, exhausted but victorious he at last entered the ballroom of the United States Hotel in faultless evening attire"

After an ill-conceived stock-broking career and additional failures as a stable owner which ended in a 1899 bankruptcy, Wall decided that "New York had become fit only for businessmen" and left for Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in 1912.

Parisian Grandeur

Whether in Paris, Deauville

Deauville

Deauville is a commune in the Calvados département in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.With its racecourse, harbour, international film festival, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the "queen of the Norman beaches" and...

, Biarritz

Biarritz

Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....

 or Aix-les-Bains

Aix-les-Bains

Aix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:...

, Wall and his wife were famous members of the French social elite, with a society that included the Duchess of Windsor, the Grand Duke Dimitri, the Aga Khan and ex-king Nicholas of Montenegro, whom Wall called a "magnificent old darling".

They lived with their chow dog Chi-Chi in the Hotel Meurice

Hotel Meurice

Le Meurice is a 5-star hotel in Paris, located opposite the Tuileries Garden, between Place de la Concorde and the Musée du Louvre. This hotel is owned and managed by the Dorchester Collection...

, near Charvet, where he had his signature "spread eagle" collar shirts and cravats custom-made for himself and his dog: Wall always dined at the Ritz

Hôtel Ritz Paris

The Hôtel Ritz is a grand palatial hotel in the heart of Paris, the 1st arrondissement. It overlooks the octagonal border of the Place Vendôme at number 15...

with his dog, whose collars and ties were made by Charvet in the same style and fabric as his master's.

Wall ascribed his longevity to the fact he never saw physicians and never drank water, claiming: "There are more old drunkards than there are old doctors".

A year before his death in 1940, he wrote his memoirs,, published after his death, where he noted:"I keep reminding myself as I draw nearer my last great duty, the obligation upon me to thank the God I believe in for the gift of life."

When he died, he left only $12,608, having "squandered nearly every cent on pleasure".