(My version of "stashbusting" - the Historical Sew Monthly challenge for March - means finishing a post that had been languishing in my drafts for some time.) The term "nightgown"/"night gown", as used in the 18th century, is somewhat confusing. J. P. Ryan defines an English nightgown as synonymous to robe à l'anglaise, a fitted … Continue reading The Nightgown (and the Negligee) (HSM #3)
Category: 18th century
Galerie des Modes, 38e Cahier, 2e Figure
Boston MFA 44.1527 New coiffure: the front straight, ending in a frizzed hérisson, the bottom of the Coiffure in the back and on the sides like the coiffure à l'enfance. The whole wrapped with a flower crown. (1781)
Galerie des Modes, 38e Cahier, 1ere Figure
(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 … Continue reading Galerie des Modes, 38e Cahier, 1ere Figure
Marie Antoinette à la Rose (HSM #2)
I haven't done a portrait costume analysis in a long time, but it seemed like the most appropriate way to deal with the second Historical Sew Monthly challenge: Blue. Marie-Antoinette dit « à la Rose », Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, 1783; Versailles MV 3893 This portrait of the twenty-eight-year-old Marie Antoinette was painted in the same year as the … Continue reading Marie Antoinette à la Rose (HSM #2)
On Mourning
(I decided to write this post because I'm planning to branch out into historical social topics more frequently - but it lines up very well with an event this week! I will be attending Death Becomes You at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Halloween, in a post-Edwardian black wool dress with white collar and cuffs. Hope … Continue reading On Mourning
Mimic of Modes 