Fashion at Versailles: “For her”

Chapter I: The main fashion trends in the 1780s
With Marie-Antoinette, elegance and simplicity of clothing was the order of the day at Court. For everyday life, the robe à la polonaise, a modest outfit, was in fashion among women along with the robe à la lévite.

Simply dressed in a robe à la polonaise made of grey silk, the queen is putting together a bouquet in a countryside scene, with a rose in her hand.

One of the specificities of the robe à la polonaise is the bodice, which was a single piece with the double skirt. It was a dress that was easily modifiable and which could be adjusted using a cord that passed on either side beneath the stitching.

Antoinette-Élisabeth-Marie d’Aguesseau was admired for her strength of mind and good nature, but was nonetheless conscious of the fashions of the time. The Countess is depicted in simple attire, with large creole earrings and a hat. Her hair has not been powdered and is styled according to a fashion which portraitist Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun claimed to have started.

Her gown resembles a countryside-style dress, an effect which is reinforced by the bouquet of fresh flowers on the table beside her.

This portrait, of which Madame Vigée Le Brun delivered the original in 1779, follows the tradition of formal court portraits. The queen, depicted with a halo of light, is dressed in an impressive white satin robe de cour with a panier and a train decorated with fleur-de-lis; the crown of France is beside her.

The position of her head is highlighted by a high hairstyle with aigrettes.

This print shows the famously lost “Queen’s necklace”, which was comprised of two parts: a choker with festoons and pendants, and a second necklace composed of four dangling parts with two strands of diamonds separated by pearls, ending in four strands of diamonds and pearls inspired by the designs of trimmings.

This necklace, with which the name of Marie-Antoinette will forever be associated, never actually belonged to her. A masterpiece designed by the Parisian jewellers Charles-Auguste Boehmer and Paul Bassenge, it was composed of nearly 550 exceptionally large diamonds and 100 or so pearls.

Madame Adélaïde, Louis XV’s daughter, is depicted in court attire with a long train of red velvet, a sign of nobility.

Her hairstyle is characteristic of this period, namely a pouf. The princess’s hair is curled on either side of her face and topped with a cloth hat with a ribbon tied in a flat bow. This hairstyle, however, is relatively modest compared with the extravagant pouf à la Belle-Poule or pouf à la Montgolfière.

#3 Hunting attire
The queen participated in hunting with dogs and rode side-saddle and astride, despite the disapproval of her mother Empress Maria Theresa. For convenience for this form of entertainment, she wore male clothing or a redingote with a tiered collar.

Marie-Antoinette is depicted hunting in 1783, riding sidesaddle with a servant, a bloodhound and greyhound. She is dressed similarly in the Wertmüller portrait painted in 1788. Her straw hat topped with plumes resembles the one the artist made a pencil drawing of.

#1 The robe “en gaulle”
From 1781 onwards, the chemise à la reine or robe “en gaulle”, which Rose Bertin created for Marie-Antoinette, sparked a mini revolution. It was a gown for wearing in private spaces and made of white cotton, gauze or silk. It was straight, very low cut and fastened with a belt around the waist. This négligé (neglected) attire is characteristic of the lifestyle adopted by the queen and her inner circle of friends in the Petit Trianon. The style was one of a return to nature inspired by the Rousseau school of thought described in the New Heloise (1761).

Depicted in 1782, aged 33 at the time, the queen’s friend is shown from the waist upwards with a rose in her hand. She is wearing a chemise gown made of fine white linen and decorated with a lace frill and a sky-blue ribbon. A straw-yellow belt with blues strips marks her waist, while the black taffeta mantelet with netting along the edge is draped over her left arm. The Italian straw hat, decorated with a black plume and bouquet of wild flowers held in place by a sky-blue ribbon, fits with the countryside lifestyle of the Petit Trianon. The sitter creates an impression of freshness and infinite delicacy.

#2 Bergère gown
The bergère gown was directly inspired by the attire worn by country women. This fashion drew upon the popular intellectual concept of a return to nature.

During the trend of a return to nature, Madame Élisabeth was depicted in 1782 in an attractive jardinière gown with a broad-rimmed straw hat decorated with flowers and ears of corn. She is holding a bunch of freshly-picked flowers in her hands. She is wearing a green bodice laced over a white linen blouse and a plain skirt in red cotton. This gown follows the fashion of a return to nature which was hugely popular in the late 18th century, as demonstrated by the construction of Marie-Antoinette’s farm by Richard Mique between 1783 and 1786.

#3 The robe à l’orientale
The robe à l’orientale was actually a déshabillé gown made of white or ecru silk that was tightened at the chest and whose design was inspired by tales from travellers.

The Duchess of Bourbon, wife of the Duke of Orléans who was later known as Philippe-Egalité, is depicted sitting down with a gauze turban on her head, wearing a déshabillé made of striped muslin under a light white satin garment wrapped over her chest. Her waist is accentuated by a sky-blue belt. Dressed in the orientale style and leaning on a red velvet cushion, the Duchess has adopted a pose which is melancholic, to say the least.

Labille-Guiard painted the Princess in 1788, aged 25, in a serious and fairly reserved portrait. She is depicted in attire of a fanciful style inspired by the orientale fashion, with a belt inspired by Antiquity and decorated with fake gems, exactly like the portrait displayed at the 1787 Salon.

The pouf, a large turban on her head, has been scaled down to fit into the oval format. The delicate grey and white tones with the golden-yellow highlights of the gown and coloured gems bring out the Princess’s blue-grey eyes. Two ostrich plumes embellish her hair.

#3 The English fashion
The robe à l’anglaise was characterised by the rejection of paniers, which were replaced by a tournure (a frame that was padded using horse hair). This type of gown was inspired by the redingote worn by men during the same period. This redingote-gown was fairly versatile: always close-fitting at the waist, it was often worn open at the front but could also closed using large metal buttons.

The Queen is posing in front of the Temple in her Trianon estate. She is wearing a redingote gown over a large petticoat and frilled blouse. A straw hat decorated with ostrich plumes is on the ground beside her.