#1700-1750

[my18thcenturysource]

If the 18th century robe à la française were a Pokémon, this would be the evolution chart: mantua -> robe volante -> robe à la française.

I’m not even sorry for that Pokémon analogy.

Images:

Mantua, ca. 1708, orange silk, Great Britain, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Robe volante, ca. 1730, blue silk, France, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Robe à française, 1740s, printed silk, Great Britain, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[my18thcenturysource]

“François de Jullienne and His Wife (Marie Élisabeth)”, 1743, Charles Antoine Coypel, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Look at them! They are sooooooo cute! I wanna pinch their cheeks!!

[my18thcenturysource]

Dolman, ca. 1735, probably France or Hungary, Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest.

To say the truth, I don’t even know what is going on here but I love it. All of it: the colour, the fabric, the pattern, the details, the buttons, the silhouette. Everything.

[colbydigarchive-blog]

1 print : engraving.

[georgiadawber-blog]

1700 -1750 Era Assignment

This term we were split into groups and given an era, ours being 1700-1750.

As I began my background research it became clear that although I hadn't knowingly looked at the time before now, inspiration had been taken and the results were everywhere. Large ruffled sleeves, extravagant collars, peplum tops and large skirts are used by all sorts of designers. I hadn't even thought of where these ideas could be coming from!

This floral print princess dress is part of Elie Saab's Haute Couture S/S collection. As you can see the dress is tight at the top, especially the waist much like the stays and stomachers of the 1700's. The skirt extends right out, again, much like the skirts and dresses of the time. 

  This corset is by Vivienne Westwood. Printed with Francois Boucher, Daphnis and Chloe from the portrait collection. Looking at designers who had taken their inspiration from the era, this particularly jumped out at me as being similar to the stays and stomachers women wore.

All in all, I've found it really interesting researching the background to the fashions we see today and actually being able to spot items in shops with elements taken from history.