I have run this poll twice now, 2015 and 2016. Each year the results were close...will this year be the same? The poll is now open!
Which style gown do you prefer?
The Robe à l'Anglaise or the Robe à la Française?
Both styles were worn between the years of 1720 and 1780. The robe à l'anglaise developed with a fitted back after the style of dress worn in England. The sacque-back of the robe à la Française is reinterpreted from the seventeenth–century gown to incorporate two expansive pleats from the neckline at back.
Robe à l'Anglaise
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| Robe à l'Anglaise, French. 1785-87, silk. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
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| Robe à l'Anglaise |
Robe à la Française
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| Robe à la Française, French. 1750-75, silk. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
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| Robe à la Française |
I wouldn't want to be the servant who had to wash either of those.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that they ever did get washed!
DeleteIn ancient Japan, silk dresses were also washed. To wash a traditional silk dress was like this; 1. Cut the thread that fastened each part of the dress and make the parts apart. 2. Then, wash each part separately and put them on wood panels to dry. 3. After dried, saw them into a dress again.
DeleteHowever, this was possible because Japanese traditional dress was almost made of square parts only and thus was easy to put each parts together again.
Sorry for my poor English. I loved this article!
These are beautiful! :) But I couldn't imagine wearing them today!
ReplyDeleteJulia
http://www.thephillyphotoblog.com/
They were never washed. Only the smallclothes (underclothes) were washed. Linens next to the body were made of washable fabrics. The silks of the gowns were merely brushed with a clothes brush if they got dirty.
ReplyDelete