A Most Beguiling Accomplishment

So, previously  I showed you a lot of examples of actual white or white-ish gowns worn for weddings, including fashion plates (as they are intended to be prescriptive of real clothing - they exist to tell you what you can/should wear); these prove at least that white was worn. Now I'm going to follow that up with the kind of sources that can tell us more about the reasons white gowns were chosen, and whether the examples found previously are representative. The Commonness of Bridal White Although fictional weddings are by definition not real, the choices that authors and artists make can show what's considered normal or at least ideal for their societies, and the majority of authors and artists I found chose to dress their brides in white. The marriage (ha!) of both textual and visual sources can be found in Samuel Richardson's Pamela (1742) and Joseph Highmore's painted illustrations of the same. Happily, the book describes what she wears in order to get marri...

The history of white wedding dresses is a popular topic, and a few related narratives have built up in both popular and academic writing: Queen Victoria was the first to wear a white gown for her wedding in 1840, and women began to copy her, creating a tradition. Queen Victoria was not the first to wear a white wedding dress, but it experienced a boom in popularity as a result of her marriage. Queen Victoria was not the first to wear a white wedding dress, but it was only with her marriage that it took on the connotations of purity and innocence. I could digress to talk about the perils of "Great Man" history, but that's  better for a discussion on Chanel (hey-o!), so instead let's just look at why these narratives are all incorrect, and why Victoria was not really a turning point at all. (For the use of white, that is - Cele Otnes and Elizabeth Pleck make a very convincing argument in Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding  that Victoria's wedd...

The Facebook discussion on my last blog post was really helpful - it made me realize that I should have been much  more explicit about what I was discussing regarding timeframe and class level, and I plan to update the other post to reflect that in a bit. But I also thought it would be worthwhile to talk about the situations where my suggestion is not useful, for balance (and because it lets me talk about the early 18th century, i.e. the best part of the 18th century). To recap and clarify: my point was that portraits and images of fine clothes from the 1750s, 1760s, and early 1770s (in the Anglo-American, British, and French contexts) generally show women with gown, petticoat, and stomacher made of one fabric, and that when they are not all the same, you are more likely to see the stomacher not match the other two than a petticoat that contrasts with a matching gown and stomacher, and that the stomacher and petticoat matching each other and contrasting with the gown is an even r...

THE POOR OF ONE AND THE OTHER SEX. We have represented here the Poor with their torn clothing, such as they ordinarily wear in their state of humiliation. The Spaniard in speaking of poverty said that it is not a vice, but something approaching it. A good mind of this century (de Freny), outbidding this thought, claimed that it ruined things, and in effect poverty obscured the most brilliant virtues, extinguished the most beautiful thoughts, rendered the most beautiful soul contemptible, and in some way stunned those who had not enough strength to endure it patiently. The Pauper is always prey to bodily and mental pain. Can one find a situation more deplorable than beggary? However, among Paupers, how many are found who have the honesty to share, while roguery is more often the characteristic of certain rich men; but of all the estates which are exposed to beggary, it is that of the man of letters and even more that of the botanical Doctor: the great Homer was obliged to recite ...

THE GARDENER AND THE PEASANT. Sages pretend that cultivating the ground is never an ordeal for a condemned man at work, but rather the joy and delight of a very happy one, also what there were greater among men had the taste for Agriculture and gardening. Solomon cultivated plants in his gardens, from hyssop, which grew in the walls, to Cedar of Lebanon; the Kings of the Orient found a real pleasure in cultivating their gardens. They used their own tools to move the earth with the same hands in which they held a Scepter. Scipio the African had a little field that he worked himself, and Q. Cincinnatus was holding the Plowshare at the same instant that a letter from the Senate came, which announced to him that he was just elected Dictator in the extreme need of the Republic. Finally, the cultivation of Vegetables is so agreeable that everyone hastens to have gardens; those who cannot have them in the Country try to have them in the City, and when neither one advantage nor the other ...

ARTISANS. THE MASON AND THE LAUNDRESS. By Artisans one means a Class of Men who devote their lives to mechanical Arts; one of the most essential to society is the Mason. He builds our homes and works to shelter us from the bad weather of the seasons; those who prepare our Foodstuffs for us are at least as useful, but there are others who only work to content our luxury, and those, whether the richest, are not the most necessary to an estate. The rank of Artisans in the Civil Order is after the Merchant, their dress hardly distinguishes them from the Bourgeois , they nevertheless prefer strong colors for their suits, such as a Chestnut-colored coat and a red vest. We have represented here the Mason in a worker's dress, he is in a cap, vest, and apron, working to stir his mortar. Among the female Artisans, we have chosen by preference the Laundress. She is represented dressed following the people of her estate, carrying a basket loaded with linens and the beater in her hand....

THE DOCTOR. "Honor the Doctor for necessity," says scripture, good reason, was the response, if the motives are only fear of being killed. This response is unjust, why not say that the desire of being healed is the motive which must engage us, and because of which one must wait for help, when one is infirm, if it is for a wise man, who has made a particular and deep study of the construction and the mechanics of the human body, who has observed all the alterations that the seasons, intemperance, excess of every kind, and the decrepitude of age can bring to health, who has made exact and painstaking research into the means that can be employed to repair it, that is a little cleared without a doubt, who say that the science of the Doctor consists of the uncertain opinions, accredited by experience, of which Patients flatter themselves to prolong their days by his advice, and that the knowledge that he has plants only serves to stun men and to trick them. The discoveries th...

THE BOURGEOIS  AND BOURGEOISE . The bourgeoisie  is the most considerable estate in the Kingdom, insomuch as it is the most numerous. It is the bourgeoisie  that fills the coffers of the Sovereign and that peoples the Cities. An Empire is more or less flourishing according to the affluence of the Bourgeois . The Kings of France have made such a case of this part of their subjects, that they have exempted the Bouregois  of Paris and other great cities of the Kingdom from the rights of the Frankish fiefs, of the bank and back bank, and they have been permitted to bear Arms the same as the noble Knights; but let us see what are the qualities which constitute the bourgeois . In Paris, all the Merchants pass for such and nearly all the inhabitants of Paris take the quality, without which it is contested of them; however, the Merchants and people of matching estate are never regarded as noble. When even they will have acquired the right of nobility to be Aldermen, fro...

THE FINANCIER AND THE ABBE. The name of Financier is given to a citizen charged with the collection of State revenues. A man of this type will be, without contradiction, very estimable, if he proportions the gains he makes to his place with his labors, but as he is persuaded that his administration is a beautiful machine, he believes himself the most important man and with the safety of a thousand efforts that he enjoys and which are unknown to the public, he often abuses his job. However, several Financiers are found in the Kingdom who distinguish themselves by their probity and their facetious manners. The Financier's clothes are rich; his magnificent apartments and the plumpness with which he is shown here announce his opulence. His luxury often effaces other people's, who by state are obliged to distinguish themselves from common men. Formerly protegés of people of rank, financiers want to become their rivals, and most often proud of their richness, some take a tone o...

RELIGIOUS MEN AND WOMEN. The word Monk means alone: it was given in the early Church to Christians who lived far from the commerce of men, to be particularly sacred to God; several of these Monks, being united, lived under the government of a Superior, at which time they were no longer truly Monks; while the Benedictines and those who live in Abbeys, having kept this denomination, they are called Religious Men. Their dress consists of a Tunic and a Hood, the dress most conformed to the voluntary humility of their state. The Capuchins were not very removed from this manner of dress, as can be seen in the figure represented here: they are dressed in a large gown, a cloak, and a hood of a thick grey cloth; they have sandals, wear a beard and a crown of hair. Religious Men possess nothing, they live only on alms; Cloisters used to be protected in men's Monasteries, which had a hospice to receive strangers, in which secular people were allowed to go, but the prohibition has still ...

THE MAGISTRATE AND THE SOLDIER. The Magistrate is an Officer of the King, who has jurisdiction and authority over the people; he holds the laws, which protect the goods, the rights, and the freedom of Citizens; he daily ensures the wellbeing of the state. He must avoid balls, Spectacles, and in general all places which could affect the dignity with which he is clothed, in the area of his jurisdiction. On ceremony days, he has precedence over even gentlemen, because of the public authority in which he is clothed. His coat for the functions of his charge is a great trained closed gown, a type of uniform borrowed from universities, but elsewhere he is ordinarily dressed in black with a cloak and a collar or large cravat, as he is represented in this plate. The people of the court ordinarily treat the men of the palais  as bourgeois: without a doubt they are unaware that the first Magistrates were of a great Nobility and that their descendants are found in the Parlemens . However...

The weekend before last was very busy! Julie came up and we had a few days packed with events and driving and scones (lots of scones, some with clotted-ish cream, some plain). On Saturday, some of the members of the Empire State Costumers went to Albany's TulipFest. It's not a costume event in and of itself, apart from the people involved in the old tradition of scrubbing the street, who dress in versions of 17th century Dutch clothing with wooden clogs, but it's a beautiful day with a lovely setting and an historical connection, so I think it's nice to go out in something pretty and spend some time with friends. There are also a lot of booths for both crafters and food vendors, which I like at an event. We went last year as well, so it's become kind of an official event for the group. Julie, Erinn, and myself I'm still fond of this gown, which I made in about three days before the reenactment of the Battle of Saratoga. It has some problems (the le...

THE BISHOP AND ABBESS. The Bishops is a man instituted to govern the Church. The etymology of his name is drawn from a Greek word, which signifies overseer, inspector, in effect he has a spiritual jurisdiction over the faithful; his ornaments are the Miter, the Cross, the Pectoral cross, the Ring, and Sandals; but his ordinary dress is a Cassock, a Surplice, and a Violet cape, on which hangs the Pectoral cross, as he is represented in this plate, Bishops are the successors of the Apostles, that God had chosen from among the jewish people in order to be his cooperators. They have, like them, the power to teach nations, to pardon sins, to administer the Sacraments, and to punish through purely spiritual ways. An Abbess is ordinarily the Mother Superior of a Religious community for Girls, over which she exercises a determined authority. The institution of these Religious communities is attributed to St. Pacome. This Saint  lived at the beginning of the fourth Century. The humil...

THE LORD AND LADY OF COURT One qualifies with the name of Lord persons of high birth, or those who have received the highest dignities of the state; ordinarily they are decorated with the Order of their Sovereign; it only behooves them to be very up-to-date in their dress; the red heels that they wear are the mark of their nobility and announce that they are always ready to tread on the enemies of the State. It is necessary to distinguish from the Lord the rich and foppish man who by external deception seeks to surprise people always dazzled by the eclat of a magnificent coat without ceasing one sees him creep near people in place to obtain some mark of distinction; there are no flexibilities and intrigues that he will not suggest to obtain his ends and he well knows how to avenge himself on his Vassals from the mortifications he receives. One hears by Lady of court a Woman of high consideration, attached to the Queen or to some Princess: she is always obliged to appear with th...

Representing the different Estates of the Kingdom, with the Dress appropriate to each Estate and accompanied by critical and moral Reflections. While I think about what should come next and work on a couple of other projects, I'll be showing a short book from the Bunka Gakuen Library (where else?) that shows and talks about dress and habits by rank. These will be posted every Monday, and those posts on dresses I patterned at the Chapman every Thursday, to balance things out. And I have a few of old finally-finished posts that might go up on some days in between, I'm not quite sure which!

A little while ago, I started working on making a new cap - my earlier one was the first I'd ever made, of course I did it without a real pattern, and the cotton was too heavy as well, so it was just terrible. Because I wanted to be able to sell caps in my store, I knew I couldn't start out with a commercial pattern (although I had been at the point where I was prepared to buy one for my own use, which, if you've been following me for a while, you might recognize as desperation!) and so I'd have to start over and figure it out properly. My first stop was at Garsault's L'Art de la lingère  (1771), which I translated and then kind of forgot about doing anything with. c  - the crown a  - the brim d  - the lappets The instructions aren't hugely helpful. It says that double (probably thicker) muslin should be used for the crown, and clear muslin for the ruffles; the crown is whip-gathered to the brim, and the ruffles are whipped on as well. The draws...