Dress in France in the Eighteenth CenturyThis charming book examines European dress as it evolved in eighteenth-century France, the country which (with occasional challenges from Britain) had already established itself as the arbiter of fashionable taste in this most elegant of eras. Madeleine Delpierre looks at French dress first from an aesthetic point of view, describing in detail fashionable and everyday clothes for men, women, and children -- from the basic cut and style to the accessories worn and carried to the materials used. Delpierre then examines the social and economic factors affecting fashion, compares styles of clothing in the major European countries, and assesses the cultural impact of clothes as they crossed territorial borders. The book concludes with a lively discussion of how fashion was treated in the literature of the day. All those interested in the culture of eighteenth-century France or in fashion of an earlier age will find this book an entertaining and informative survey. |
Contents
Clothing and fashion | 7 |
Underwear | 32 |
Fabrics and their Decoration | 47 |
French Fashion and Fashion | 58 |
Clothes for Special Occasions | 71 |
Etiquette and Uniforms | 81 |
The World of Elegance | 103 |
Clothes for the WorkingClass | 112 |
Dress Politics and Ideology | 120 |
Clothing and Accessories | 127 |
The Price of Elegance | 137 |
Fashion and Literature | 147 |
Bibliography | 158 |
Glossary | 164 |
Common terms and phrases
accessories bobbin lace bodice boned bodice braid breeches brocaded cape caraco cassock ceremonial cloak coat collar colour comte Cornu Costumes français reprinted cotton court dress cuffs d'Oberkirch decorated doll eighteenth century elegant ells embroidered embroidery engageantes Engraving fabric fichu française France French fashion front Galerie des Modes Galliera garment gauze gold gown hair headdress king king's lace linen livres Louis XVI Madame de Genlis Madame de Pompadour Madame du Barry Marie-Antoinette Mémoires men's Modes et Costumes mourning Musée Carnavalet Museum muslin needle lace outfit painting Palais Galliera panier Paris petticoat plate pleats polonaise queen redingote reign of Louis Revolution ribbon robe à l'anglaise robe volante Rose Bertin royal satin shoes silk silver skirt sleeves stitched style taffeta tailor threads trimmed underskirt uniform velvet Versailles Vie quotidienne waist waistcoat wardrobe Watteau wear whaleboned bodice women wool wore XVIIIe siècle