Galerie des Modes, 10e Cahier, 1e Figure

Young Woman in a Circassienne of puce Italian gauze, with a petticoat of the same gauze covering another pink petticoat trimmed on the bottom with gauze pinned with a blue ribbon attached with Flowers and tassels and bouillonnĂ© gauze, and with manchettes of filet lace.  Coiffed with a Hat en coquille, decorated with Flowers and Feathers. (1778)

Pretty Woman in a Circassienne, seen from the front; the body is decorated on each side with three gold brandenburgs with their tassels sequined; the gauze gown is pulled up with bunches of flowers holding the tassels; gauze trim is in tubes.

The gauze petticoat resembles the gown, and serves as a veil for a petticoat of another color.  The undervest ends in a point and must match the color of the veiled petticoat; the gown's sleeves are very short, trimmed with a border, attached with tassels, and allow the passage of the undervest's sleeves, trimmed with two rows of blonde lace manchettes.

The volant is very high, and headed with a ribbon in large bouillons, arranged as a garland supported by stemmed roses; the bottom of the volant surrounded with a ribbon matching the first, but not bouillonné.

These airy gowns, as it were, can only be seen in the greatest heat of the summer; they cannot be worn with a mantelet, nor a fichu, nor a bouffante, and require that the wearer's chest be seen in its beauty; some elegant ladies have hazarded to take for a necklace a gold and hair cord with two tassels, one passing  through the other and the two coming together between the brandenburgs.

Shell hat, or "chariot of Venus"; the edges are bound with a ribbon matching the gown's color; the left side holding two stemmed roses with buds: the right side has two little branches of roses escaping and winding; the whole is crowned with a panache of three leaves with two playful plumes, and surmounted by an aigrette of three feathers.  This hat, as noble as it is graceful, goes hand in hand with the Victory cap or pouf.

Hair in a phisionomie, open or a temperament; three curls on each side, the third falling and accompanying a low and loose chignon with fin-curls covering the ears.

Shoes matching the gown, edged and trimmed in the color of the undervest.

Comments

  1. Okay, wow, this is gorgeous. I especially love that this is a sheer gown, and that it's specifically described to wear over a different colored petticoat. The colored version even shows how the pink shadows through the puce! I am LOVING these translations. So many fascinating things!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I think this one's very interesting! I'm especially fascinated by the number of plates that explicitly say the woman's wearing a vest under her gown.

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  2. And wow is there a lot going on there! Are the gold brandenburgs (they look blue on my monitor) the four petalled things on each side of the bodice? Sort of like elaborate frogging toggles but with tassells instead?

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    Replies
    1. They look blue to me too! I think it's one of those coloring issues that seem to crop up every so often. Yes, as far as I can tell, that's what brandenburgs are - decorative braid ornaments with tassels.

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