Galerie des Modes, 34e Cahier bis, 5e Figure

-
Young Lady performing a dance; she is dressed in a Carmelite* morning Lévite, the Trim of the same fabric, the Collar gathered muslin with a large hem, petticoat of pale pink silk trimmed with the same, white Belt with colored fringe. (1782)


Dance. - "One dances no more at the Opera ball; one no longer runs there; one only looks for confusion there: one walks on one's feet; one is smothered: here is the great pleasure: but no contre-danses.

"Dancing is so perfected today that it is necessary to dance with a marked superiority to participate.  When Marcel, his head supported on one of his hands, wrote: What things in a minuet! did he himself anticipate that soon it would no longer be permitted to dance for one's own pleasure, that the man of the world would become an actor in a bal paré,** and that he would dance for applause?"

Sébastien MERCIER, Tableau de Paris, ed. 1785

* The Carmelites are a Catholic order dating back to the 13th century, who traditionally wear brown.
** I'm not quite sure how to translate this one - I know that paré frequently means "dressed" in the sense of "fully-dressed" or "dressed to be seen". The women in the print below are dressed well, but not in robes parées. 

Le Bal Paré, Antoine Jean Duclos, 1774; MMA 33.56.33

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