Magasin des Modes, 1er Cahier, Planche III

November 20, 1786

ENGLISH FASHIONS.

Will we censure the English Fashions, in order to raise ours over theirs? Will we establish a comparison between them, in order to always give the preference to ours? Will we reproach English attitudes, in order to give ourselves a dogmatic air? Will we approve or fault everything which has a foreign air? One or the other of these two options would properly announce our French character. Will we describe the English Fashions simply, in order to make them known, leaving each person the liberty of approving them? Accustomed to boldly faulting what appears bad or defective to us, and to frankly approving what appears good and worthy of praise, we will give ourselves on the English Fashions the same rights that we have over French Fashions: sometimes as censures, sometimes as praisers, sometimes as simple describers, sometimes as appreciators; we will be free to choose. We will permit ourselves the comparison on occasion, and we will allot the justest prize that we can. The constraint cannot be imposed on us; it would harm our Work and our Subscribers would suffer.

First, we will describe the dress of the Woman who is ready to ride, which is plain and elegant; and after having described the dress of the man who is ready to ride, which is as elegant, we will fault his stiff and uncomfortable attitude.

The Woman is dressed in a petticoat of bottle green wool, and a long jacket of matching wool, with a wide collar, and with sleeves à la Marinière. The jacket buttons are of gilded copper. Under this jacket, a lemon yellow gilet, with pink revers.

She wears on her head a felt hat, lemon colored, with a very deep crown, wrapped with a wide green ribbon, tied in a bow in the front, fastened with a wide steel buckle, worked in points.

In her hands, gloves of a matching color, and a switch or little whip.

On her body, a man's shirt, whose jabot escapes in the middle of the gilet's revers.

Around the neck, a full cravat, loosely tied, in the manner of a man's.

An on the feet, yellow shoes, flounced with a black ribbon.

Her hair, on the front, is all frizzed, and lets loose one curl which descends to float over the chest; and behind, a very long cadogan is tied in the middle of the back, and a curl falls on top.

The Man is dressed in a wool coat, the color of the soot from the London chimneys, with basques beginning at the hips, and trimmed with gilded copper buttons, all plain. Under this coat, he wears a vest and breeches of yellow wool. The breeches are slit on the sides, to the middle of the thigh, and button with seven white buttons.

His legs are covered with soft boots, black to the middle and yellow from the middle to the top. Above the boots, on the knee, are manchettes of white linen, buttoned on the sides, At the bottom of these manchettes, the garters of the breeches are fastened with puffs of white ribbon.

At the heels of the boots are added steel spurs.

This Man's hands are covered with yellow leather gloves, and he holds a switch or a little whip in his right hand.

He wears on his head a Jockey hat, belted with a black and gold striped braid.

London chimney-soot colored coats are the latest fashion in Paris, and compete with black and dark puce.

In Paris they also wear a great quantity of silk plush coats, raz, laced, of many colors; and another great quantity of Bourbon wool coats, equally laced, of many colors.

All these coats will be found at M. JUBIN's, Merchant of Wools and Silks, at the three Mandarins, under the arcades of the Palais Royal, near the Variétés. One can see, for the complete stock at M. Jubin's, what we said of it in the twenty-third Book of the first Year.

Anecdote drawn from English Papers.

From London on November 7. "A Wigmaker of this City, in order to practice in all ranks, has announced recently in the public Papers that he had the art of giving a solemn and serious air to the wigs of Ecclesiastics; an air of wisdom and penetration to braided wigs of Men of Law; to those of Members of the Faculty of Medicine, a character of gravity and reserve, which announced the most profound science: that he added to those of Soldiers the animated curl, whose effect was to give to the wearer the proud regard of a warrior; that he had invented for Townspeople and Merchants, an economical wig, whose queue could be raised at will, and which served two purposes, for work and for dress; finally, that he had invented especially for young Barristers, who have neither much money nor much cause, wigs whose curls could be withdrawn into their cadogan during vacations, and taken out when they come back to the Courts of Justice."

The first Year of this Journal appeared under the title of Cabinet de Modes. Collections of it are found at the following address, in twenty-four Books, at the price of 21 livres, postage paid.

This second Year, under the title of Magasin des Modes nouvelles, Françoises & Angloises, will form thirty-six Books per Year. It will appear every ten days. The price is 30 liv. to Subscribe for a Year, postage also paid.

One subscribes in Paris, at BUISSON'S, Bookseller, Hôtel de Mesgrigny, rue des Poitevins, no. 13.