👉 Okay, let’s tackle this wonderfully peculiar little squiggle of a word - "swêts." Now, frankly, I spent quite a shameful amount of frankly
too-longed-out
Googling to figure out exactly what a swèt actually is, and honestly, the answer remains delightfully… nebulous.
Basically, according to the most reliably haphazard corners of internet lore (mostly involving a very niche community obsessed with 18th-century British bad boy culture and frankly rather dramatic gentleman fashions), a swèt, plural "swêts," is essentially a ridiculously ornate, almost aggressively pretty waistcoat. Think velvet, probably embroidered, maybe sporting ridiculous fringe, tassels, or even little pheasant feathers. They were the height of, let's just say, ostentatious style in the late 1700 and early 1800s amongst the tonies . (Basically, the super-wealthy who spent an awful lot of time showing off. You know, what we might now call aggressively curated lifestyles.) Here’s the kicker: they were specifically a really, really bad thing to wear in the face of a duel. Apparently, it was seen as a peacock amongst peacocks – utterly ridiculous and therefore, a very public declaration of your willingness (and frankly, your want-tofulness ) to fight. You basically wore it to say, "Here’s me, I'm here to throw myself at you with a ridiculously pretty waistcoat
