The Newport Frill is defined in The Gift: ``a scanty Newport Frill (that barbe en collier which seemed so symptomatic to Flaubert).''

The barbe en collier was a sign of mediocrity to Flaubert, a middle-class affectation that caused him to judge a man ``at first sight.''

Whether this implication is intended in the Newport Frill inveterate in Shade, either ironically by Shade himself, or by VN standing outside, seems to me an open question.