A Most Beguiling Accomplishment

1. Hat  à la Zinzarra . 2.   Morning  baigneuse , seen on the side. 3. the same  Baigneuse , seen from the back. 4. young Child Dressed in a galant Matelot  etc. "Children ... also have fashions, that their fathers and mother are not vexed to learn; for they are often confused to know how to dress them. "Little girls almost always follow women's fashions; but little boys, that are dressed in matelots , have particular clothes. "One sees by the representation of the little boy, that he wears matelot  breeches of silk; ... a gilet with wide stripes ...; a long silk jacket ... edged with a piping ... and that this jacket is trimmed with half-sleeves of white batiste at the end of which are attached manchettes . "His shirt is trimmed with a wide frill or collarette with double flounces. "His hair, only straight, hangs in curls on his shoulders. "... He wears little yellow  brodequins  on his legs ..." Le Magasin des Modes , 10 ...

1.  Galant  hat. 2 . Baigneuse à l'Anglaise.  3. Hat  à la Reine d'Amathonte.*  The young Child is Dressed in a Fourreau  of Gauze with a Scarf whose tassels hang behind her back. "... The little girl is dressed in a gown of white linen, whose bodice and sleeves are taffeta: this gown is tied with a long and wide belt ...; she wears under this gown an all-white petticoat; she wears on her neck a very puffy  menteur  kerchief, trimmed with a pinked double flounce; ...her hair hanging à la Conseillère  in back ... "Her shoes are unbleached linen, trimmed with a white ribbon ..." Le Magasin des Modes , 10 July 1787 * "Queen of Amathus", an ancient royal city of Cyprus, which had a cult of Aphrodite. Possibly a references to Scylla et Glaucus , an opera set in Amathus.

1. Galant hat. 2.  Baigneuse à la Voluptueuse.  3. young Girl in a little morning Chemise. 4. a little Gentleman in a Matelot , with a Hat  à l'Espagnol. "If we revisit in our minds all the modifications of Fashions, it will be very easy for us to convince ourselves that Fashion, called so variable, is yet regular in its march, and that it is always put together in the same manner. First is the simple style, or simple forms: then there are decorated, embellished forms; then there are overloaded forms, and, after, the Fashion disappears. "While the embellishments are still simple, there are those that believe the Fashion will last for a long time (a long time for it); but soon the embellishments are overloaded, there is reason to believe that the Fashion has only a short time to last." Le Magasin des Modes , 20 October 1787

The good little Sister walking her little Brother. She is Coiffed with a Hat à la Sicilienne and Dressed in an elegant Fourreau etc. etc. "Mesdames, admit it: while your children are little enough not to make you ashamed of your age and not to shut down your coquetry, you still lead them into society, in the promenades, in all the frequented places and even, when they are pretty, fine, playful, babbling, you make yourself a glory from showing them off, because your pride enjoys the praises which are accorded to them, and which are naturally reflected on you; (the fathers are so weak:) thus you want them to be dressed elegantly, with taste, in the same fashion; you find that it is thus why at this age they give you honor. So we should only do better to give you fashion for your children. "You would not lead with pleasure children of a slightly advanced age, mostly because they would no longer have this gaiety, this vivacity, this babble capable of attracting all looks...

1. Cap à l'Enfant . 2. Hat à la Delphire . 3. Hat à la Italienne . 4. Child Dressed in a Matelot . 5. Little Girl Dressed à l'Espagnolette . Children . - "Children in Paris are very pretty until the age of seven to eight years. As they are elevated to the place of a numerous crowd of individuals, they contract early an air of ease; they do not have a vacant air; they are not too astonished at the habits of life, nor the worries of the city; a little air of assurance says that they were born in the capital and already molded in its great movement; they have no dread of what happens around them. Put properly, in general, in a simple and easy manner, they owe the liberty of their dress to the writings of J.-J. Rousseau." SEBASTIEN MERCIER. Tableau de Paris , 1788

1. Hat à l'Androsman . 2. Baigneuse à la Warwick* etc. etc. "Caps and poufs are made of goffered gauze and trimmed with plain, goffered ribbons. This goffering is done with irons, which are furrowed in a thousand rather wide and deep stripes. These irons are heated, and the gauzes and ribbons are heated with them, which thus form a thousand little pleats. "The most fashionable ribbons today are plain, goffered ribbons. The colors of these ribbons are left to each person's imagination. Pinks, jonquil yellows, violets, and apple greens are however the most generally adopted." Le Magasin des Modes nouvelles , 20 July 1787 * Possibly derived from the Countess of Warwick, Henrietta Greville (m. 1776)?

Eleryth ! You have won my copy of Creating Historical Clothes , congratulations! I wish I could give it to everyone who entered, but unfortunately I only have one. I'll send you a PM on LiveJournal for your address, so I can get it to you.

Lady of quality getting up from bed, taking the fresh air at the Tuileries, busying herself with her work to keep herself from being bored. She is Dressed in a white Gown and a Mantelet of spotted Gauze etc. Tuileries ...  "Art cannot embellish nature of its own charms, and the most precious lack solitary promenades. I confess simply that the effects of a happy distribution of walkways, lawns, flowers, and basins only inspire in me a cold and sterile admiration. What  is sadder than these monotonous beauties! What is more ravishing than these triple rows of charming women who border the beautiful walkway of the Tuileries , in a summer soirée, in the most serene days of autumn and spring! All these groups vary infinitely which break down without ceasing to make up mutually establish between a thousand different circles in a continual circulation of meetings, ideas which increase, develop in passing from one group to another with the members always fluttering from these d...

The young Englishwoman wanting to make her fortune in Paris, in taking the French fashions and dreaming of the means of achieving them. She is coiffed in an anglomane Hat surmounted by Plumes over her hair, falling down over the forehead à la Jaquet etc. etc. "Foreigners must please Paris, for more than one reason. First, they are perfectly welcomed there; one has for the men almost much deference as for the women. The more they come from afar, the more one hastens to satisfy them; the difference of religion or costume is a further merit, and a motive for receiving them well. A Parisian is careful to leave a good opinion of himself in the minds of travelers." SYLVAIN MARECHAL, Notice on the mores of Paris ( Actual dress ... ), 1787

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The beautiful Zulima Dressed in a Robe à la Sultane and Coiffed with a Pouf à la Turque etc. etc. Furnishings made by Mlle Bertine, modiste to the Queen, for Mme de Versisy. " 1786, 15 December . - A pouf bordered with a Turban of white satin, a blonde lace of great height over it, a panache  of two flat plumes on the side, a gauze kerchief behind. ... 96 livres . "A great gauze kerchief of an ell [of fabric]. ... 15 - "Total ... 111 livres ." Dossiers Bertin  (Doucet Library)

The amiable Suzette Dressed in a Caraco à la Huntress of Love. She is thinking about a rende-vous with her dear Philinte. "Our Ladies having adopted caracos almost exclusively for all sorts of dress, it was a relative necessity for them to apply themselves to varying them, to embellishing them, to deprive them of this great simple, this great plain, which in the long run finishes by displeasing, regardless of her elegance and taste, precisely because it does not vary, and because it wounds the laws of Fashion; also in order to guard the relative decencies, have they varied, embellish caracos; also have they laden them with embroidery: this is a bad one, because they have hastened the end of it. One only knows how to disagree with the variation, the embellishment, the overloading that they have brought to them, not be a perfect taste, and that it would be maybe impossible to imagine anything more agreeable to the eye." Le Magasin des Modes , 20 November 1787

The amiable Culinette, adjusting her Hat à la Tarare ,* She is waiting for her dear Aleindor for a rendez-vous, etc. Pouf à la Tarare . "This pouf is made with two bands and a puff. The inner band is made of a wide green satin ribbon, forming a large bow in the back. The outer band is made of white crêpe, on the front of which is a tuft of crêpe like a bow. The puff is of the same white crêpe and it is separated from the outer band by a garland of roses. On the left side of the pouf are five large white plumes, at the feet of which is fixed a bouquet of roses, and, on the right side, is an aigrette of rooster plumes, green and white." La Magasin des Modes , 30 November 1787 * Tarare  is an opera by Salieri which premiered in 1787. The character of Tarare is a virtuous soldier

I always make too many plans - but compared to my past output, what I've done this year is so outstanding that it makes me think I can decide which pieces I need to build a basic and versatile wardrobe, based on the events I've gone to this year (which is, again, an astounding amount compared to how many I attended in previous years, mainly thanks to Julie ). Detail of bodice I sketched at FIT, that sparked my love for the style - My muslin gown makes me happy enough that I don't feel the need to replace it yet. However, I do feel most comfortable at this point with the 18th century methods of construction and my ability to get a good fit for that sort of bodice, so if I do make the jump from cotton to silk it's likely going to be for a 1780 pleated-back and closed-front gown based on one I've patterned, with plenty of pinked trim. (Must buy pinking shears.) - What surprises me when I think of it, for some reason, is that Victorian events have been the most...

I have had this dress in the works for a very long time. One time when I was in Walmart for ... buttons, I think, I came across this gold/brown quilting cotton with a very small leaf and floral print for $2 or $3/yard. I bought several yards of it, and set it aside until I had a reason to make an early Victorian dress. Finally, after four or five years with not many Victorian events, I decided just to start it and wait for something to turn up. And something did! The Empire State Costumers decided to go to the Troy Victorian Stroll again (last year I went in mufti as I needed to leave fairly soon to attend Linda Baumgarten's talk on quilts at the Albany Institute), and I finished it ... a little too quickly, and there are problems, but as I always do things wrong the first time I'm just sort of glad I have the rough draft out of the way and can redo the bodice. The leaders of the ESC trimming a tree. Early Victorian is officially my favorite period, because it's th...

Should have asked Mom to stand up to take the picture ... This is the first 18th century gown I've made since taking those many patterns for my book, and I think it's a great improvement over the blue linen one I made a few years ago. (The stays underneath are much better as well.) I based this gown on  the one pictured below, an  anglaise  with back pleats, a closed front, rounded skirt edges, and loops inside to pull it up (which I haven't put in yet but plan to eventually). It's also based in part on all the quotes about  muslin gowns and silk coats , although this coat is linen. Albany Institute of History and Art  1961.26.1a-b The original has a matching petticoat, but the one I wore to the Battle of Saratoga re-enactment is old, from the  Old Stone Fort fiasco/ensemble . I really need to repleat it and replace the waistband, but somehow that never seems very important until I put it on and realize it's too big. What I've Learned - Whe...

  Young Nymph provoking pleasure. She is Dressed in a Caraco à l'Amazone and Coiffed with a Sunflower Hat etc. etc. " Advice . A shop for women's clothes was just established at no. 28  rue  Salle-au-Conte, under the direction of a very-skilled master seamstress. Gowns of diverse types will be found there, caracos, and all sorts of feminine garments of the newest taste. One distinguishes, among other objects, gowns à la Czarine , caracos Zélandois , riding habits à la Muscovite , gowns à la demi-négligente , ball caracos à la Hollandoise , and all sorts of other gowns.* "This establishment will be very useful to women of taste, both in the capital and the provinces. It is under the direction of distinguished artists. This store is open every day from eight o'clock in the morning to eight o'clock at night. We are eager to satisfy the demands that are made promptly and punctually." Le Magasin des Modes , 10 February 1788 * Technically, Cathe...

 The sulky Alviane Dressed in a Redingote à l'Amazone and Coiffed with a morning Hat. Buttons . "Over the last two years, buttons have experienced very rapid and well-marked vicissitudes; it is useless to recall them all now: but, only speaking of those with paintings, one must say that all types of paintings have successively been on them; first historical subjects, then bas reliefs, soon after faces, again soon after landscapes, and today architecture . "The most beautiful monuments of France are painted on buttons, and especially the most beautiful ones of Paris. "We have seen them, made by a young artist of much taste. All the most beautiful pieces of Parisian architecture, like the Louvre, the Saint-Denis gate, the Corn Exchange,* the School of Surgery, etc. etc. are represented on them with all possible perfection. He has been working for a year and has made a very great quantity of them ... "The buttons have only been for sale since his Maje...

(Anova Books Group, 2013; 242 pages) To win a copy of  Creating Historical Clothes: Pattern Cutting from Tudor to Victorian times , just comment below! For a more chances, post about this giveaway on your blog, Tumblr, Twitter, or Facebook, and share the link in a new comment! You can enter to win through Friday, December 20th; winner will be drawn on Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised to be sent and asked to review this book. (That's by way of being my disclaimer.) Giving my opinion is one of my favorite pastimes, so I was happy to oblige. Elizabeth Friendship is a serious professional costume designer, and developed her methods of pattern drafting on the job. She imparts these methods to the reader with painstakingly detailed diagrams and instructions. The basic idea is to create a bodice block that fits you, which she then describes how to alter for period-correct seam placement, shaping, etc. The whole book is divided into five chapters - one for the basic blocks, a...

Young Officer in a Zebra Coat, calling someone to give an account of his services. "The zebra of the king's cabinet has become the model of the current fashion; all fabrics are striped, coats, gilets, resemble the skin of the handsome onager. Men, young and old, are in stripes from head to toe: the stockings are also striped." SEBASTIEN MERCIER, Tableau de Paris , 1787

 The young Zuma in a Redingote closed with Buttons à l'Anglaise and in a Cap à la Courvil . "When you see a fashion begin to overburden itself, you can say: its end approaches, and in a little while it will be destroyed. As we must not stop variety in fabrics, in colors, in the distribution of these colors, in their mixing, to satisfy our taste, from the instant that this variety can no longer be felt over such fabric, such color, the mixture of these colors, their assortment, it is indispensably necessary that one changes fabric or color. However, this variety can no longer be felt as soon as the fashion of such fabric, or such a color increased as far as it could. For example, the fashion of stripes, passing from narrow to wide, whether it admitted the medium degree, or whether that was omitted, can no longer increase, because after the widest there are no more. However, not being able to increase, and to satisfy this insatiable need that we have for variety, and bei...

 Young Lady in a Winter Redingote and a Hat à la Genlis.* "In the current times, when the majority of minds are much less carried by the idea of pleasures, and when people hardly take any other leisures than reciprocating visits, our ladies dress more in robes parées  or demi-négligés , than in caracos, jackets, or pierrots. These latter garments being more dedicated to balls or promenades." Le Magasin des Modes , 20 February 1788 * Probably  Stéphanie Félicité du Crest de Saint-Aubin, Comtesse de Genlis  (1746–1830), a well-educated courtier and writer.

When people are discussing eighteenth-century gown styles, the fourreau  does not rank alongside the polonaise and turque ; in fact, it never seems to come up at all. The main, traditional meaning of fourreau  was for a child's dress. In Garsault's L'Art de la Lingere , infants are described as wearing various pieces of the layette until they reach three, at which point the girls are put into shifts and jacquettes , while boys wear the fourreau  until they're breeched at four or five. However, in Galerie des Modes , the caption-writer is consistent in describing the young fourreau -wearers as girls. (It's possible that this is not contradictory - Garsault was published in 1761, and a shift in word- or dress-usage may have occurred over the following two decades.) 32e Cahier, 5e Figure , 1780 The fourreau  depicted on children in Galerie des Modes  is the typical children's gown of the eighteenth century: back-closing, but otherwise very similar to wome...

The tranquil Egle dreaming of the inclination of her heart. She is Dressed in a Fourreau à l'Enfant and Coiffed à la Flore . " ... The courtesans in the realm give the tone and are copied at will by other women, of some condition that they could be. Lais * going out to an orgy perceives that a disheveled air suits her hair: in consequence, she will show herself the next day in public with her hair in disorder; and the day after, bourgeoises  and bankers' wives, patricians and ladies of the highest trimmings, let their hair fall below their belts; and the modest beauty, in order not to stand out, will be obliged to adopt the appearance of a bacchante ..." SYLVAIN MARECHAL, Notice on the mores of Paris ( Actual costumes of all the known people ), 1787 * Lais of Corinth , a hetaera in Ancient Greece

The young Elvire playing with her cat. She is Dressed in a galant Pierrot and Coiffed with a Hat à la d'Hericort . " ... We have asked ourselves a million times why a beautiful woman always had a pleasing air; why being used to seeing her never renders us indifferent; why the more we see her the more we find her beautiful: all that our fecund imaginations could find, was that a beautiful woman has the gift of always seeming novel. If at our house other Frenchman, people, God knows him, lightly enough, the new man only has the gift of charming, it is necessary that a beautiful woman, who always charms us, has the gift of seeming always novel. We believe that that is an argument in form! "We give the means of seeming always to have a new éclat ; that slightly nears giving the means of seeming ..." Le Magasin des Modes , 20 May 1787