Feminine costumes from 1794 – 1800. Directory to Empire.

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Feminine costumes from 1794 – 1800.

FRANCE 18TH CENTURY

Feminine costumes from 1794 – 1800.

The figures are all taken from fashion journals whose year is marked by the number indicated under each figure. The period includes the last period of the convent, the rule of the board of directors and the beginning of the consulate.

While the traditional costumes from 1794, especially in their stiff waists, still follow the fashion of the rococo period, the approach to antiquity or traditional costumes considered antique began to penetrate as early as 1796. The waists became more and more shorter and the neckline deeper and deeper, until a fashion emerged that got its name from the first French empire.

The preference for matt, broken colours (pink, yellow, light blue, grey and light violet) is characteristic. The figure from the year 1799 (with the light blue half dress) also shows in the hairstyle and the hair plaster the desire to imitate Greek fashion.

Source: History of the costume in chronological development by Auguste Racinet. Edited by Adolf Rosenberg. Berlin 1888.

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Auguste Racinet. The Costume History by Françoise Tétart-Vittu.

Racinet's Costume History is an invaluable reference for students, designers, artists, illustrators, and historians; and a rich source of inspiration for anyone with an interest in clothing and style. Originally published in France between 1876 and 1888, Auguste Racinet’s Le Costume historique was in its day the most wide-ranging and incisive study of clothing ever attempted.

Covering the world history of costume, dress, and style from antiquity through to the end of the 19th century, the six volume work remains completely unique in its scope and detail. “Some books just scream out to be bought; this is one of them.” ― Vogue.com