Macaronis were a fashion subgroup that challenged hetero-normative male dressing through the wearing of pastel-colored silks and towering powdered wigs. As Macaronis found influence in both aristocratic and middle-class circles, public outrage towards the group materialized in satirical writings and illustrations. McNeil (2000) writes that this criticism transitioned the group from a subculture to “the realm of caricature … the style was, in the end, deemed unhealthy and a threat to masculinity itself ” (pg. 1; 2). 

This notion of the public making fun of a male-based fashion subculture did not end with the Macaronis. During the mid-Aughts, male hipsters became societal fodder for their groomed beards, beanies, and “man buns,” or hair tied into a bun style. In How the song Yankee Doodle was about obnoxious 18th-century hipsters (2015), a comparison between Maracronis and male hipsters were drawn. The article’s writer Phil Edwards explains, “But let’s be honest. Weird clothes? Jokes about masculinity and sexual experimentation? … Macaronis were annoying hipsters … Powdered wigs were the man buns of the 18th century” (para. 9; 12). Despite a 200+ year difference between the two groups, it appears that Western culture is still unease towards male fashion expression. 

Sources:

Edwards, Phil. (2015, Sept. 13). Yankee Doodle was about obnoxious 18th-century hipsters. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2015/9/13/9312147/macaronis-yankee-doodle. 

McNeil, Peter,  “Mocking the macaroni: Fashion Victims of 18th-century England” Rotunda(Vol. 32, Issue 3.) Mar. 22, 2000