The XVIIIth century; its institutions, customs, and costumes France, 1700-1789 . sing states that the Marquis de Mirepoix paid his tailor £20^for the use of dresses which he only wore once. The Marquis deStainville, the Envoy of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, ordered forthe entertainments at Versailles a coat of silver cloth, embroideredwith gold and lined with sable, the lining alone costing ;^ excessive expenditure was often encouraged, where it was notabsolutely enjoined by the King himself, and Barbier, writing inDecember, 1751, states that the courtiers launched into the
The XVIIIth century; its institutions, customs, and costumes France, 1700-1789 . sing states that the Marquis de Mirepoix paid his tailor £20^for the use of dresses which he only wore once. The Marquis deStainville, the Envoy of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, ordered forthe entertainments at Versailles a coat of silver cloth, embroideredwith gold and lined with sable, the lining alone costing ;^ excessive expenditure was often encouraged, where it was notabsolutely enjoined by the King himself, and Barbier, writing inDecember, 1751, states that the courtiers launched into the mostreckless expenditure on the occasion of the fetes given to celebratethe birth of the Due de Bourgogne : The King has let all thegentlemen and ladies of the Court understand that they must appearin gorgeous dresses, and not in plain black velvet. This led to a I>J?£SS AND FASHIONS. 465 heavy expenditure. The Due de Chartres and the Due dePenthievre were the most richly attired, the button-holes of theircoats being sewn with diamonds ; the other guests were dressed in. Fig. 294.—The young sponsors ; after Moreau. gold materials of great price, or coloured velvets embroidered withgold or trimmed with Spanish lace. The magistracy and the higher bourgeoisie clung as long aspossible to a simple and modest mode of dress, and Duclos recordsin his Memoirs, written about 1740 : Thirty years ago you wouldnever have seen a pedestrian dressed in velvet, and M. de Caumartin,Councillor of State, who died in i 720, was the first gentleman of the 3 o 466 2HE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. long robe who adopted this custom .... While the highest branch ofthe magistracy displayed so much modesty, the fmanciers could notwell be ostentatious, and even the Avealthiest of them lived veryquietly. I have seen some of them who were content with a plaincarriage, lined with brown cloth, such as Serrefort recommends toMadame Patin in the comedy of Le Chevalier a la mode, (playedin 1687) .... In earlier ti
Size: 1415px × 1766px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherlondonbickersson
