I’ve been interested in working class dress lately. And more specifically 18th century maids costumes. searching the net I’ve found lots of pics of pretty outfits and great pattern mixi…

Bonjour à tous ! Et oui encore un article sur les costumes d’Outlander (J’espère que vous n’en avez pas marre !!). Aujourd’hui on se retrouve pour décortiquer les tenues de …

Have you ever looked at a fashion history book -- the kind with lots of illustrations of the changing silhouettes -- and wondered why on earth the eighteenth century dandy and his furbelow-decked lady suddenly would drop their silken finery for clinging muslins and tight, shrunken suits? Photo: Typical 1780s chemise ensemble. Auguste Wilhelmine Maria of Hessen-Darmstadt and children. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Much has been written, and was even at that period, about how 1790s fashion reflected the decade's social turbulence by shifting more rapidly than at any recorded time previous. The French revolution had quite an effect on what women wore, of course, as did ever-increasing international trade with India and the Far East, import bans and taxes. So did the passion for Classicism so apparent in all of the arts, and Enlightenment philosophy and its result, and what one article (Wikipedia) calls the "triumph of informality". Still, when I pick up a random fashion history book, more than likely the author has chosen to slice and dice this period into sharply delineated sections. Poor 1790s: so often split up, your history divided by politics or ethos! Fashion's short-shrift decade. Photo: A Regency ensemble, 1798. Louise von Preussen. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. (Oh yes, I hear you, those of you who love Nancy Bradfield's Costume in Detail: Women's Dress 1730-1930. She keeps the decade whole, and I love her too, relying on her superb drawings perhaps more than those of any other book. However, perhaps because she wasn't able to examine extant garments of these types, her book doesn't feature two garment styles that were important in marking the transition from Enlightenment to Regency. Norah Waugh's The Cut of Women's Clothes does to some degree too, but many of us find that book exceedingly expensive, and interlibrary loan isn't available to all of us Finally, there is a terrific costume exhibit at the Kent State University Museum, curated by Anne Bissonnette, titled "The Age of Nudity", that ran in 2006-2007. The exhibit website is still up, the text concise and authoritative, and the images marvelous, but such a brief view, and no book produced! Alas.) Let's do something different this time. In this post, I've collected an unscientific, convenience sampling of paintings and engravings and fashion plates from Wikimedia Commons, from the 1780s through about 1800. As you scan them, you will see something fascinating. The 1780s chemise dress will morph into the Regency gown, the 1780s open robe and redingote styles will open up and travel towards the back of the body until the resulting overgarment feels more like a sort of long jacket or long vest than a gown. To keep things moving along, I have focused mostly on these garments rather than on the wider breadth of styles in that were in favor, so that we can watch them grow and change, much as we watch caterpillars morph into butterflies. By the way, all this examination relates to a project. I have five months to complete an ensemble for the Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, and have chosen to dress for the years 1795-1797. Given that the months are slipping by fast, I've forgone the much of the research I usually do, so sad to say, I haven't read literature of the period or looked for period magazine texts or other sources for help. As always, please click on the images to see larger versions. I've also included links to the Wikimedia Commons originals, some of which are very large files with good detail. Here We Go... Here is a portrait of Princess Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, called "Madame", the future wife of Louis XVIII of France. Her painter, Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun, made this painting in 1782. Le Brun has painted Madame in a chemise dress of the time, an informal style worn for "undress" occasions. As Norah Waugh has it, the style was popularized by stylemaker Marie Antoinette, and was dubbed the chemise a la reine, after a portrait by Vigee le Brun that appeared at the 1783 Paris Salon (Waugh, p. 73). I wonder whether the style was already on the rise, since other women wear versions of it in paintings of slightly earlier date -- like the portrait above. After all, children had been wearing chemise dresses for some years (look at the little child in the top photo and Miss Willoughby, at right, 1781-1783, by George Romney), and fashionable people had been tiring of heavy or trim-encrusted, stiff-bodiced formal dress that had proclaimed wealth and status for centuries. Those of you who have studied the philosophy and social history of this period, do you have details or pointers to add? This dress is likely of muslin. The collar is trimmed with lace, which I imagine may be whipped on right to the edge of the muslin so that the lace forms a smooth extension of the collar edge. Like so many of these dresses, drawstrings likely are used to close it at neck and waist, and more drawstrings and ribbons to create the puffs on the arms. Also like so many chemise dresses, the waist -- at natural level -- is defined by a silk sash. Often you see them in blue or pink, sometimes in green. Yet in the photo at the top of this post, Auguste Wilhelmine Maria of Hessen-Darmstadt is wearing not a silk sash, but a shaped flat belt. Yes, let's have a look at a detail from the top photo again. That belt -- isn't it handsome? It appears to be embroidered, with a "buckle" being perhaps a portrait. It is hard to see and I do not have a larger version of this painting to hand. This painting also makes clear that not all chemise dresses were as loose as those worn a little later. This dress is loose only at the bust, while the lower section of the bodice is quite shaped, and the bodice is long. The dress has a sheen too, which makes me wonder it it might be made of a soft silk, perhaps a gauze? Let's move on to another example or two. Here's a painting of Elizabeth Foster, by Joshua Reynolds. Ms. Foster is quite fluffed out, no? Have a look at her dress. Here the chemise collar is worn high up, and the waistline is a little raised, courtesy that very wide, colorful sash, and see the ribbons that tie around her sleeves? They're pink and do not match the sash. One last example. This is Sarah Villiers, Viscountess of Jersey, by Ozias Humphrey, and painted in 1786. In this case, the chemise dress has a wide falling collar that spreads out over the shoulders, and a far narrower sash. Look at her sleeves: how long they are! Regency sleeves would often do this: be very long and pushed back to wrinkle up on the lower arm. Note how she wears her bracelet: over the sleeve. As you can see, just this limited sampling of dresses shows the variety that the chemise dress could take. Now, let's have a look at a few other examples of late 1780s dress, and look for items that would carry on into the next decade. Here is a 1780s sample, a portrait of Frederika Sophia Wilhelmina of Prussia, painted by Tischbein in 1789. While the princess wears her gown long-waisted, as had been popular for so very long, the fabric appears a little lighter than earlier in the century, and it is closed down the front rather than open with a stomacher. These round gowns had grown in favor...and from this point on, women's dresses would generally be closed up front rather than pinned or laced partially open, revealing garments or decor beneath. The princess is also wearing a fichu. Long worn for modesty, cleanliness and style, fichus in the 1780s began to bouf out a little, and by the 1790s would get positively pigeon-breasted. The princess' fichu is a little bouffy, and fortells the later frontward expansion. And her hair? Positively puffy, as it had been most of the decade. Costumers these days call it hedgehog hair. Much of it is wig, and it's still tinted gray with powder...you will see more of this styling in the 1790s, and it will become even less styled, before moving to a more natural look. Here is another portrait, from 1787, the Marquise de Pezay (or Pezé) and the Marquise de Rougé with her sons. (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.) Both women are wearing sashes, and informal round gowns with tight sleeves, of drapey, light fabrics. Note the stripes! Now here's something exciting. Look at the necklines: bouffy and gathered and round-necked, almost like a Regency gown line. It almost appears that they are showing their chemises or wearing chemisettes or perhaps they are wearing habit shirts, since the neckline appears to be real, not folds in a fichu. Look at the sleeves: tight, except for pretty puffs at the shoulders. We will see many sleeve puffs durin the Regency. The setting for such gowns? Outdoors, or indoors in a private room far from formal public functions. A final note. The Marquise de Pezay appears not to be wearing powder. Look, here is lady in Italy wearing a similar dress at an informal outdoor dance. Il Ballo, dated 1790, is delightful, no? Like many prints, it's full of details, too. The dancer is wearing a round gown, and like the Marquise's dress, it has rounded, gathered fabric (from chemise or tucker or what?) and the pretty sash. At the same function, the lady at the right who faces us is wearing the long-fashionable conical shaped, long-waisted open robe, closed with laces at the bodice, and opening out in the skirt to show the petticoat. Another informal garment that I was interested to find was the riding coat or redingote, a 1787 image of which is shown. I understand that it was usually made of wool in menswear styling, complete with large lapels. Wikipedia's 1750 - 1795 in Fashion reports that the redingote would be later worn over the chemise dress. Hmmm. Around the turn of the decade, the riding coat -- or whatever you want to call it -- and hat over a dress start turning up more frequently in my little sample of paintings. Here's one, a portrait of Giulia Beccaria and her son, from 1790. There are the big lapels, along with fabric that looks like wool to me, and that riding hat. Now, scroll back up and look at the lady sitting in her long-waisted dress at the right side in Il Ballo. We know that the open robe was an ancient design. Here's a common example from a little earlier in the century, a portrait of the Archduchess Maria Christine, painted in 1770. Notice how the dress -- called in French a robe -- opens up in the bodice to show the decorate stomacher, and in the front of the skirt a smallish portion of the skirt, called a petticoat, beneath. By the very early 1790s, that open robe was opening up more and more in the skirt, and the bodice sides were angling farther and farther back. More and more of what was ostensibly "beneath" was showing. Here is Rose Adelaide Decreux in 1791, playing the harp, dressed smashingly in stripes. The side view of her robe shows it pulling further and further to the back, while her petticoat is really all you see in the front. Look at the base of the petticoat: the big tall flounce, so fashionable for so long, has become a small frill. You will see that small frill through much of the 1790s at the bottom of skirt bottoms, before all becomes the severe Early Regency look. Oh, and there is that fichu, too, all bouffed out and pigeon-breasty, and cutely tied in back. Here's what I find fascinating. In a 1791 fashion plate, source of the latest in design, we see a lady playing with a yo-yo. She is wearing the open robe, not with stomacher and petticoat, but worn like a riding coat, and over a dress. You can see the dress sleeves, the decor on the dress bodice, the sash, and that robe, pulled back in the same fashion as Rose Adelaide wears it. This makes me wonder if Rose Adelaide is really wearing a dress? Here is another example of the open robe, this one in brown silk, from the portrait of Joseph Arkwright and his family. I note that the dress or petticoat is plain, but not muslin -- it has the sheen of silk. Did you notice how tall and narrow the hats have become since the late 1780s? Not the turbaned heads of the 1780s had disappeared. Far from it. See for example this portrait, below, of the Frankland sisters, painted in 1795 by John Hoppner. This is a favorite of mine, although I don't quite know why. It appears that they may have been drawing or watercoloring outside, to the boredom of their spaniel, who is napping happily on, not just at, their feet. About their dresses: times were changing. The sister on the right seems to be wearing a white muslin round gown with a fichu, but look at the waistline. It's rising a little. Her sister to the left is wearing a chemise dress. If you look carefully at the neckline, it's gathered, the way chemise dresses usually were, but the pretty lace frill appears to be quite narrow. At this point in the decade, and this might just be my sample talking, but it seems as if chemise dresses start to appear more and more frequently, and they are far more plainly built than their counterparts of a decade before. A famous Heideloff fashion plate from The Gallery of Fashion shows two young ladies in morning dresses described as of "calico" (fine muslin) fabric out for a drive. The year, 1794. Frills were still a bit fashionable. The lady on the right's chemise dress has a fine neckline frill, and her sleeves are quite full, controlled by ribbons in the middle of the upper arm by a colored ribbon. The driver wears a ruffled shawl above her dress. Here is Goya's Maria Teresa Cayetana de Silva. Spanish dress was always a little different or so it seems to be, featuring brighter colors in higher contrast, but if the sash and ribbon are bright, the dress itself might be worn anywhere. There's the narrow frill at neckline again. The narrowness makes the gathered sensation stand out more, and in fact, the whole front is gathered in such a way to accentuate the bustline, just as it would be through the Regency. The dress appears to be spotted, perhaps with embroidery, as dresses began to be, and the base has just a narrow band of embroidered trim. It's her sash and heavy classically-styled jewelry that stand out. Speaking of which...she is wearing a double strand of what are probably coral beads. You will see "corals" for the next thirty-odd years. In this year, it happens...the great change...antiquity begins to assert her rule in earnest. Here is Madame Seriziat, by David. The chemise dress, with falling collar, but where is the neckline ruffle, where are all the fluffs and puffs? The narrow round-gown-style sleeves to her dress have just little buttons as ornament, and the fabric, none. Only the rosette on her sash and her frankly flirty little hat, and the transition corset, remind me of earlier decades. The satirists were already at it, too. I love this print . At first you think it's serious, then you look at it a little more...is the lady in white really making her lovers match the Classical statuary? Then you read the title, "The Imitation of Antiquity". Of course. Now, notice her dress. Regency waistline, Regency neckline, but just a little fuller skirted than dresses would be later. As we move towards the end of the century, we enter the early Regency. Next post, let's watch what happens to skirts, the bodice and corset line, and to the vestigial frillery. This has been fun! Now go to 1790s Fashion: A Transition from The Enlightenment to Regency, Part 2 ...the rest of the story. Interested in Reading More? See all my 1790s posts, plus experiments in costuming in 1790s: Costumes. You'll find a lot of research, such as analysis of extant clothing, portraits, portrait miniatures, fashion magazine texts and plates, even translations from the German Luxus und der Moden, and of course secondary sources, that I've done in efforts to document each part of the costumes made.

ab. 1691-1700 Jan Frans van Douven - Five scenes of life at court in Düsseldorf; The Electress Palatine in hunting clothes (Palatine Gallery)

Louisa Barbarina Manseli, Lady Vernon, by Thomas Gainsborough, 1753

Historical costuming

WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART'S BLOOD PRIGIONIERO DI NESSUNO VOLUME XV “Dovete venire, Signore.” VOCI . . . Sentivo parole, sconnesse, venire fuori dalla nebbia come proiettili che colpivano a caso. “. . . trovate Denzell Hunter!” “Generale..No!” “...ma c'è bisogno che rispondiate ... “No!” “... agli ordini.." “NO!” E un'altra voce, questa irrigidita dalla paura: “. . . potreste essere fucilato per tradimento e diserzione, Signore!”Questo mise a fuoco la mia attenzione vagante e sentì chiaramente la risposta: “Allora mi spereranno qui dove mi trovo, perché non lascerò il suo fianco!” (JAMIE ACCANTO A CLAIRE FERITA) ********* “Non lasciarmi, Claire,” Jamie mormorò vicinissimo al mio orecchio. “Questa volta ti supplico: non andartene per favore.” Potevo sentire il calore del suo viso, vedere l'alone del suo respiro sulla mia guancia, sebbene i miei occhi fossero chiusi.“Non lo farò” dissi, o pensai di aver detto e poi persi conoscenza. Il mio ultimo pensiero chiaro fu che avevo dimenticato di dirgli di non sposare una stupida. CLAIRE E JAMIE ******** Improvvisamente sentì nostalgia del freddo e chiaro cielo di velluto delle montagne, le stelle che brillavano immense, abbastanza vicine da toccarle dal ridge più alto. “Jamie?” mormorai. “Possiamo andare a casa, per favore?”“Aye,”disse dolcemente- Mi tenne la mano ed il silenzio si diffuse nella stanza come la luce della luna, mentre entrambi ci chiedevamo dove fosse la nostra casa. JAMIE E CLAIRE ****** “Sei ferita, a nighean,” disse dolcemente, sposando una ciocca di capelli dalle mie guance umide. “E hai avuto la febbre e hai fatto la fame, riducendoti ad un'ombra. Non è rimasto molto di te, piccola, non è così? Scossi il capo e mi aggrappai a lui.“Non n'è rimasto molto neanche di te,” riuscì a dire, nascondendo la testa nella sua camicia. Fece un rumore divertito e mi accarezzò la schiena, con gentilezza. “Abbastanza, Sassenach,” disse. “Sono sufficiente...per adesso.” *** “E' stato rimosso.” “Cosa?” John esclamò affrontando il fratello. “Che diavolo ha combinato?Hal sospirò, esasperato. “Ha abbandonato il campo quando gli era stato ordinato di rimanere nel ben mezzo di una battaglia, che altro? Ha attaccato briga con un altro ufficiale, finendo sul fondo di un precipizio con una botta in testa trovandosi nel posto sbagliato al momento sbagliato e più in generale per essere una dannata seccatura!""Hai ragione: è proprio tuo figlio" dissi a Jamie. (PARLANDO DI WILLIAM) ****** Mi senti?” gli chiesi. “Stai bene?” Dopo un attimo, prese un profondo respiro e sospirò tremulo.“Aye,” mormorò e allungò la mano dietro afferrandomi una coscia, tenendola stretta a tal punto che sussultai, ma riuscì a non gemere. Restammo tranquilli insieme per un tempo fino quando non sentì il suo cuore rallentare e la sua pelle raffreddarsi. Allora lo baciai sulla schiena e tracciai le cicatrici che non sarebbero mai sparite dal suo corpo, una volte e poi ancora con dita gentili fino a quando sparirono dalla sua mente e si addormentò tra le mie braccia. CLAIRE E JAMIE ******** Mmphm. Beh, credo che gli uomini possano creare tutte le leggi che gli piacciono, disse, ma Dio ha creato la speranza. Le stelle non si spegneranno.” Si voltò e mi prese il mento tra le mani, baciandomi gentilmente. “E neanche noi” JAMIE A CLAIRE *********** “Non è la nostra città e non siamo disposti a morire per lei." IAN ***** Guardò il suo viso alla luce della candela per la prima ed ultima volta. Si sentì svuotato come un cervo sventrato. Senza sapere cosa dire, toccò la mano fasciata di nero e le disse la verità con una voce tanto passa che nessuno avrebbe potuto sentirla tranne i morti.“Avrei voluto salvarti, Jane. Perdonami!" WILLIAM A JANE ******* “Ti ho portato a casa, Sassenach,” disse, la voce un po' roca. “Non sarà la stessa...e non posso dire come saranno le cose adesso, ma ho mantenuto la mia parola!" JAMIE ******** "Hai perso i tuoi genitori quando eri molto piccola, mo nighean donn, e hai vagato per il mondo senza radici. Hai amato Frank”...la sua bocca si contrasse per un istante, ma penso che non ne fosse consapevole ..." e naturalmente ami Brianna, Roger Mac e i bambini...ma Sassenach, io sono la vera casa del tuo cuore. JAMIE A CLAIRE

Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave is a painter by training, but textile and costume are her muses. Working in collaboration with leading costume historians and young fashion designers, de Borchgrave crafts a world of splendour from the simplest rag paper. Painting and manipulating the paper, she forms trompe l’oeil masterpieces of elaborate dresses inspired by rich depictions in early European painting or by iconic costumes in museum collections around the world. The Legion of Honor is the first American museum to dedicate an entire exhibition to the work of Isabelle de Borchgrave, although her creations have been widely displayed in Europe. The story begins in a little house in Sablon, which Isabelle turned into a studio. There, she gave drawing classes to her friends’ children and other neighbourhood children and, thus, was free to think about her own designs. It was the seventies and, so, La Tour de Bébelle was set up there. Processions of hand-painted clothes, rolls of fabrics strewn about, pigments, brushes, gouaches, canvasses, pastels and travel journals. Everything alongside each other in a friendly, colourful and modern setting. Countess Isabelle de Borchgrave d'Altena was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1946. Since early childhood, she had a passion for drawing. Pencils were her first toys, and she made drawings on everything in sight, including the walls and floor of her room. She began her studies at age 14 at the Centre des Arts Décoratifs, and, later – at Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where her days were filled with drawing still-lives and form models. De Borchgrave worked in advertising for less than a year after she had finished studying, and then made clothes for her friends before branching out into interior design. She later established her own studio, designing dresses, scarves, jewelry and accessories. In particular, de Borchgrave specialized in designing fabrics. Following a visit to the Metropolitan Museum in New York in 1994, Isabelle dreamed up paper costumes. While keeping her brushes in hand and her paintings in mind, she worked on four big collections, all in paper and trompe l’oeil, each of which set the scene for a very different world. “Papiers à la Mode” (Paper in Fashion), the first, was a collaborative effort with the renowned Canadian costume designer Rita Brown that takes a fresh look at 300 years of fashion history from Elizabeth I to Coco Chanel. “Mariano Fortuny” immerses us in the world of 19th century Venice. Plissés, veils and elegance are the watchwords of that history. “I Medici” leads us through the streets of Florence, were we come across famous figures in their ceremonial dress. Figures who made the Renaissance a luminous period. Gold-braiding, pearls, silk, velvet … here, trompe l’oeil achieves a level of rediscovered sumptuousness. As for the “Ballets Russes”, they pay tribute to Serge de Diaghilev. Pablo Picasso, Léon Bakst, Henri Matisse, … all designed costumes for this ballet company, which set the world of the 20th century alight. These dancing paper and wire figures play a very colourful and contemporaneous kind of music for us. Over the years, de Borchgrave's paper creations have ranged from an elaborate headdress in the shape of a caravel in full sail, worn by Marie Antoinette, to some oversized roses for John Galliano's haute couture show for Christian Dior, to a subtle, white on white wedding dress train worn by HRH Princess Annemarie of Bourbon-Parma at her wedding with Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma. She was also commissioned to recreate Jackie Kennedy's wedding gown for the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. "It was dusty and fragile, wrapped up in black tissue paper", de Borchgrave recalls in a story in Daily Telegraph. "The silk was dead, you couldn't touch it any more. It was preserved like a relic. The original is dead, but the paper one brings it to life again." In 2004, de Borchgrave designed and made a delicate, painted paper dress for Queen Fabiola of Belgium, which the queen wore to the wedding of Prince Felipe of Spain in Madrid. In 2008, a colorful installation of over 80 pieces by Isabelle de Borchgrave opened at the Fortuny Museum in Venice, Italy. Entitled "Un mondo di carta - Isabelle de Borchgrave incontra Mariano Fortuny", ("A World of Paper: Isabelle de Borchgrave Meets Mariano Fortuny") the exhibition was spread over the historic palazzo's three floors and included versions of Fortuny's classic, finely pleated "Delphos" dress, as well as robes, accessories, shoes, boots, a stage set, an oriental tent, rugs, cushions, a lute and antique swords, often intermingling with the master's own works and collection, and all made of painted paper. Reviewing the installation for The World of Interiors magazine, author Barbara Stoeltie wrote, "Isabelle de Borchgrave freely shares her adventures in beauty – a beauty that, beneath her gaze and from her fingertips, pours out unstintingly. Tubes of paint, boxes of pastels, sheaves of brushes of all sizes and all kinds of glue gleefully take part in her marvellous game. The work itself rejoices." In 2008, a lavishly illustrated hardcover monograph "Paper Illusions: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave" was published in the United States by Abrams. Within weeks, the book was declared by The New York Times to be one of "the best gift books of 2008" and "among the most unusual and fascinating... seen in a long time." The monograph was authored by the well-known writer and photographer duo, Barbara and René Stoeltie, with an introduction of Hubert de Givenchy, who said of de Borchgrave, "Isabelle is one of a kind; with a single sheet of paper, she creates the most beautiful dresses, the finest costumes, or, simply, a chain of white roses...Whether it becomes a shoe, a hat or a few strings of pearls, Isabelle plays with paper as a virtuoso plays an instrument." In February 2011, a large scale installation entitled "Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave" opened to great acclaim at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. The retrospective exhibition, described by the museum officials as "trompe l'oeil masterpieces," is presented in six sections: "The Artist's Studio" is recreated to provide insight into de Borchgrave's creative process; "In White" showcases the purity of craftsmanship in a selection of nine dresses devoid of color; "Papiers à la Mode" features iconic looks from key periods in fashion history, and legendary designers such as Charles Worth, Paul Poiret and Coco Chanel are represented by signature pieces; "Fortuny" is an immersive environment created under a paper tent populated by recreations of Fortuny's famed pleated and draped gowns; "The Medici" is the artist's most extravagant series, with elaborate velvets, needlework lace, ropes of pearls, and intricate coiffures transformed into paper sculptures, and "Inspiration"— de Borchgrave's latest body of work, inspired by four paintings from the Legion of Honor's collection that she admired during her visit to the museum in the summer of 2010. In de Borchgrave's art, the starting point is almost always the same: sheets of paper one meter by one and a half meters (3.3 feet by 4.9 feet), which she sets to work on with her brushes and paints on an enormous linen-covered table in her studio in Brussels. "Her colors, reports The New York Times, "are very much inspired by her travels: reds from the roses of Turkey, earth hues from Egypt, blues from Greece...Borchgrave produces astonishing effects of scintillating color, weight, transparency and texture. Her renderings of diaphanous gauzes are especially astonishing." Every year, she and her team go through 2.5 miles of paper in their artistic pursuits. Imagine the complexity involved in creating an 18th-century rococo ball gown, with its reams of ribbons and layers of lace and petticoats, or an intricately pleated Fortuny evening ensemble. Then think about making them out of paper. Through cutting, gluing and painting, using a mix of acrylic paint, ink and metallic powder, de Borchgrave makes us believe we’re seeing lace, brocade, silk, taffeta and embroidery. It’s true that, today, Isabelle de Borchgrave has become a name that is readily associated with fashion and paper. But her name is also closely linked to the world of design. By working together with Caspari, the potteries of Gien, Target, and Villeroy and Boch, Isabelle has turned her imagination into an art that’s accessible to anyone who wants to bring festivity into their home. Painted fabrics and paper, dinner services, curtains, sheets, decor with a personal touch for parties and weddings. All this tells of the world in which she has always loved to move. But in a 40-year career, she has never put to one side the thing that has always guided her in her life: painting. She still exhibits her paintings and her large folded paper works all over the world. With an imagination increasingly stimulated by her knowledge and interpretation of art, Isabelle, a follower of the Nabis movement, has a fresh perspective of a world that flies around her like a dream. Isabelle de Borchgrave and her team

Otherwise titles Colonial Clothing 101. What DID people wear in the 1700's? Do we even know? The answer is YES! We actually know quite a lot about what our forefolk (forefathers and foremothers) were wearing. Colonial clothing is interesting. It is fashionable and functional. What's interesting is that different social status is displayed not in different fashion choices but the quality of the fabric. It gets even more interesting because you might think silk would be an indication of wealth but a fine printed cotton might be worth more. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Colonial clothing is

sleeve cuff of ca. 1780. French

The New Bracelet by Frans Verhas ca.1870s

Marie Antoinette was famous for her elaborate hairstyles. It should come as no surprise that her impressive hair comes with its own fascinating history!

I've been posting fashion plates from the late 1700's over the past several months; many depicting the styles that were popular during the time of Marie Antoinette and thought it would be fun to throw in some real costumes from the time. I've had a bit of costume adventure in the past few days and posted a large assortment of historical costumes to my Pinterest account to keep track of them. You can see them all HERE. Museum websites are a great place to see authentic fashions from days gone by as are any number of blogs and fashion websites. Here are some of my top pics of late 1700 fashionable clothing that I've recently placed on my Museums Fashion - Pinterest board. Robe à la Française") c. 1780- France from The Kyoto Costume Institute I've chosen this rendition as the main image for this post since it contains many elements that point to the time of Marie Antoinette and French High Fashion of the late 1700's; including wide panniers, high hair and whimsical hair ornamentation such as the ship on top. See and read more about it at KCI -HERE or see it on my Pinterest board HERE Back in March 2012, I did a post about "Naughty" French Fashions showing fashion plates of decolletage so low that a ladies breasts were exposed. Many museums do not show good examples of this trend but I've found a few and here they are. 1780 ensemble "bares" it all. Image from American Duchess.blogspot.com This great example of a low cut "Caraco" was found on The American Duchess blog HERE It's a great blog so I hope you pull it up and visit a while. 1770-80 PINK SILK BROCADE ROBE A LA FRANCAISE. Sack back open gown A wonderful Museum quality vintage garment from Augusta-Auction This view give you an idea of how exposed this garment makes the wearer should she choose not to wear any additional "modesty" accessory. And here is the garment with "modesty" left somewhat intact. 1770-80 PINK SILK BROCADE ROBE A LA FRANCAISE. Sack back open gown It's amazing what a little scrap of cloth can hide - wink. I've also posted this dress to my Pinterest board HERE Undergarments of the late 1700's c1780 "Unmentionables" stays and panniers - from LACMA Here is a nice example of what a 1780's lady may have worn under her garment. The stays would have ciched you in and puched you up; presented a pretty bosom while the panniers would have exagerated the hips and supported yards of fabric. Note how the extra fabric under the stays are basically all that keeps her from exposing her "charms" - here again it was not uncommon for ladies of this period to expose their breasts but museums seem to have a difficult time showing this common fashion trend. I find it a fun game to see if I can spot them out regardless. Here is an example of exposed breasts via a vintage fashion plate. Others can be seen at my post "Naughty" French Fashions" French Fashion plate from c1780 showing just how low the ladies would go. Here is a famous painting of Princess Lambella showing the low bodice fashion of the late 1700's Marie Therese Louise de Savoie Carignan - Princess de Lamballe - wikimedia It was not uncommon for families and museums to "touch-up" such portraits to disguise how revealing these fashions were during this period, so it is a treasure to locate one that has not been "overly" restored, in order to save our modern sensibilities. These "exposed" portraits are a bit difficult to locate; however they do exist from the late 1500s through the early 1800s *************** The late 1700's were full of high fashion and more modest designs. Many of them of rich fabrics and amazing trims. Fashion plates are lovely; however they just can't show the details of lace and metallic thread like the real thing. Here are some beautiful examples that have survived for our viewing pleasure. c1765 Robe a la Française - from LACMA c1760 Robe à la Francaise - from LACMA c1765 Robe à la Française with panniers - from LACMA c1765 Dress (Robe à la Française) - from The MET Portraites and paintings are another great way to view vintage fashions. As in the portrait of Princess Lamballe (seen farther up in the post), we get an idea of style, texture and detail that is more in-depth and real than what is seen in a fashion plate. c1748 Sophie Marie Gräfin Voss by Antoine Pesne found at GrandLadies 1775 Marie-Antoinette by Jean-Baptiste-Andre Gautier d'Agoty (Versailles) found at GrandLadies Lots of other great portraits showing the fashion of the day can be seen at the GrandLadies site. *********** Men's Fashions of the day were every bit as elegant as the ladies costumes. I'm constantly amazed at the amount of embroidery, braid and trim on gents fashions. Many of them; especially court costumes were walking works of art. 1775-89 Court Coat of wool, metal, silk and glass - The MET c1760 French Mens Ensemble - from LACMA c1770-1790's "Habit a la Francaise" - from AntiqueDress 1750-75 Court Suit (back) - French - Silk and Metal thread - The MET This is just a small sampling of some of the amazing period costumes you can view out on the web. I hope it inspires you to do some web searches of your own and start your own Pinterest board of your favorite finds. I'm constantly adding to my own board, with vintage fashion finds of all time periods so you never know what you might find by dropping by. *** Right now one of my top favorite finds are several pairs of super sexy, thigh high boots from the early 1900's. Several comments refer to these as CanCan dancer boots but I'm not convinced and am trying to find out for sure. I hope to post more about them one day when I do Victorian and Edwardian Fashions. Here is just one pair for you to see. I bet you never found a pair of these in your grandmother's closet. 1900-1920 Sexy, leather and cellulose, tall, button boots from Paris - The MET I believe these to be vintage boots tied to an "interesting pursuit" but would like verification; if you know what they are and can send me some links about this style of early 1900 boot, I'd love to know more. Fetish Boots from 1900 - LACMA Update - 08-17-12 - This similar pair of vintage "fetish" boots were at LACMA - the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in a special exhibition, showing them as belonging to a member of the demimonde, possibly of a "courtesan" profession. More on that exhibit including a leather corset can be seen- HERE I love vintage "fetish-wear" it's so intriguing to get a gimps into this side of our predecessors and it makes fashion history all them more interesting. -wink. Till Next time...

Mantua and petticoat of white brocaded silk, F, 1735-1740, British; probably Spitalfields 1733-1734

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Königin Elisabeth Christine by Antoine Pesne, ca 1740 Germany, Museen Nord

Strange fashions have been with us for hundreds of years and include skirts draped over cages, shoes with 18" points, and hair augmented by horse hair stretched over wire forms.

A combination of the French rocaille, or shell, and the Italian barocco, or Baroque style, having its emergence in the 18th Century is the Rococo style of art in France. Critics have used the term …

1770's - 1780's Hair Fashion "How long had her hair been dressed? Three weeks. 'Dont that lay you under the necessity of dressing your hair every evening?' 'Oh Lord, Sir, a head properly made up, with pins, paste & pomatum, will keep a month very well.'" ~Arthur Murphy, The Old Maid (1756)…

Tilda Swinton in Orlando 1992

Portrait of a lady said to be Ippolita Obizzi Campeggi by Benedetto Gennari, c. 1660s

Dating from about 1760, the dress pictured is made from very expensive Chinese export silk. The material was woven and…

This is a continuation of yesterday's post on handkerchiefs. I've done some searching online and have found several images of spotted handke...

A list of tricks and things to keep in mind to start filling the gap between fancy dress and historical clothing.

Portrait of Sarah Cook by Carl Ludwig Christinec, 1775

Antoine PESNE, "Retrato de Sophie Marie von Pannewitz, Condesa von Voss (1729-1814), Dama de Honor de la Reina de Prusia, con traje de caza"; óleo sobre lienzo, 1746-1751.

History can be something to learn from, something to study, or just plain boring to some people. However, for some, it's a source of inspiration and a way to unleash their creativity and style.

L'un de mes projets en cours la fameuse chemise à la reine. Une des robes les plus durs à réaliser car il ne faut pas qu'elle fasse chemise de nuit et demande du coup beaucoup de métrages de tissus. La recherche historique : Je vais d'abord vous faire un bref historique de la robe avec quelques tableaux. A la fin du XVIII ème siècle c'était une des robes les plus en vogue. La mode a été lancé par Marie-Antoinette et la cours a suivie la tendance. La duchesse de Devonshire et lady Foster Mary Cichester Miss Constable Ma plus grande inspiration pour ma chemise à la reine La réalisation : Tout d'abord vous avez besoin d'un vieux tissus de 3m au moins pour faire le jupon du dessous. Pour la chemise un coton et une mousseline (de mémoire j'ai pris 6m50) pour recouvrir le tout et faire un jolie tombé. Puis du biais pour faire des coulisse environ 20 m et du ruban pour faire les fronces j'ai pris 10 m. Comme j'ai commencée la robe il y a quelques temps (depuis Septembre) j'ai pas pensée à prendre les différentes étapes de réalisations. Première étape un jupon classique et la chemise en coton, d'après le patron que vous trouver sur ce blog : http://mamzellegigi.blogspot.fr/ car étant une débutante je ne travaille jamais sans patron. Voilà un aperçu : Zoom sur les manches, froncer et assembler à la mousseline La chemise du dessous Ensuite nous avons poser le biais sur l'ensemble du tissus qu'il restait, passer le ruban et froncé l'ensemble et on l'a positionné ainsi sur le mannequin : Le dos qui n'était pas très centré à déjà été revu L'assemblage des manches à la robe et l'ourlet du bas ainsi que l'assemblage des deux robes ce sera pour dans quelques jours. Je me concentre sur mon autre projet.

Switzerland was so incredible, I wound up spending about twice as long there as I had intended. I could have stayed twice as long again, but Austria beckoned! My first destination in Austria was th…

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So, just how did those Georgians cope with cleaning delicate fabrics? They couldn’t simply nip along to a dry cleaner to have them chemically cleaned. Well, we came across this wonderful litt…