The 1700’s became a key style era in Europe when Marie Antoinette took to the thrown and knocked the English Madame de Pompadour off the top of the best-dressed royals list.
It was Madame de Pompadour who made the early 1700s an era of fashion. Mistress to King Louis XIV and woman of the courts, she wore the most fabulous and exquisite gowns with the Robe á la Française soon becoming her signature style. The dress was also known as the ‘sack-back gown’ in reference to its manufacture, using a single piece of fabric for the back panel and over-skirt. This trend took the UK by storm with women as far north as Anne Fairfax of Fairfax house, York, wearing such dresses. Until her death in 1764, Madame de Pompadour (christened Jeanne Antoinette Poisson) wore many gowns, as pictured, hosting a wide, plunging neckline, elbow-length sleeves and a huge overskirt which parted in the middle to reveal a quilted petticoat. Petticoats of the time were often quilted for warmth with a thin layer of wool.
Madame de Pompadour in one of her many gowns
Dresses, as exhibited in Fairfax House, of the Georgian period focused on pleating, ruffles and trims and were often of elaborate design. These trends were inspired by the Rococo style of the time whereby fluidity, excessive detail and floral designs from artwork influenced the gowns worn by influential women. The Madame de pompadour’s dresses were inspired by the paintings of Antione Watteau. The closely structured bodices, often stiffened with whalebones, were contrasted by large skirts making the female silhouette an exaggerated hourglass. Metal hoops were introduced in order to make the skirts as large as possibly without the weight or inconvenience of having many petticoats; the century saw in the introduction of my practical fashions for important women. The bodices were cut to a sharp point and often bows were used to lace the corset up at the front. It was details such as these which made the dresses so reminiscent of the Rococo style given the need for romantic details.
Marie Antoinette on the other hand took inspiration from the English garden and mixed it with the symmetry of French designs to create her own style. Her preference for dresses without a corset and skirts without hoops prompted a new trend in the late 1700s. Instead of a hoop, she let her skirts fall in pleats from the waist. Her dresses generally followed the same style as those of the early 1700s with the ‘sack-back’ cut, opening at the front - though her less structured approach to fashion was favoured by women due to the comfort. Her hairstyles also caused a stir when she broke the trend for powdered grey hair in favour of her natural blonde locks. It was Marie Antoinette’s natural beauty which became a canvas for beautiful clothes in the 1700s. Her dresses took inspiration from nature, seen in the floral designs of many dresses she wore, and the delicacy of such designs complemented her delicate features.
No comments:
Post a Comment