A Most Beguiling Accomplishment

January 10, 1787 Two Busts of women. The Woman dressed in a pink gown wears a demi-négligé cap. This cap has a double ruffle of white blonde lace, in large pleats. Its crown or base, very puffed, is of blue crêpe, with its two ends hanging behind, on the shoulders, in the form of a veil. This crêpe is dotted with violet bouquets. Between the base and the ruffles, there is a wide, figured ribbon with a white satin ground and violet selvages. This Woman's hair is frizzed on the top. A single large curl falls from it on each side on the chest. Behind, the hair hangs à la Conseillère . She has a fichu-chemise  with two collars on her neck, and gold earrings à la Plaquette  in her ears. The other Woman wears a hat à l'Espagnol , in which satin. (1) The crown of this hat is of pink crêpe. This crown is tied with a purple and pink ribbon, forming a large bow in the back whose ends hand very low, and it is surmounted by three white plumes and a rooster aigrette, dyed flame-...

January 10, 1787 No-one can deny that our French Ladies cause their fashions to be adopted by Ladies of nearly all other Kingdoms; however, we must admit that there are restitutions that they make to nearly all. Did they not borrow, at least two years ago, Polonaises , Anglaises , Turques , Chinoises ? Now they borrow Espagnoles . It is true that they return versions that are much better than those they received, and, to be exact, they only borrow the names, and they create the things themselves. When they copy, they correct and embellish. When they imitate, they create. From a too inventive imagination, too fecund to stick slavishly to their models, they borrow, they create. They become, in a word, the masters  of the originators. This talent shines in the modern Spanish hats and cap, as it shined in the robes à la Polonaise , in the English hats, in the Turkish caps, and in the poufs à la Chinoise . The Woman dressed in a pink satin gown wears a hat à l'Espagnole . This hat...

December 30, 1786 FRENCH FASHIONS. We said in the second Book of this second Year that women hardly go out in the morning but in night caps, when they aren't dressed; we should add here that many wear a chapeau-bonnette  over the night cap. In this manner, they give an air of half-dress which saves them from the great undress that the simple night caps, which would never be supportable without fashion, present to the eye. How was this fashion begun? We dig into our heads to imagine it, and do not succeed. It is impossible for us to conceive it, when we think that there are so few women who have a seductive air in a night cap. Everything that we can find is that women have decided to renounce looking pleasant during this part of the day. Could we concede this beautiful invention without fear that we will be reproached for pronouncing some blasphemy against the Ladies' taste? The Woman dressed in a violet satin gown wears over the night cap a gauze  chapeau-bonnett...

December 20, 1786 FRENCH FASHIONS. Two women's Busts. The first, dressed in a pink satin gown, wears a hat with a very high crown, made of satin with pink stripes and Sky blue stripes, trimmed on the front in three rows of large bows of yellow ribbons with green plain stripes down the middle and pinked pink stripes on the edges, and on the back with three large bows of matching ribbons. In the middle of the three rows of large ribbon bows rises an aigrette of seven medium plumes in white, pink, black, and green. A veil of satin matching that used on the hat hangs from the back. The crown of this hat is, so to speak, the only hat crown which is worn today. They are made in different satins with stripes of different colors - blue and white, black and pink, yellow and black, violet and white, etc. The Woman's hair is all frizzed en tapet , and six curls, placed in three rows, hang over her chest. Her hair, behind, is pulled up in a floating chignon . On her neck, a ...

Boston MFA 44.1536 Coiffure from  Iphigénie en Tauride Hat à la Pennsylvania  or the New Clarisse* Hat à la Zinsarra Riding hat * Probably a reference to Dereste's Emilie, ou, la Nouvelle Clarisse  or a different version of the same story Hat à l'économie du Siècle Hat à la Printemps Hat à la Grenade  or the Glorious Destiny Hat au désir de plaire Hat à la brunette Anglaise Hat à la Redoute Chinoise Hat à l'Indolente Hat à la Vache  ( 1783 )

Boston MFA 44.1534 Coiffure à la Jeannette Coiffure à la Jamaique Coiffure with large Curls with a Hat decorated with flowers Coiffure à l'Enfance Negligé Cap Pouf of a new taste called à la Stradre* Reversed tapet  surmounted by a Pouf with box pleats, pearls, and two Tassels called à la Couronne Coiffure in rolled and hanging Curls surmounted by a Pouf à la Luxembourg * surname, unknown significance Streaked hat à la Pendilvaine* Coiffure with large Curls and a straw Hat Hat à la Grenade  called "the Conquest of Destaing " Hat à l'Anglaise * unknown significance, but used elsewhere in the GdM  so unlikely to be a typo for "Pensilvaine" Cap à la Lyonnaise  seen from the front Spotted hat trimmed with Ribbons, negligent Curls Hérisson  girded with a ribbon, with a Garland of flowers and three curls, called à la Printemps Hérisson  girded with a Ribbon with a diamond pin à la Nizarras (1783)

Boston MFA 44.1532 Galant  hat with a kerchief à la Mirza Hat of a new taste called à la St. Leger  in the comté of Chiny New hat called à la Longwi , near Luxembourg Hat à la Granville  in the Duchy of Bar Hat à l'Augustine Hat à l'Epernaise , a province of Champagne Hat à la Berthelot ,* otherwise called à la Comtoise Hat à la Jeannot  of the Varietés Amusants ** * Possibly for Jeanne Agnès Berthelot de Pléneuf, marquise of Prie ** Jeannot was a play which premiered in 1780, by Beaunoir (Alexandre-Louis-Bertrand Ronineau) Hat à la Napolitaine The same Hat seen from the front Hat à l'Alexandrine Hat à l'Amazone Straw hat called à la Bergère* Hat à l'Irlandaise Hat à la Colinette galante Hat à l'Anglomane** ( 1783 ) * Shepherdess ** One who has "Anglomania"

(Way back when I was translating the Galerie , I came to two books - the 38th and 39th - which weren't included in the reprint. From the index, I could see that they were coiffures, and since they seemed less pressing than the gowns I let them wait. And then I forgot about them.) Boston MFA 44.1526 Coiffure of a white straw hat edged with a colored ribbon. Crown surrounded by a wide ribbon, with a bow in the front. It is decorated with flowers and covered with straight hair over a toque which is low in front and larger in the back. Two curls and a favori; loose chignon and two curls hanging in back. ( 1781 )

November 1, 1786 PLATE III. TWO women's Busts. The first, dressed in a Sky  blue caraco, and her hair done in very-large curls, wears a natural-colored straw hat, lined with a pink satin with wide black stripes, and edged with a black ribbon. The crown of her hat is very-large, and made with a pink gauze with little black stripes. It is tied at the bottom with a wide violet ribbon with green stripes, which forms two large bows, one on the front and the other on the back. On this, the ends of the ribbons fall very-low. This woman wears gold earrings à la Plaquette , and on her neck a kerchief en chemise  of gauze. Now chapeaux-bonnettes  are no longer worn but for those made in gauze striped in two colors: yellow and black, pink and black, black and blue, green and lilac , white and blue, white and pink, white and green, etc. ... The second Woman, dressed in a pink caraco, her hair done in curls, of which one very-large one falls on her chest, wears a hat...

August 1, 1786 PLATE III. TWO Women's Busts. 1. One, in a yellow caraco , has her head covered with a straw hat, natural color, tinted around with a ribbon au Diadême , and on the underside a thousand pink points. The crown of the hat, very-puffed, is of pink crêpe. Two large bows, made with wide ribbons à l'Arc-en-Ciel , trimming the crown in front and in back. This hat is decorated with five large plumes, of which one is white, on pink, and three varied greens. 2. The other Woman, in a blue-violet caraco , has her head covered with a hat of yellow gauze, trimmed with a ribbon au Diadême  in yellow and black. The crown of dark blue crêpe, very-puffed, is wrapped with a garland of artificial roses, and a very-wide ribbon, with large stripes, which comes to form a very-large bow in the back. This hat is decorated with three large plumes, one violet, one blue-violet, and one pink. Three large curls on each side fall on the chests of each of these two Women. Their ...

May 1, 1786 Essential notice to Messrs. Subscribers. The number of Books in this Journal, that several of Messrs. Subscribers of the Provinces have asked, as not having been received , and the very scrupulous exactitude with which expeditions have been made, oblige us to publish the following Notice. From now on each Book will be taken to the Post on the 1st and 16th of each month. Fifteen days after each of these dates, Messrs. Subscribers will be supposed to have received their Book . Those who, before this term has passed , make a demand for their Book, are requested to send a certificate to the Director of the Post, concerning that the Book of the 1st or 15th of the month, which would be address to M. ..., never came to the Office . The term of fifteen days elapsed, there will no longer be time to ask for a Book as not received . It will be furnished, however, to the Person who asks for it, on the payment of 24 sous . Letters which are not franked, will remain in the Pos...

April 1, 1786 PLATE II. THE woman, on the right, dressed in an apple green Pierrot , wears on her head a black Hat à la Maltoise . This Hat is edged with a ribbon au Diadême .* Its Crown is enveloped with a tuft of pink crêpe, forming several bows. Two ends of this crêpe hang behind to the middle of the shoulders. The Hat is surmounted with an aigrette composed of several black rooster feathers, and a large white Plume falling back on the Crown. The Woman wears on her neck a large Kerchief of gauze, trimmed with a wide, pinked flounce, and on the front a bouquet of roses. Her hair hangs in the back à la Conseillère , and on each side two curls accompany the Tapé . One of these curls is held up, and the other falls to the chest. She wears in her earls two long gold Hoops à la placquette .** The Woman, on the left, dressed in a rose-colored Pierrot , is coiffed with a large Baigneuse  of white gauze, trimmed with a  large veil of the same gauze, which hang...