Tags
18th century clothes, Clothing, common dress, fashion plates, Historical Sew Fortnightly, resources
Griselle en négligé du matin, faisant sa provision au Marché des Quinze-vingts
Griselle en négligé du matin, faisant sa provision au Marché des Quinze-vingts
Very roughly, Griselle, in morning undress, goes to the “Three Hundred” market for provisions.
Said to be on Paris maps of 1760 and 1771, the Quinze-vingts Market was probably razed for the Rue de Rivoli. Interestingly, the major ophthalmic hospital in Paris is the Three Hundred, and there has been a Three Hundred hospital since 1260. (Sorry, Mr S: even in history, there is no escaping hospitals or eyeballs.) The neighborhood takes its name from the hospital, so Griselle is headed to her neighborhood market. You wouldn’t go far from home in négligé du matin.
Let’s look at what she’s wearing: It’s the reenactor’s frenemy, the short gown. Griselle here is post-1789, check the raised waist line and the non-cone bosom shape. Is it 1790, 1792ish? Probably in that range. If you don’t want to wing a version of this based on illustrations and Costume Close Up, you can get a pattern for a similar garment. It was workshop tested; my version is here.
What I like are the basic details: turban scarf, kerchief, simple short gown, striped petticoat, clocked stockings, slippers, just a bundle for the market.
The simplicity is key here, also tiny details. Look at the end of her sleeve: buttons. This is fantastic news for those of us who need to get our enormous hands through slender 18th-century sleeves. It’s taking a lot of will power not to head down to the stash and start on a mock up of this short gown right this minute…
The silhouette matches the pouter-pigeon, full-bust look of more formal wear of ca. 1792, so I don’t think she’s gone stay-less. The striped petticoat could be cotton or linen; Wm Booth had some variegated stripe linen that could work for a version of this. Are we seeing her shift, or another petticoat under the stripes? It’s so similar in length, and her shape so full, that I think it is second petticoat and not shift.
The stockings and what I will call their clocks, but look like decorative gussets, that coordinate with the slippers, are a nice touch. Visible beneath this shorter hem, they provide another bit of color and decorative accent to this plain look.
If I didn’t have those guys to sew for, this is what I would have chosen for Peasants and Pioneers. Not that I don’t love my boys…but menswear is time consuming.
Kitty Calash 
Lovely, lovely post, KC, and as always, your comments are so helpful and funny! Can you date this from the use of the black neck ribbon? I vaguely remember that touch as a rather ghoulish touch in French fashion, but only after the execution of Marie Antoinette… Am I right?
Auntie Nan
I don’t know about the Marie Antoinette connection to the ribbon; I thought it was earlier and more wide-spread: http://pinterest.com/kittycalash/neck-ribbons/ contains images from the 1740s-1790s. The reason behind the ribbons–‘economical jewelry alternative” wouldn’t seem to apply to Copley’s sitters–isn’t clear to me. Copley’s sitters may well have adopted ribbons as fashion in the much the same way aprons became fashionable. Filmy, soft silk and embroidered aprons, not flithy checked feral aprons.
Lovely fashion plate from the Costume Parisien with such rich details (especially the tiny buttons, how could I miss them?!). This fashion print has to be from 1797/98 (An 6 according to the Revolutionary Calendar, here’s a link to a good explanation:http://damesalamode.weebly.com/dating-journal-des-dames-et-des-modes.html
I guess she’s wearing transitional stays with this, probably with gathered gussets.
Oh, it’s based on the Revolutionary calendar! I worked out based on a dated plate once that I had to add the year to 1791 to get the date, but I figured it was the year the magazine began, except that I think the Costume Parisien plates are from Journal des Dames et des Modes, which started in 1797. So overall I was just very confused!
Thank you so much, Sabine and Cassidy! The link to the Revolutionary calendar explanation is very helpful. ca 1797 it is. I didn’t learn everything I know about the French Revolution from Simon Schama on David, but sometimes it seems that way…so grateful for the knowledge of other people!
How did ladies keep their petticoats up at that high waistline?
Lovely plate and post. Thank you!
Straps! If you look at Janet Arnold, the petticoat for the riding habit has a bodice with shoulder straps. The bodice doesn’t have to be lined as long as you fell the strap edges. Some people use linen or twill tape straps, but I came up with a pattern that I use for most of mine (see HSF #3). There are a couple of later bodiced petticoats that survive in museums, but I find that tying a tighter knot doesn’t do the trick when the waistline moves above the waist. Gravity wins every time…!
Ah, yes, of course. Must take a trip to the library to look for Janet Arnold books. Seeing photos in your HSF #3 is perfect timing as I’m about to draft a pattern for my own 1795 petticoat.
Do you think when a high-waisted petticoat is made from striped fabric that the straps/bodice match or made of a plain fabric?
Thanks again!
I have made petticoats both ways, matching and not. The one in Arnold has a bodice of taffeta, while the skirt is worsted woolen. I suspect that the key lies in what the petticoat skirt is made of. Heavier weight, and best not to match, so that you have less bulk under the bodice.
My woolen one has a cotton & linen bodice. My white linen one has a white linen bodice. Museum examples seem to be white linen all through, and the linen is fine enough for that.
Thank you again for your reply. It is incredibly helpful for me!!!