“It is true that Zulmé was dressed in a caraco and a petticoat of striped muslin, very white, very fresh, elegantly flounced; the petticoat and the pink corset beneath, which was shaded by and made a base, so to speak, for the white, spread overall an air of sweet freshness and an agreeable variety: but to be dressed thus is the least difficult thing. I ask you for the maintenance, you can as easily as she put on your head a straw hat, in the natural color, wrapped with a garland or artificial roses, surmounted by four plumes (three white and one pink) and to which hangs, attached behind, a large veil of white gauze falling to the waist … but still one time of the maintenance:** there is all the magic of Zulmé.”
Le Cabinet des Modes, June 15, 1786
* According to Caroline Weber, the à la Harpie style referred to the bold zig-zags and triangles.
** This is clearly wrong, but I’m not sure how to make it correct.
Mimic of Modes 