Editing Bertie Wooster (section)

===Age and appearance===

Bertie is approximately 24 years old when he first meets Jeeves in "[[Jeeves Takes Charge]]", first published in 1916.<ref>Wodehouse (2008) [1925], ''Carry On, Jeeves'', chapter 1. Bertie recounts a story in which he was fifteen years old, and later mentions that this story occurred nine years before, meaning that he is approximately 24 years old in "Jeeves Takes Charge".</ref> His age is not stated in any other story. In the reference work ''Wodehouse in Woostershire'' by Wodehouse scholars Geoffrey Jaggard and Tony Ring, it is speculated that Bertie's age ranges from approximately 24 to 29 over the course of the stories.<ref>Ring & Jaggard (1999), pp. 124–126.</ref> [[Nigel Cawthorne]], author of ''A Brief Guide to Jeeves and Wooster'', also suggested that Bertie is approximately 29 at the end of the saga.<ref>Cawthorne (2013), p. 160.</ref>

Tall and slim, Bertie is elegantly dressed, largely because of Jeeves, who tends to talk Bertie out of the more flamboyant articles of clothing that Bertie sometimes favours.<ref>Cawthorne (2013), p. 159.</ref> He has blue eyes.<ref>Wodehouse (2008) [1934], ''Thank You, Jeeves'', chapter 21, p. 256. Chuffy references Bertie's "big blue eyes".</ref> Normally clean-shaven, he grows a moustache in two different stories, and ultimately loses the moustache, as Jeeves does not think a moustache suits Bertie.<ref name=garrison219/> It seems that he has an innocent-looking appearance; when Bertie wants to wear an alpine hat in ''[[Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves]]'', he states, "I was prepared to concede that it would have been more suitable for rural wear, but against this had to be set the fact that it unquestionably lent a ''diablerie'' to my appearance, and mine is an appearance that needs all the ''diablerie'' it can get."<ref>Wodehouse (2008) [1963], ''Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves'', chapter 1, p. 15.</ref> Bertie has an expressive face that Jeeves can read easily.<ref>Wodehouse (2008) [1925], ''Carry On, Jeeves'', chapter 10, p. 271. Jeeves narrates: "Mr. Wooster's is not one of those inscrutable faces which it is impossible to read. On the contrary, it is a limpid pool in which is mirrored each passing emotion. I could read it now like a book".</ref>

In illustrations, Bertie Wooster has frequently been depicted wearing a [[monocle]]. However, this is probably merely a stereotypical depiction of an upper-class gentleman, as Bertie does not seem to wear a monocle in the original stories. The only evidence of Bertie wearing a monocle occurs in "[[The Spot of Art]]", when Bertie sees a portrait of himself, wearing a monocle, in a poster advertising soup. Bertie is revolted by the image, which gives him a look of "bestial greed". The monocle seems to exaggerate this expression, and Bertie makes fun of how large the monocle looks, calling it "about six inches in circumference".<ref>Wodehouse (2008) [1930], ''Very Good, Jeeves'', chapter 6, pp. 158–159.</ref> Bertie is never described as wearing a monocle elsewhere. It is unlikely that Bertie would wear a monocle that would not be mentioned, since the glasses of other characters, particularly Bertie's friend [[Gussie Fink-Nottle]], are well-described, and another prominent Wodehouse character, [[Psmith]], has a distinctive monocle that is mentioned many times.<ref>Ring & Jaggard (1999), pp. 289–290.</ref>