A Most Beguiling Accomplishment

December 20, 1786 A young Englishman in full dress. Here, men never appear without a sword; it is easy to see that in London, this practice is not the same. One can see that in London, they are also fully dressed in a frock coat. The one worn by the young Englishman is of a puce little velvet on a yellowish ground. It is trimmed with flat, medium-sized gilded buttons, all plain; it is lined with a puce silk twill, mixed. Under this frock coat, he wears a gilet of sea-green satin, with wide pink stripes forming large squares; breeches of black satin, buttoned on the sides with seven buttons, and the garters of which are fastened with narrow rectangular silver buckles. White stockings. In his watch pockets, two watches, from one of which hangs a simple cord of Sky blue silk, with a large key at the end, and from the other hangs a cord of silk and gold,also with a large key. Her shoe buckles are silver, in very wide squares, and trimmed with pearls. On his neck, wrapped th...

December 20, 1786 [Before the plate description is a long comment on how devoted the Authors were to their Work, and how unhappy they are that German Subscribers were complaining about them being put together wrong - ironically, in the previous issue plates one and three were switched around - when apparently the issues they were receiving were counterfeits, containing plates and text not drawn or written by the Authors. However, they accepted the complaint that the styles were out of date by the time they arrived there, several weeks after they were originally drawn.] ENGLISH FASHIONS. While Englishmen and Englishwomen nearly always seem negligent in their dress, especially in Paris, where they successfully get past all the airs in toilette and parure  which overwhelm us and hold us ceaselessly in a reserved or stiff composure, they have nonetheless their own most formal dress, or Court dress. It is perhaps more curious than useful to present it, since in this Foreign cou...

December 10, 1786 ENGLISH FASHION. Never, perhaps, have colors been better united and nuanced in an entire outfit than in the one in which the young Englishwoman is shown in this Plate; never will one find colors which, taken together, would give more grace  or sweetness to the face. We do not hesitate to say that our Print presents a perfect whole. Agility in her figure, softness and liberty in her composure, harmony in her dress: everything is found here. This young Englishwoman is dressed in a violet satin redingote, with sleeves à la Marinière , trimmed with large mother-of-pearl buttons. Under this redingote, there is a gilet and a petticoat of canary's tail  satin; the petticoat is flounced with a narrow white gauze flounce. And over the front of this petticoat, a long apron of black taffeta. She wears a full gauze kerchief, trimmed in three rows. Her hair is frizzed all over in large curls, two of which fall on her chest, and behind, her ...

December 10, 1786 To be precise, it is not the leading fashion that we show in this Plate: it is not even fashionable, since frock coats must be of puce , black, or London chimney-soot  colored wool, but it is a dress which could become fashionable for the reasons that we gave in the sixteenth  and twentieth Books  of the first Year . We have discussed, in this Book, how a fashion is born: this one could be born in the same manner. The young man who appeared in this outfit has been fixed, and applauded by many women; he has been complimented on his taste by many young people, and it is a certainty that his outfit will be adopted. When he would not be it, one would not have the right to seriously reproach us for having proposed it, being in the order of possibilities that he be it. We would have to respond to those who would mark the mood, that we have been prevented in this attempt by the Author of Fashionable Magazine , or Magasin des Modes   Anglaises , wh...

(Lately, I haven't had much appetite for sewing, or for writing substantive blog posts, so I'm going to bring back my translations in order to provide content and give me an outlet!) December 10, 1786 For showing winter dress, it would not suffice to give a Lady fully dressed in a satin gown (1); it would be even worse to show her covered with a pelisse and carrying a muff, to have the full dress. The former would show the effect of the gown, uncovered by the pelisse, and in the way that she would appear at an Assembly; but the latter would show the full outfit, and in the way she would appear in a Promenade or at the Spectacle. The former was necessary for the purpose; the latter is no less so. The practice of wearing pelisses does not survive with as much strength as in previous years (the fashion of mantelets, and, even more, wool redingotes, have given it a rude push!), but it is not past: one could say that at present one is still not fully dressed without a peliss...