The Ornamented Being
Ornamented: -verb: Adorn; beautify
Be·ing: -noun: Fulfillment of possibilities; essential completeness
-
This closeup shows the appliqué and embroidery of Marie’s gown worn to the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896.
-
Full Dress
English, c. 1760
Spitalfield’s silk brocaded lustring
Gift of the Arizona Costume Institute 1983.c.94.A-B
“Spitalfields, once the site of a twelfth-century hospital and previously known as “Hospital Fields,” became a refuge for Protestant weavers fleeing religious persecution after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The woven silks that these artisans produced throughout the eighteenth century were renowned for their fineness and beauty. In 1756 one commentator remarked of the patterns produced by Spitalfields and others, “The spring opens her bountiful treasure every year, and clothes and enamels the earth with endless charms of beauty; she invites us to imitate her as near as possible in all her splendor… what should be the reason manufacturers should not exert their skill in furnishing ladies with dresses suitable to Spring, and garnish them with the sweet blossoms and flowers that season affords.”
This robe à la française is made of a brocaded lustring, typical of Spitalfields design and quality. Lustring, a light crisp silk woven in a fine tabby, attained its high sheen through a particular treatment of the warp (lengthwise yarns). First coated with beer, the warp was then stretched and heated before weaving to impart crispness and shine to the fabric. Silk brocades, in which separate wefts form the all over, interwoven design of the raised motif, were one of the most widely used fabrics of the eighteenth-century. The most important and expensive part of an eighteenth-century dress was the textile, fineness in construction being the least important and least expensive.
This piece was worn for appearance at court or other formal occasions. It consists of an overdress with a closed bodice and open skirt that allows the separate petticoat or skirt to show.”
-
V&A: This is a magnificent example of English court dress of the mid-18th century. It would have been worn by a woman of aristocratic birth for court events involving the royal family. The style of this mantua was perfectly suited for maximum display of wealth and art; this example contains almost 10lb weight of silver thread worked in an elaborate ‘Tree of Life’ Design. The train is signed ‘Rec’d of Mdme Leconte by me Magd. Giles’. The name Leconte has been associated with Huguenot embroideresses working in London between 1710 and 1746. The Huguenots were French Protestants who, following the repressive measures against them that the Catholic monarch Louis XIV of France restarted in 1685, emigrated to Britain and elsewhere.
c. 1740-45
(Source: collections.vam.ac.uk)
-
V&A: This is a magnificent example of English court dress of the mid-18th century. It would have been worn by a woman of aristocratic birth for court events involving the royal family. The style of this mantua was perfectly suited for maximum display of wealth and art; this example contains almost 10lb weight of silver thread worked in an elaborate ‘Tree of Life’ Design. The train is signed ‘Rec’d of Mdme Leconte by me Magd. Giles’. The name Leconte has been associated with Huguenot embroideresses working in London between 1710 and 1746. The Huguenots were French Protestants who, following the repressive measures against them that the Catholic monarch Louis XIV of France restarted in 1685, emigrated to Britain and elsewhere.
-
V&A: This 18th century mantua and petticoat are examples of the very grandest style of court dress. The wide skirt sits over pannier hoops and though it forced the wearer to go sideways through doors, it had the advantage of displaying a large area of lavish decoration. This mantua is made from cream silk and has been embroidered with coloured silk and silver threads. Elaborate flower designs such as these were typical of the rococo style of the 1740’s and 1750’s in England. Not only designed to impress the beholder, they were also botanically very accurate.
(Source: vandaprints.com)
-
Court dress of Louisa Ulrika of Sweden ca. 1751
The Royal Armoury and Hallwyl Palace
Discovered this during a little extracurricular research!
-
-
1928 Boué Soeurs Court Presentation Dress Study photos belonging to Sacheverelle
-
Court presentation dress of white net embroidered in silver cord over pink chiffon trimmed with silk ribbon flowers. French, 1928.
-
-
The dress is made of pure silver cloth
1883 Coronation dress of Marie Feodorovna Kremlin Museum.
