A Most Beguiling Accomplishment

Levite, with two pleats in the back, regular, stopped at the waist with a scarf that ends in tassels.  Coiffure: a straw hat trimmed with gauze en pouf, trimmed with flowers. (1779) ROBE A LA LÉVITE .   This is again one of the noble Gowns that the desire to ban constraint all in clothes caused to be adopted: the first idea for it is due to the Outfits created for the Actresses of the Théatre Française , when it put on the Tragedy of Athalie, with the Chorus.   These Clothes, modeled on those of the Levites and the Priests, consisted of a type of Aube, with a stole which crossed it in front.   This costume was entrenched in those worn by Priests; the stole changed into a belt, and soon it became a fashionable Dress. Such were the first Levites; they were worn first plain, without panniers or bouffantes ; but with time, they were stripped of this original simplicity, such that one will have occasion to notice it thereafter.   To the notice which i...

(I did most of this entry about a month ago, so it makes reference to Things Happening and I'm just noting that they happened several weeks ago, not recently.) At work I've moved completely into Putting Numbers On Things.  This is in two categories: Finding Things' Original Numbers, and Giving Things New Numbers.  The former is preferable, because it means you have some provenance and can prove the museum owns it, which is very important if you want to deaccession an item, but it can be pretty difficult, so I've been doing a lot of the latter. One of the objects I gave a new number to on Friday was a bonnet quite like the Allie model in Mrs. Parker's Millinery and Mercantile .  (Quite, quite like - the milliner says it's based off one in her collection, and there's another one that's almost identical to it at the Chapman, so that's interesting.)  Since I was looking it over for any kind of number I noticed that it was in pretty bad shape, allowin...

New Gown, called à la Longchamps, pulled up with love-knots and tassels, trimmed with sequins, and decorated with a Levite belt.  It is covered with a second gown of spotted gauze.  This Costume was invented by P. N. Sarrazin, Costumer to Nosseigneurs the Princes, Brothers of the King. (1779) Robe à la Longchamps , so named because it appeared for the first time on the promenade of Longchamps. That promenade is so closely linked with fashion that it will not be a digression from our subject to here give an idea of it.  We will come back later to the description of the Gown. The Longchamps promenade renews itself every year on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during Holy Week.  It is placed in the avenue of the Bois de Boulogne, which runs to the Abbey of Longchamps; and so some illustrious Seigneur undertook to give it an object like one of the ancient Games of Greece and Asia, it would cede to them neither in magnificence nor in celebrity. This promen...

Young Lady riding a horse.  She is dressed en homme with a frock coat with bavaroises, and a petticoat.  Her coiffure is a black hat covered with feathers of the same color. (1779) AMAZONIAN DRESS, worn by Women of quality. Before the Carrosses * had been imagined in France, and had multiplied to the point that we see them today, Ladies who frequented the Court were used to make their rides sometimes alone, sometimes pillion.  One can see the traces of this fashion in the last volume of Monumens de la Monarchie Française , by Benedictin Montfaucon.  This fashion was not as particular to the French Ladies. Brantôme, in speaking of Christine of Austria, niece to Charles V, first Duchess of Lorraine, then Queen of Denmark, recounts "that she rode very well and with very good grace, and would always ride l'étrier sur l'arçon ,** which she taught to the Queen Marie (of Austria), her aunt: and I say truly, that the Queen mother (Catherine de' Medici)  had ...

I'm not going to tot up everything I made this year because it's kind of pathetic, but I will tell you what I got for Christmas! - What Clothes Reveal , Linda Baumgarten: no explanation needed. - Seventeenth-Century Women's Dress Patterns, Book I , Susan North and Jenny Tiramani: truly amazing resource that shows off how far technology's progressed.  X-ray pictures of garments that show all the layers of fabric, interlining, and boning; pages of full-color detail photos; delicately-drawn patterns of clothing and bobbin lace and construction steps.  I got an Amazon gift certificate as well - I may use it to buy book two.  I'm not sure when I'm going to get to use them (Dutch settler party at Fort Orange, maybe?), but they are FANTASTIC resources. - Period Costume for Stage & Screen , Jean Hunnisett: I've always been a bit leery of this one because my impression based on the title was that it was about stage/movie costumes, patterned for looks rathe...

"Peasant" ball dress, composed of a jacket and petticoat of grey taffeta trimmed with bands of pink taffeta. (1779) Peasant suit used for balls. (1779) BALL AND THEATER COSTUME .  It suffices to glance at the two Prints to understand that they are intended to hang pendant. They contain the newly-adopted costume for appearing as a gallant Peasant and a young female Peasant. The female Peasant's dress must be composted of a juste or corset edged and trimmed on all the seams with ribbons; the sleeves with a flat parement ; the petticoat cut across the middle with a flat band of taffeta accompanied by two ribbons of the same color, placed in circles [around the petticoat]; half-apron of gauze, spreading over the petticoat, attached under the basques of the juste , and trimmed around the whole edge. Hair en chien couchant with curls, where there are three reversed curls; straw hat; braided and hanging chignon ending under the hat, where it is held by a bow...

Corset I have a 7oz. white cotton twill to use to make this, probably with natural cotton twill tape for binding and channels.  Not sure yet whether I will use steels or cable ties!  Both have their charms.  I think I'll use cable ties in the mockup and see how they do. Wedding corset, Lord & Taylor;  MMA 2009.300.3361a-c This might be the closest thing I can find to the original that Hunnisett and Waugh patterned; that one's supposed to be in the V&A but its picture is not online. I will be using Hunnisett's pattern, as it's larger and on graph paper.  Hunnisett, intriguingly, patterned two of the very narrow pieces cut as one, and mentioned that if the artiste (Hunnisett always describes the potential wearers as artistes, which is excellent) had bust and waist measurements larger than 42 and 30 inches, the melded piece might have to be cut as two for fitting reasons.  I dance right on that line, but as I don't cross it I think I should b...

Suit of wool, trimmed with braid à la financiere with a wide braid . (1779) FRENCH SUIT, of wool, relieved by a wide gold braid with scalloped lamella; double row of braid on the pockets and the sleeve parements , Bourgogne fashion. Matching vest and breeches.  The braid on the vest and the garters match the braid of the suit. It is that which is called a Choisi Suit , so called because it is correct to be worn when the Court removes to the chateau of Choisi.  This same etiquette requires it to be green.  It must be of another color when the Court goes to Marly, St. Hubert, and Muette.

Redingote en Bakmann or hooded . (1779) BACKMANN: another type of Redingote, also called by the name of the one who first made use of this garment, destined principally to protect against the intemperacies of the air and the disagreeableness of the streets of Paris during the winter. The Backmann offered in the Print has a collar with no seaming, forming revers, shaped like a fichu . Batiste kerchief, knotted en cravate ; hat folded up in Swiss fashion; large loup enveloping the hands to the elbow and serving as a pectoral .  The simplicity and comfort of this grand Négligé has given it an infinite number of lovers.

Redingote with collar and bavaroises, a little fitted for riding a horse; morning vest with bavaroises, edged with an English braid; leather breeches. (1779) "SQUIRE" REDINGOTE.  For several winters, the fashion has been introduced among the young Lords of riding horses in Paris during the morning, and among the outfits they have adopted for these courses, the costume presented in the Print is that which is the best put on. It is a Redingote, cut in the ordinary style, with a collar with revers made without seaming, edged en systeme and trimmed with two rows of headed buttonholes for buttons made of the fabric of the Redingote. Vest with revers, held back by steel buttons ...  Kerchief en cravate ; jockey hat; two watches; ...; gloves and whip in the hand. Lacking only the horse and zest, the Squire would be already far from here.

Dress of Rosine in the Barber of Seville; costume invented for the theater of the City of Lyon in 1775 by P. N. Sarrazin, Costumer to Their Royal Highnesses the Princes, Brothers of the King. (1779) Robe à la Sevilloise .  This garment is composed of a Surcoat with basques, spreading over the first petticoat or skirt of the Gown, and bordered with a plain ribbon.  The middle of the stomacher is indicated with a band à l'Espagnolette ,* trimmed with precious stones.  The base of the stomacher or piece laced in place with ribbons placed as a ladder, framed in an Italian gauze border, matching the trim on the Surcoat.  Around-the-throat of lace in front, fixed in the center with a diamond, and forming a large collar or medicis in back. Skirt of the gown en fourreau , with training tail, open in the front, trimmed with cordons of little round bells,** on the border of ribbon en serpentaux . Undervest or coat forming the bodice, trimmed with embroidery at the l...

EVENING AND OPERA COSTUME. - A robe of celestial blue satin, opening en tablier , over a white satin skirt, and trimmed down the fronts with white blond; five moss roses are placed along this edging, and from the three lower ones, little garlands of roses cross over the white satin.  Corsage à la pucelle , blond lace Sevigne with a rose on each shoulder, and in the centre of the bosom smaller ones, reaching thence to the point of the waist; double sabot sleeves, a rose confining the fullness.  Coiffure en cheveux , adorned with agraffes of gold, and a beautiful spiral garland.  Pearl necklace, gold ear-rings, with pearl drops.

Summer frock coat of vermicelli-patterned linen with little bands of painted linen that take the place of braid. (1779) Polonaise of blue and white vermicelli-patterned linen, trimmed flat in bands of linen, painted in all colors on a white ground. (1779) VERMICELLI GOWN AND SUIT.  Place these two Prints so they are looking at one another: they will offer you a little Master who addresses his Mistress, and gives her the salute of love.  Both have clothes of vermicelli-patterned Indienne , which is to say, representing the twists of woodworm tracks.  It has been borrowed from Architecture, where the vermicule ornaments are in use.  These indiennes have been extremely fashionable, and both sexes have adopted them. The Elegant Man that the Print presents is dressed in a Frock coat with a collar called à la Saxe , with a Perse border forming a frame.  The tabs of the basques are made with vazisdas .*  Vest of white linen, with a border matchin...

It proved impossible to scan the 1834 Godey's Lady's Book I bought on eBay - the text is small and the paper isn't in good condition, so it comes out all blurry.  So I typed up the fashion text, and as there aren't any fashion plates, I thought I'd over-analyze each little bit of description so you can picture it in your head.  There is a remote chance I might try drawing the end result, but ... we'll see about that later.  (And I've found more on Google Books, so if you like this I could keep going!)  It's like a reverse version of the portrait analyses. BALL DRESS. - The dress is of a new material, called Gaze de Constantinople, embroidered in gold.  It is made à l'Antique. The corsage perfectly tight to the bust, is a point, and cut on the bias in front; it is ornamented across the bosom with full draperies à la Sevigne, the sleeves are a double sabot, with blonde ruffles à la Louis XV.   The open skirt does not quite meet at the waist, as ...

Bourgeoise at ease in a gown of striped satin, a blue satin pelisse with a large ermine border, and a white muff.  She has pattens under her shoes. (1779) This ma n is dressed in an overcoat with brandenburgs of silk camlet, lined with marten; a cloth-of-gold vest with embroidered border, lined with white silk plush; breeches of velvet.  He wears pattens under his shoes. (1779) BOURGEOIS COSTUME .  As it is amply detailed in the caption, we add only that the Man is dressed in a dressed-up Overcoat, edged and furred with squirrel, with buttonholes bearing oval buttons at each end, called à la Saxonne .  The Veste is of cloth-of-gold, with an embroidered border. Note also the method of carrying a chapeau brisé under the arm, to keep from disarranging the hair.  This fashion has made such great progress that one has imagined hairpiece hats, or cardboard covered with black taffeta, and forming a triangle like the chapeau brisés .* * " Broken hats...

Polonaise suit, a little dressed-up with a satin piqué vest with colored bavaroises, bordered with gold; keystone hat folded up in the back. (1779) Reform O vercoat, or n égligé O vercoat, edged en syst ème with braid, with buttons and buttonholes of gold, ending in loops; sleeves with boot parements , held up with three functional buttonholes.  Vest with angular revers, of the color of the lining of the O vercoat, and allowing the lace of the jabot to be entirely free.  Hat à la Valaque ,* edged en syst ème . While this Suit had appeared under the modest title of " Négligé ", it took favor among the brilliant Youth, and was well received by all where its partisans w anted to introduce it. * Wallachia, a region of Romania.  At the time the print was made, the region was under Russian control, but in a decade it would be invaded by the Hapsburgs.

Lady of quality whose tail is carried by a young black boy.  She is coiffed with a type of pouf d ecorated with plumes and flowers, with a ribbon interlaced among them; the hair is girded with a barrière of pearls with a tassel.  H er gown is of plain pink taffeta, trimmed with gathered bands of blonde lace with flower garlands, interlaced with pinched ribbons.  The black boy is coiffed with a Moorish cap, decorated with pearls and panaches, with a silver collar bearing the Lady's arms.  He is dressed in a suit and vest with a blue ground, decorated with a very rich double silver braid, over a short vest with a fire-colored ground, also trimmed with braid. (1779)  The fashion of having someone carry the skirt of the Gown, or, as it is called, the tail, is very ancient and characterizes Nobility and Grandeur. This fashion has been singularly mistreated since the introduction of those Gowns, no less agreeable than comfortable, which were imagined several...