Galerie des Modes, 54e Cahier, 5e Figure

Young woman dressed in a summer redingote in red wool trimmed with fashionable buttons, chignon à la conseillere with a steel coulant:* straw hat trimmed with ribbons. (1787)

"As far as we've looked into antiquity, we cannot remember having ever seen women's fashion being the same as men's in color, as well as the form of their dress.  Is it that our century, or rather our actual era, was predestined to be one of miracles?  Today, except the coats which still do not replace gowns, and the breeches which still do not replace petticoats, women's dress is the same as men's, both in cutting and color.  Shoes, stockings, gilets, vests, frisure, hats, canes, watches, gloves, shirts, cravats: everything matches in shape as in colors for the two sexes."

Le Magasin des Modes, June 10, 1787

* According to French Wiktionary, a coulant is an iron ring which forms a pincer

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pride and Prejudice 1995: The Little Things

Pattern Time: 1860s Chemise

A Difficult History: Corsetry and Feminism, Part One