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The Japanese still use this word to describe how a person dresses. However I'm sure that their idea of dandy is different from what I saw in Wikipedia, which shows pictures of men from hundreds of years ago.

I tried to ask this question on the Japanese stackexchange board, but it didn't quite answer my question.

What is the modern-day English equivalent of a "dandy?"

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I don't know what your usage in Japanese is, but the meaning of dandy is simply "someone who is particular about his dress and appearance". It's not required that a dandy dress in 18th century costume.

so a modern-day word for dandy is

dandy

A more modern word would be metrosexual

a heterosexual man who spends a lot of time and money on his appearance and likes to shop

For some more underused and fancy words, there is the thesaurus from which I find

dude, fop, gallant, sheik, beau, swell, fashion plate, clotheshorse

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The word dandy certainly makes me think of 18th and 19th century fops. I wouldn't call a modern man a dandy. Metrosexual is spot on though. – z7sg Ѫ Jul 25 '11 at 9:10
@z7sg: My recent recollection of dandy was reading about Jude Law's character in Alfie referred to as one. Jude Law modelled his performance in ALFIE on soccer star DAVID BECKHAM - whom he considers a "dandy" - so I assumed the word is still current in BrE. – JoseK Jul 25 '11 at 9:22
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He actually says "I think David Beckham is a perfect example of a dandy (of today)". You are right that it can still be used but it does have an association, it is strongly nuanced and I find this makes it somewhat derogatory as opposed to metrosexual. – z7sg Ѫ Jul 25 '11 at 9:38

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