Galerie des Modes, 33e Cahier, 2e Figure

-

Young Miss studying music; she is dressed in a caraco juste à la Polonaise.  Her coiffure is a milkmaid cap. (1780)

The first toilette of this young beauty is finished.  Pending the time of her usual morning walk, she goes to assure herself that her voice has lost nothing of its agreeableness and her fingers none of their suppleness.  She hopes also that the new air that she is undertaking to decipher will be soon interrupted by a certain awaited visit.  Also, she has particularly ensured the agreeableness of her négligé dress.  She has thrown over her shoulders one of these rounded caracos which fasten only at the middle of the waist; a wide gauze kerchief trimmed with the same, forming a too audaciously décolletée "gorgerette", always serves decency and coquetry.

To this so simple toilette a coiffure without finish is added; a slightly raised coque, supported on the sides with a fashionable curl, very low, and surmounted by a medium cap with rounded lappets, à la paysanne, across which is put a wide ribbon.

All is cool in this tableau: the coolness of a pure voice soon adds to that of her complexion and to that of the outfit of the young musician.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pride and Prejudice 1995: The Little Things

-
Image
I did threaten to write about the Ehle/Firth Pride and Prejudice , and since I'm in a writing mood without a topic I decided to make good. Regency adaptations tend to go for an overall accurate look, interpreting age and income within the confines of realistic silhouettes and colors, and so they avoid the scrutiny and reputation that a more obviously artistic and unrealistic production garners. But just as this version of P&P  is not entirely faithful in every respect (e.g. the added Darcy-perspective scenes, the actors nearly all being significantly older than their characters - perhaps the most egregious example being Julia Sawalha in her late twenties playing teenage Lydia), Dinah Hill's costuming is not entirely accurate - mainly in ways that make the period more appealing to modern tastes. The exact date when the story is set is never given; generally, the movie's taken to be set in 1813, when the book was published. I'm not going to go into the full story of...
Read more

A Difficult History: Corsetry and Feminism, Part One

-
Image
Recently, I began following a couple of Tumblr blogs focusing on waist training and daily corset wear. Daily wear is not for me, waist training even less so, but I find it an interesting practice. It is also a controversial one. For example, a recent Huffington Post article, " Corset Queen Penny Brown Loves Getting 'Waisted' ," drew comments which were nearly all extremely negative, as do most articles that bring the practice to mainstream attention. Usually, the mental states of the women who waist-train are called into question, and there are numerous references to feminism as incompatible with corsets. The general idea is that the first wave feminists of the late 19th and early 20th century would be horrified by women today wearing them, and that their assumed reaction is an objective statement on the practice. My feeling is that the subject is complex, and cannot be simply declared feminist or unfeminist. There are far more factors than the average internet comm...
Read more

Pattern Time: 1860s Chemise

-
Image
For my 150th post ( \o/ ), a quick little pattern someone might find useful. When I was working my way through a box a few weeks ago, I came across a chemise that didn't quite want to lay flat.  I took a closer look at it to figure out why, and noticed that it had a unique construction with the sleeves cut in one with the body and gussets inserted in the neckline.  I did a really quick sketch of the cutting layout and measured the important bits, so that when I got home I could draw it up in proportion on graph paper. (nb. I messed up. I've been noticing it for a while, but didn't want to point it out from shame, but I accidentally gave the neckline length as it is when gathered - the horizontal cut should be much longer, to within about four inches of the side seam. Please correct for this when making your own version.)
Read more