I love the fancy French ball gowns and elaborate fashions from the time of Marie Antoinette; so. I thought I'd post an interesting mix of Court Dresses and Elaborate Theatrical Costumes today. I've also created another of my digital artpieces, using my favorite fashion in this post; along with an assortment of colorized versions of this beautiful Court Dress depicting Marie Antoinette's close friend for your own crafting pleasure. I hope you enjoy them all! "Princess at the Palace" by EKDuncan 2012 The lady used for my artpiece is actually the Princess Marie Louise of Savoy; devoted friend and confidant of Marie Antoinette. You can read a bit about her HERE. I created a stately background for her using a photo from an Opera house in Europe and putting in an oriental carpet at her feet. Using some filters and textures in Photoshop allowed enough alteration to reduce the realistic look of both pieces so they blended in better with my subject. The Princess appears in an EKD altered blue colored gown for this piece. Elaborate French Fashions of the 1770's 1778 French Fashion Plate This dress is listed as "Grande Robe de Ceremonie a Panie" (Grand Ceremony Dress with Paniers) c1774 French Fashion Plate of the Queen of France Marie Antoinette in Robe de Cour (Court Dress) I previously posted about this fashion plate HERE (There are PNG's in various color combinations for this dress at that link) 1779 French Fashion Plate This fashion plate depicts a Court Lady's Costume during the reign of Louis XVI at the Queens Ball representing a character from a play called the Battle of Ivry of (1774-1776) (Sorry I don't know French so that's the best translation I can come up with for this plate. I'm not sure if this is a theatrical costume or if it was what one of the court ladies wore to one of Marie's costume balls as if dressing up as one of the characters from that play.) Either way it's a very elaborate costume and fun to look at. French Fashion Plate from 1779 Depicting a "Barber of Seville" Theatrical Costume from 1775. Since this fashion plate was produced in 1779 I'm not sure if it was showing a line of Theatrical Costumes, similar to the Opera Costumes I posted about HERE in my "Dancing Marie" series or if they were creative costume ideas for ladies who were looking to go to a fancy dress ball? I'm sure the ladies of the day found them most entertaining either way. 1779 French Fashion Plate This is a theatrical costume for a comedy that was popular at the time. This dress is quite elaborate and in a similar style to match the fashions of the time. When I look at this plate I can't help but think of that scene from the Carrol Burnett Show where she plays Scarlett in "Gone with the Wind" and rips the curtains off the window to make a dress. This red portion of the dress does look a bit like heavy velvet drapes, fringe, tassels and all - don't you think? 1774 French Fashion Plate This fashion plate shows the Princess Marie Louise, friend and confident to Marie Antoinette in "Robe de Cour" aka Court Dress and is from 1774 This is the fashion plate I chose to use in my digital creation. I removed the background and cleaned up the edges of the dress a bit to make my PNG image; then I made a collection of them in a variety of colors to play with. These are the PNGs I created of this fashion plate. EKDuncan PNG of the original color version EKDuncan Blue Version EKDuncan Green Version EKDuncan Yellow Version EKDuncan Rose Version EKDuncan Purple Version EKDuncan Silver Blue Version EKDuncan Lilac Version EKDuncan Silver Version I just love all the pretty colors of this image - it looks like spring in full bloom ***** Here again is my finished digital artpiece using the Blue altered version. "Princess at the Palace" - Princess Marie Louise, devoted friend and confidant of Marie Antoinette This digital scene can now be used as a "painting" in a different piece of digital artwork should the need arise. I love art that does double duty! I still have several more Marie Antoinette style fashions to post so till next time...

At the Kent State University Museum we have a permanent exhibition, “Fashion Timeline,” that surveys historic fashions from the 18th century through the mid-20th century. (Website). Be…

Today I have a few more fashion plates from the time of Marie Antoinette. This handful of French fashions are from around the years 1776-1778. I love the fact that several show the back view of the garment so we get a better understanding of what some of these amazing dresses looked like from the rear view. My favorite of these is of a style known as "Robe à la Française" or a Sack-Back dress. I had some fun taking that image, creating a variety of colorized PNGs and then using the Aqua Version to create another of my artscenes. "Lady with a Letter" Digital scene I created using an altered 1778 French Fashion Plate of a Sack-Back Gown I enjoy creating digital art using subjects that face away from the viewer, like the one above. This scene is left a bit vague since there does not appear to be anything to view from the archway. I like to think that at any moment the "fog" might clear to revel a beautiful setting but it's up to the viewer as to what that might be - Paris, London, beautiful mountains, a water scene... **************** A few French Fashion Plates from the 1770's c1776 French Fashion Plate Dress in the style of "Robe à la Polonaise" There were many variations on the Polonaise style this is just one of them. c1776 French Fashion Plate This dress is in the style of "Robe à l'Anglaise" (Anglaise = English/American version with a bustle rather than pannier hoops and a draped back that begins at the lower "v" portion on the back of the bodice where the skirt begins ) For more information on this style click HERE c1776 French Fashion Plate - Back View This dress is in the style of "Robe à l'Anglaise" (Anglaise = English/American version with a bustle rather than pannier hoops and a draped back that begins at the lower "v" portion on the back of the bodice where the skirt begins ) For more information on this style click HERE 1776 French Fashion Plate - Back View Back view of a dress in the style of "Robe a la Cirassienne" which is a version of the "Robe à la Polonaise". "Cirassienne" is a specific looking version of the "Polonaise". The Cirassienne has more elaborate decorations; specifically trim such as fur or tassels, which distinguish it from the typical Polonaise. c1778 French Fashion Plate This dress is in the style of "Robe à l'Anglaise" (Anglaise = English/American version with a bustle rather than pannier hoops and a draped back that begins at the lower "v" portion on the back of the bodice where the skirt begins ) For more information on this style click HERE c1778 French Fashion Plate Dress in the style of Caraco or Casaquin There were a wide variety of bodice and skirt combinations possible at this time. Here is an example where the bodice portion is in the "Caraco" style. (Bodice style with the look of a fitted jacket that has a peplum skirting effect to it.) How the pleats fell in the back determined if it was a Caraco or Casaquin; similar to the difference between the "Robe a la Francaise" and the "Robe a l'Anglaise" For more images on Caraco or Casaquin see HERE HERE and HERE For pictures and more information on the difference between the two visit American Duchess blog HERE (a great resource on Historical Costumes) 1778 French Fashion Plate - Back View In the style of "Robe à la Française or Sack-Back dress. (Francaise = French version with the wide Pannier hoops and the long draped back) The bonnet is a l'Anglaise and has a more Colonial American look to it. Another good link on late 18th century fashions - click HERE This image just "speaks" to me; so she's the one I choose to turn into a PNG and create several colorized versions to play with. I hope you enjoy her and find lots of fun uses for her in you artwork too. The PNGs Here she is close to the original colors I did change the color or her ribbon and fan a bit rather than leaving it all original. I hope you don't mind. (I liked her so much that she is also the image on my "Email Me" button) Yellow Version Green Version Aqua Version - I used this version in my artscene Periwinkle Version Lavender Version Peach Version Silver Version Pink Version Here is one more look at the artscene I created using the Aqua Version of this 1778 fashionable lady. "Lady with a Letter" by EKDuncan 2012 I find this scene peaceful and think of it as a contemplative piece that tells a small part of the story; which the viewer gets to complete using their own imagination. She is a lady with a letter but since you can't see her facial expression you have to wonder what she is feeling. Does the letter bring good news or sad? Is the letter from a husband, lover, brother, sister, or someone else? Is the letter recently received or is from a long time ago? I can imagine all kinds of scenarios for this lovely lady, her setting and what the letter contains... How about you? Please feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to hear your interpretation of the scene or how it makes you feel. till next time...

White English silk gown, 1760 Cream-coloured gown with red flowers, 1760-75 Cream gown with colourful brocade, 1760's Red English silk gown with cream flowers, 1760's Blue British silk in deep blue, 1760's Blue-turquoise silk satin gown, 1760's Purple Green Green silk gown, 1760's Probably British gown with pale pink bows, 1765 Grey Dutch silk gown with silver flowers, 1765-75 GemGem

Apparently it’s not a particularly modern practice for fashion designers to make yesterday’s clothing look dated and outmoded. Even though the time gap (from the 1770s – 1815) sho…

I've taken one of my favorite 1770's French fashion plates and converted her into a PNG image that now allows me to use her digitally in a variety of projects. I really like this particular image since it truly has that over the top Marie Antoinette look; with the big powdered hair, wide pannier skirts and all those ribbons and lace. Ooh La La. This post also includes several more French fashion plates from the late 18th Century as well as a variety of PNG images of this Ball Dress in several color combinations. Enjoy! High Style during the time of Maire Antoinette - digital art by EKDuncan I created this digital scene in Photshop using a vintage 1774 French fashion plate, an altered 1809 curtain from Ackermann's Repository, a photograph of an oriental carpet and a damask patterned background I'm using as wallpaper fro the scene. I also scanned in a fun frame so I could use it digitally to finish off my artwork. Here are some other Extravagant French Fashion Plates from the 1770's and 1780's 1776 French Fashion Plate - Style: Cirassienne "Robe a la Cirassienne" which is a version of the "Robe à la Polonaise". "Cirassienne" is a specific looking version of the "Polonaise". The Cirassienne has more elaborate decorations; specifically trim such as fur or tassels, which distinguish it from the typical Polonaise. 1779 French Fashion Plate "Un Grand Domino" A Domino was a large hooded cloak worn with an eye masque. This allowed a person's identity to remain private and were often worn to masquerades or any place a lady would not wish to be recognized. 1787 French Fashion Plate "Grande Robe a la Sultane" - in the style of a Sultan The bodice has a closed front. The skirt is drapped and tucked with knots and tassels. The headpiece is in a turban style c1774 French Fashion Plate This plate depicts Princess Marie Therese de Savoy dressed in a "Robe de Cour" - in Court Dress c1774 French Fashion Plate "Jeune Dame de Qualité en grande Robe coëffée" A Young Lady of Quality in a Grand Gown This last fashion plate is the one I used to create my PNG; which I then used in my digital artscene. I removed the background items to first create the PNG, then I had some fun changing the colors in Photoshop so that I had several choices to use later on. Here are the PNGs for this image This is the PNG in the original color combination Periwinkle Version - I used this version in my artwork Violet Version Green Version Turquoise Version Gold Version Silver Version Here again is another look at the digital artpiece I created using the periwinkle version of this fun fashion plate. My artscene using the 1774 fashion PNG in the new color I hope you are inspired to create some fun art of your own using some of these vintage fashion plate images. till next time...

I adore vintage fashions and am especially intrigued by those items not usually seen in old fashion plates such as undergarments. I was thrilled to come across an interesting fashion plate from the 1770 - 1780's showing quite a bit of the ladies stocking and the ribbon garter she is about to use to anchor her legwear back in place. Naturally I wanted to have a bit of fun with the image, so I created this fun scene showing her trying to entice her escort in a peek. "Trying not to Peek" by EKDuncan using vintage 18th century fashion plates A bit about 18th Century Stockings Since undergarments aka "unmentionables" were not freely discussed or shown in print for polite society there seems to be a bit of speculation about where a lady would "tie" her stockings. Stocking length of a few inches above the knee seems to be the general concensus on the correct length for a ladies stocking; it is the point of where the garter was placed that seems to be in question. It is widely believed that women used a buckled garter of some type, or a ribbon to tie their stockings off, just below the knee or possibly just above knee. My guess is a lady would "tie off" at the place that was the most comfortable and that which had the least amount of risk for letting the stocking fall about her feet as she moved about. Anchoring just below the knee was a benefit since the calf is generally the larger part of the lower leg and by tying off the stocking just below the knee; the fleshy part of the calf would assist in keeping the stocking from dropping below that point. Anchoring above the knee would require a tighter tying off of the stocking so it would not easily drop or slide below the knee; however if a stocking was not well "fitted" to your leg this method would have had a greater chance of falling out of place. My vote would be for placing my garter below the knee; since this would allow the best chance that my stockings would not drop to the ground as I walked or moved about. Risque images and paintings of the time generally show a ladies stocking being tied off just above the knee or slightly higher. It is possible that artists did this for the titillation factor of showing more leg rather than to depict the historically accurate placement of a ladies stocking garter. Elastic and spandax type materials did not exist at this time. Knit stockings relaxed and stretched as you moved around causing them to shift which is why garters were required. Without the advantage of elasticized garters like those decoratively worn in weddings today; the 18th century garter was usually a tied piece of ribbon or a buckling strap made from leather or decorated cloth. Note - It was not till laterer in Victorian times that ladies stockings covered higher into the thigh area due to the garters extending down from the corset itself rather than encircling a ladies leg. Attaching stockings to a garter belt would be the most modern version us 21st century ladies would be familiar with; but this was not the case prior to Victorian times - just in case you were wondering. Here are a few artistic images showing a ladies stockings and garters from the 18th century. Jean-Honoré Fragonard - The Swing 1767 We get a glimpse of ladies stocking, tied off with a ribbon just above the knee. This is actually a very provocative painting for the period. Notice where the gent is sitting and just imagine what kind of view he has. (remember during this period in time women did not wear undies, bloomers, pantaloons... I think you get the picture. - grins) Francois Boucher-La Toilette - Garter 1742 In the above painting we see a lady tying off her stocking above the knee with a ribbon. Notice she does this in a double wrap style around her leg. Here again this is an artist interpretation of a lady at her toilette. She is dressing for the day since she still wears a bed jacket and I don't know about you but I don't think I'd put my shoes on before tying up my stockings. I have to assume a bit of the titillation factor was the point of this piece considering the provocative placement of her legs and that she already has her heels on. Close up of the Stockings and shoes from the above painting "La Toilette" by Francois Boucher My previous post "Showing a Bit of Ankle" has several fashion plates where the hemline on the dresses are at or above the ankle. Due to this fashion trend of shorter skirts; stockings and shoes became a more noticeable fashion accessory. More care was taken with these items since they were easily viewed due to the shorter skirts and considerably more money was spent in acquiring these items. Generally a lady would have worn white stockings or those in a color that matched her ensemble. Pastels such as pink and powder blue were very much in favor. William Hogarth - A Rake's Progress - The Rose Tavern a brothel in Covent Gardens This is a part of the painting showing one of the "working girls" with her skirts pulled back showing her garter and stockings. These show stockings tied off above the knee as well as a bit of exposed thigh to tease the viewer. (If you are wondering about the "patches" on her face - patches were commonly used during this time period for a bit of fun and to add beauty marks. They were also frequently used to disguise marks on a person caused by "the pox" aka syphilis - which was a very common STD in the 18th - 19th century, especially for prostitutes. It was also one of the top killers of men at the time.) On a brighter note - Notice the decoration on her stockings these are referred to as "clocks" and were an expensive addition to have on your stockings. These probably cost her dearly and so she continues to wear them even-though they have holes and tears in them. Mid 18th century Stockings with "clocks", Shoes and French Buckles - Bata Shoe Museum Toronto Here is an example of actual stockings with fancy clocks as well as shoes and buckles from close to the time of Marie Antoinette. Notice the slightly "fitted" look of them in the calf area. This should have helped to keep the upper portion of these stockings from slipping below the the calf. I'm trying to spot evidence of where they would have tied off but I'm seeing the possibility in the areas both above the knee and below; however there seems to be a significant amount of creasing on the stocking tucked under the top one. Those bunched up creases just above the calf area could be from garter placement below the knee; but your guess is as good as mine if that is the case. *********** Now for the images I used to create my ArtScene "Trying Not to Peek" "Trying not to Peek" by EKDuncan using vintage 18th century fashion plates I used two french fashion plates from the late 18th Century to create my scene. Late 18th Century French Fashion Plate (I flipped and slightly altered this image to use in my scene) Striped stockings were a high fashion accessory for men at this time this fashion plate displays a gentleman all decked out in the latest without crossing the boundaries into being a "Peacock". Back in the times of Marie Antoinette a man of extreme fashion would have been called a "Macaroni" the equivalent in the Regency would have been a "Dandy". For the most part in either time period a man who was refereed to as a "Peacock of Fashion" was also having his masculinity placed into question, so there was a fine line between being a man of fashion and being a peacock. French Fashion Plate showing a lady about to tie her stockings in place with a ribbon This is the original late 18th century fashion plate I started with to create the lady in my "Take a Peek" scene. I removed her background and then created a variety of color options to play with. Here are several png colorized versions I created using the above image. (Notice the stocking color changes to match each outfit) png version of the original fashion plate EKD Periwinkle Version EKD Rose Version EKD Green Version - used in the scene EKD - Purple Version EKD - Blue Version with Green Feathers EKD - Grey Version with Purple Feathers I hope you have enjoyed my take on stockings during this time period as well as this great image that shows quite a bit of leg for a fashion plate of its day. I'll be back a little later on with more great French Fashion plates from the time of Marie Antoinette. Till then...