What's a good derogatory word for dandy/toff/fop?
I'm trying to find the right word to describe a wealthy English dandy who finds himself rather out of place in a seedy bareknuckle boxing tavern. The story is set in 1890's, in London, and the character is an eccentric aesthete who might find himself in better company with Oscar Wilde or Agernon Swinburne than in his current company. His friend overhears people muttering derogatory terms under their breath. I've considered toff, fop, or dandy, but none of them seem like they carry enough weight. A homophobic slur might also work in this context, but I think it should convey how out of place this character is in his current setting.
Edit: Someone suggested I add a few sentences for context.
He could feel the eyes of the crowd still on him, and on his companion. Roderick, with his blue eyes and kid gloves to match, his delicate features, blond curls, and manicured nails, looked like a poodle among pit bulls in this place. “Insert derogative here.” The man who’d spoken was a particularly brutish sort, tattooed from neck to fingertip and scarred from his ear to his jaw. Jonathan’s fists clenched. “Leave it. It’s all right,” said Roderick, noticing Jonathan’s posture. Jonathan shook his head. He wasn’t about to let this lie.
Here are some options:
popinjay
NOUN
- dated A vain or conceited person, especially one who dresses or behaves extravagantly.
pretty boy
NOUN
derogatory, informal
A foppish or effeminate man.
‘it was rare indeed for any athlete to be a pretty boy at a time when American men were still stuck in a 1950's macho mindset’lounge lizard
NOUN
_informal _
An idle man who spends his time in places frequented by rich and fashionable people.
‘he was a lounge lizard in London and a stockbroker in Manhattan’coxcomb
NOUN
- archaic A vain and conceited man; a dandy.
‘As an afterthought, the red-headed girl suddenly added, ‘Good gracious, that Adam Weatherly is such a coxcomb.’’
You could also use Beau Brummell, as Billy Joel does in Still Rock and Roll To Me.
Miss Molly or Molly Mop. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Miss Molly means:
Origin: From proper names, combined with an English element. Etymons: miss n.2, proper name Molly, Mary.
Etymology: < miss n.2 + Molly, pet-form of the female forename Mary, after molly n.1
colloq. Obs.
An effeminate or homosexual man or boy. Cf. molly n.1 2, Miss Nancy n.
1754 World 18 Apr. 348 If he goes to school, he will be perpetually teized by the nick-name of Miss Molly.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue at Molly, A miss Molly, an effeminate fellow, a sodomite. (Emphasis added)
1816 ‘Quiz’ Grand Master i. 19 In fact, a specimen of folly, A semi-ver [sic], a mere Miss Molly.
I quoted the entry in its entirety, because someone who does not subscribe to the OED may not be able to access the link.
I came across this term in the novel Morgan's Run by Colleen McCullough. The novel centers on the transport of convicts to Australia in the late 18th century and the first settlement on Norfolk Island. One of the principal characters, the fourth officer of one of the transports, was a Miss Molly. You can find all instances of the use of Miss Molly in Morgan's Run here
Molly Mop is another possibility for the OP. The OED cites this use of Molly Mop
1829 F. Marryat Naval Officer II. vi. 182 I'll disrate you,..you d—d Molly Mop
To us, Molly Mop sounds funny, but spoken in the context and time the OP gives, it would be very insulting to a heterosexual male.
See also this entry for Molly House
Molly-house was a term used in 18th and 19th century England for a meeting place for homosexual men
"Swell" is a possible earlier term, still current in the 1890s, but in fact, "toff" would have been in use at exactly the time you're concerned with. It occurs in a poem printed in 1892:
But a toff was mixed in a bull and cow, [row]
And I helped him to do a bunk ...— Doss Chiderdoss, "The Rhyme of the Rusher"
"Toff" begins to appear in the mid-1850s, and is well attested. See Green's Dictionary of Slang.