THE VINTAGE THIMBLE

18th Century Woman’s Hairstyles A collection of 18th Century paintings from France & England, depicting some of the hairstyles of the time, among them the tête de mouton (or “sheep’s head”), the pouf & the hérisson (or “hedgehog”).

Interestingly as I was gathering paintings for this reference , I came across this excerpt regarding the elaborate hairstyles that were fashionable during the 1770’s from Marie-Antoinette Mother, Queen Maria Theresa to Marie-Antoinette.

In 1775, Queen Maria Theresa of Austria-Hungary wrote to her daughter Marie-Antoinette -“Likewise I cannot help but touch upon a point that many of the papers repeat to me too often: it is the hairstyle that you wear. They say that from the roots it measures 36 pouces high and with all the feathers and ribbons that hold all of that up! You know that I have always been of the opinion that one should follow fashion moderately, but never carry it to excess. A pretty young queen full of charms has no need of all these follies. Quite the contrary. A simple hairstyle suits her better and is more appropriate for a queen. She must set the tone, and everyone will hurry to follow even your smallest errors…”

Marie-Antoinette responded - “It is true that I am a bit occupied by my hairstyle, and as for the feathers, everyone wears them, and it would look extraordinarily out of place not to” (source: Hosford, Desmond. “The Queen’s Hair: Marie-Antoinette, Politics, and DNA.”).

Men’s Hairstyles Victorian [x] Woman’s Hairstyles Victorian [x] | Edwardian [x] | 1920’s [x] | 1930’s [x] | WW2 [x]

Royal Naval Waistcoat. Royal Naval uniform: pattern 1795. Circa 1795. English. Cotton; gilt brass & wool. This white wool waistcoat of the 1795 pattern. The rank and status of the wearer was indicated by the pattern of the button, in this case a flag officer. It is interesting to note that the waistcoat retains the three-point pocket flap, which would have been considered old fashioned in 1795. | Royal Museums Greenwich

Royal Naval uniform Royal Naval uniform: pattern 1795-1812. 18th-19th century. English. Brass; gold alloy; linen; silk & wool. This uniform, which belonged to Admiral Sir William Cornwallis (1744-1819) illustrates the principal changes to uniform regulations for the year 1795. These include the change in colour of the lapels and cuffs from white to blue and the inclusion of epaulettes. Epaulettes were a military fashion that came from France, and although they were not mentioned in uniform regulations until 1795, some officers wore them anyway. In terms of contemporary fashion, this uniform reflects popular styles with its narrow sleeves, cuffs and lapels, and illustrates the leaner silhouette that was popular in male dress towards the end of the 18th century. | Royal Museums Greenwich

Corset England, 1890-1895. Cotton. | ↳ LACMA

Spectacles 15th century. Material: bone.

These bone framed spectacles were originally fitted with convex lenses for reading. The English friar Roger Bacon made the earliest reference to using a lens to enhance the eyesight in 1268. The demand for reading glasses increased after the middle of the 15th century, when printed books began to appear. | Museum of London

English Court Mantua 1755-1760 (made), 1753-1755 (fabric woven). England (made), France (woven).

This richly brocaded ensemble illustrates the style of dress worn by women at court in England. Known as a mantua, the gown consists of a bodice with a train at the back. A very wide petticoat of matching silk completes the ensemble along with a triangle of silk known as a stomacher, in the centre front.

Although considered stylish daywear in the early 18th century, the mantua had become very old-fashioned by the 1750s and was worn only for court dress. Wide hoops were beginning to go out of style, but kept their extreme width at court. To make up for its conservative cut, court dress was always made from the most fashionable as well as expensive fabrics and trimmings.

This example is made from an ivory silk brocaded in a pattern of stylised flowers and leaves. The abstract form of the motifs is accentuated by the non-naturalistic colours of the precious metal threads. Such a design is typical of French silk weavers and the fabric was probably imported. However it could also have been woven in London, as English weavers copied French designs very closely. | V&A

Formal Egyptian-Silk Overdress, English, c. 1801. | ROM

Overdress of a woman's 3 piece dress (robe à la française),circa 1750s, Rococo. | ROM

Dress (Mantua),1740-50s-England Material: Blue silk taffeta brocade with botanical pattern, buttons to tack train; matching petticoat. ↳ KCI