A Most Beguiling Accomplishment

August 1, 1786 A Man in great mourning, in a wool coat, without buttons on the parements  and on the pockets. One wore, in summer, great mourning in voile, without buttons on the parements  and pockets. The front of the coat of our drawn Man has only six buttons, one on top, two in the middle, and three at the bottom. He wears a black sword, trimmed with a black crêpe. His shoe buckles and carters are of bronzed steel. His shoes are of beaver: they can be worn of goat skin, lustered with glossy wax. His neck is trimmed with a wide cravat, whose two ends come to fall on the front, and cover the jabot  of his shirt. The manchettes  and jabot are of batiste, with flat hems. He wears under his arm a large hat, whose crown is trimmed with a black crêpe. His hair, in the back, is enclosed in a large purse. His grecque  and his curls are hardly powdered.

August 1, 1786 It would be necessary on the occasion of a period of mourning to talk about its fashion: for the death of DON PEDRO , King of Portugal, we have furnished it. It has been worn for twenty-one days; we will say how when we have spoken of the periods of mourning according to our practice. Mourning (1), which is the mark of grief, and which draws its name from it, was worn and is worn by all civilized Peoples. It has not taken the same form in all; but in all it has the same object. The Women of Sparta and Rome wore it in white, and they varied it as we do, due to the temperaments that the times apportioned to sadness. It lasted an entire year. Men without a doubt wore their clothing in the same color; but they added other signs. The Greeks, in the manner of the Orientals, cut their hair; the Romans, to the contrary, grew theirs, with their beards. The Greeks did more; on the tombs of their parents and their friends, they not only cut their hair, but also the tails of t...

July 15, 1786 PLATE III. A Ring chart. M. Bourignon de Saintes , Correspondent of the Royal Society of Medicine, for several Academies, and of MONSIEUR's Museum, has made us the honor of sending us Research on Rings and other Jewels of women of antiquity , and gave us permission to put it into our Books. We will not fail to use it, to express our gratitude to him, and to get our Subscribers to see the similarities between past eras and our own. "Wearing rings," says M. Bourignon de Saintes , "dates back to the furthest times past. The Chaldeans, the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Greeks wore rings. The Sabines also had them in the times of Romulus: theirs were similar to those of the Greeks. From the Sabines, they passed to the Romans. "Rings were of gold, silver, copper, iron, or glass. Some were made of a simple metal, others of a mixed or alloy metal; for sometimes iron or silver were plated, or surrounded gold with iron. The first wer...

July 15, 1786 IF however there were some rebels who never wanted to submit (for there are some in many Empires), and who, from contrariness, still preferred to renounce all coiffure, and get rid of all panaches , from where I permit removing them, than to adopt the Hat which I spoke of in the Ist Plate ; as my empire is sweet, easy, and that I only want to command subjects with good will, it may be permitted to them, conforming with the  IInd Pl. , in making a coiffure en cheveux , and in only wearing as a parure  on the head two ribbon bows, of which one is attached in the back, over the toque or chignon  comb, and the other on the front of the head, three or four inches long. This will be, if I can say it, my little uniform. We have received these two orders, and we have brought them back. Our Subscribers may sport one or the other. The Woman represented in this Plate, is dressed in a Gown of gauze with white satin stripes, and soft lilac stripes. This Gown...

July 15, 1786 FIRST PLATE. "IPHIS sees on the promenade a shoe of a new Fashion; it sees hers, and it blushes; it no longer believes itself dressed; it came to be shown, and it hid; here it is restrained by the foot in its chamber all the rest of the day." It is there without a doubt what led Circe to say, some time ago: "Yes, if it was necessary, I would go to Rome to find Fashion; I am jealous of pleasing, and I know how much it adds to the means."* This homage is very sincere. Here is Fashion, and it comes to introduce itself to you. For fifteen days, at least, retrench the plumes of your coiffure. Though you murmur about it, and though I complain about it myself, one must obey. You will take them up again in a short time; but during these times one must depose them. Your head may only be covered with a Chapeau-Bonnette , whose brim falls en toît  all around, and whose crown, very puffed, and very large, may be tied with a ribbon, forming a large bow in ...

July 1, 1786 PLATE III. M. Grancher , Merchant Jeweler at the Little-Dunkirk, just gave to us for drawing a Bout de Table  of a wholly new taste and an agreeable form, that he created a little while ago, and of which he has already distributed a rather great quantity. He has represented around the buckets of this Bout de Table  the arcades of the Palais Royal, with their pilasters, their capitals, and their grills. In the middle of these two buckets rises an antique urn, decorated with its two handles, and closed with a lid surmounted by a flame. The whole is in silver, with the exception of the two colored crystals which fill the little buckets.

July 1, 1786 PLATE II. 1. A Woman in a Juste  of grey taffeta, with a pink corset , and a matching ribbon on the front, on top of the corset . On her chest is a full kerchief of white linen-gauze. Her hair is styled in large curls all over her head, and two of these curls fall on her chest. Behind, her hair hangs à la Conseillère . Her hair is surmounted with a pouf of white gauze, trimmed with a pink ribbon with stripes, and a veil falling behind. Above the pouf rise two large plumes, one purple and one pink; in the middle of these plumes is an aigrette made with the ends of peacock feathers. 2. A Woman in a Gown of lemon yellow taffeta. On the front is a bow of blue ribbon. On her chest is a full kerchief of flounced white gauze. Her hair is styled in large curls all over her head, and one of these curls falls, on each side, on her chest. Behind, her hair is pulled up in a flat chignon . Her head is covered with a pouf of white gauze, trimmed with a ribbon with wid...

(Because yesterday's post was very long, I decided to cut the bottom section off and post it today.) July 1, 1786 A manner of dressing to ride a horse, which is surely not less elegant than than that of our drawn Man, is that which consists of wearing well very white Breeches and a Gilet, with Boots matching those that we have described, and a  Dragoon green  Coat, all plain, with a scarlet lining. There is in this ensemble something that allures us. We require with this outfit a tricorn Hat,  furbished à la Suisse . You can say all you like; but we find that these Hats always gave and give to those who wear them, a much more frank, much more proud, and much more decided air than all thee round Hats do. It is only in wool that these  Dragoon green  Coats can be made, with a scarlet lining, which must also be of wool. But wool Coats seem to be Coats for riding on horseback in all seasons. It is necessary to confess that only wool Coats clothe perfectl...

July 1, 1786 WE are convinced that if there is a situation where one must more particularly follow Fashion, which is nearly always representative of taste and elegance, it is when one goes to ride a horse. There are such obstacles to avoid when one is riding; we mean there are such riders that one does not want to resemble, so that, in order to prevent the comparison, there is hardly any other means to take than dressing stylishly. However, this is not necessary, if one carries in one's air a grace, a facility which emphasizes the class where one would be tempted to confound us, because of our simple and unceremonious  habit. We may not be reproached for always recommending grace, poise, facility, and the other matching qualities, because it is there that, to speak properly, all Fashions reside. Be sure that they do not change as much because people of taste present themselves in public with dress of a new color, than because they dress with grace and facility, when another c...

June 15, 1786 PLATE III. THIS Plate represents a wood Boudoir, painted in grey-white, and decorated with mirrors. In the most convenient place a rather deep niche  is made, at the top of which is attached a drapery of blue Pekin, trimmed with fringe and tassels, and which falls rather low; the outer sides are decorated with draperies, tied at intervals with tassels. Under these draperies are curtains, which are pulled up with tassels. The bottom of the niche is decorated with a mirror which rises to the ceiling, and which reflects the draperies. Under the mirror, which descends very low, is a seat with three backrests, that is called a Turquoise . This seat is decorated with a square [cushion?] and two cushions covered with the same fabric as the draperies. On two sides of the niche is a lyre Chair  in rosewood, and whose seat is also covered with the same fabric. The Bed à la Turque  and the Boudoir Decoration are drawn from the Shop of M. Bouché , Merc...

June 15, 1786 PLATE II. A Daybed à la Turque , to put in a little Apartment. This Bed is only three feet wide, and six feet long; it is very-slightly elevated, and it is scarcely above the ground. The seat is trimmed with a well furnished mattress and two cushions. Above is raised, more than eight feet high, a canopy cap, which can be adapted in two manners: 1st, in placing two iron beams , attached to the back of the backrest, and which holds the cap; 2nd, in attaching the cap to the wall. The cap is crowned with a basket of plumes or sculpture. The edge of the cap is decorated with a double drapery, trimmed with fringe and tassels. To the cap are attached the curtains, which come to half-hide under a sedentary drapery, attached to the wall, made of the same fabric, and lined with a light white taffeta. These curtains are pulled up, and tied to the iron beams. If the cap is attached to the wall, the curtains must be pulled up with the hands  which hold it to the ...

June 15, 1786  A Woman, at her toilette, always has need of someone she can consult in order to know if this Coiffure, this Cap, this Hat, this Gown suits her well, and if she can wear it to advantage in the Promenades or other public places: why should we not be her Counsel, and why would she not read in our Books the advice that she asks for? Zulmé shines today in her muslin Caraco , quite simple, quite plain; and you, Zélis, would like to shine the same? No richness in her Dress, no loaded ornaments, taste alone made them fresh; and you would like to grasp this taste, this manner, which has seduced you? Listen, Zélis. Zulmé owes less of her éclat to her dress and coiffure, than to her air, where reigned an amiable liberty, a soft abandon, and an interesting facility. She is never seen sometimes bending, sometimes stiff, and sometimes inclining to the right or left, to give herself an air of the Petite-Maîtresse : no, her walk was frank, without affectation; sh...