#1890s France

[digitalfashionmuseum]

Blue and red day dress, ca. 1895, French.

By Jean-Philippe Worth.

National Gallery of Victoria.

https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/117074/#

[efemmera-archive]

3 Lesbian Paintings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (circa 1892-93)

"Paris. Late 19th and early 20th century. Quite a few affluent men led double lives: outwardly respectable by day, seekers of erotic titillation at brothels and café cabarets by night. Commercial wealth created by the French Empire bankrolled a sophisticated capital city, which could only be dreamed of elsewhere. But it was the women who brought this dreamworld to life... Young women earned very little money as dancers in the corps de ballet or as artist models. Hardship drove many to become sex workers and courtesans: an existence, for some, marked by destitution, substance abuse, and obscurity; for others, marked by success and acclaim. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) immortalized many of these women in extraordinary drawings and paintings.  Much like the women he painted, Lautrec was always an outsider. Born into an aristocratic family, Lautrec inherited a congenital disease. After he broke both his legs as a teenager, he never properly healed, remaining a dwarf for the rest of his life. Already feeling different from those around him, he turned to the study of fine art and moved to Montmartre, the bohemian district in Paris. His highly productive life was spent largely among nightclub performers, sex workers, and hangers-on. He died at the age of thirty-six from complications of alcoholism and syphilis.... Like no other artist, his drawings openly reveal the secret life of sex workers, many of whom had intimate relationships with each another, finding some emotional comfort and stability in a profession that offered none at the time. He presents real life lesbian sex workers holding each other in bed, kissing, and embracing – in these paintings, it is clear they weren’t performing sex acts for the viewing pleasure of male clients. "

Source

[steampunktendencies]

A rare antique brass knuckles pistol with original case, France, 1890.

[womenshistory]

Group of young women reading in library of normal school, Washington, D.C., Frances Benjamin Johnston, 1899.

[fashionsfromhistory]

Evening Boots

1885-1890

Probably French

While the slipper and the strapped shoe were the most common choice for evening wear in the last third of the 19th century, boots did occasionally continue to appear. As with shoes, the basic evening boot was satin, either plain or featuring an embroidered vamp, usually in floral or foliate designs. Surviving examples of evening boots of the late 19th and early 20th centuries suggest, however, that those daring to wear something already outside of the ordinary often opted as well for unconventionally bold and unusual materials and trimmings. This pair of boots typifies that phenomenon: anachronistic side-lacing, novel and atypically exuberant fret and scroll motifs, and embroidery covering the entire boot, including the heel.

The MET (Accession Number: 2009.300.1477a–d)

[nemfrog]

A person with a sun face sits clothed in a bathtub holding a packet of Ondine starch powder. Illustrated by Misti. 1890.

Gallica

[chic-a-gigot]

La Mode nationale, no. 22, 5 juin 1897, Paris. No. 14. — Petite mante. No. 17. — Mante. No. 21. — Collet mante. No. 23. — Mante. Bibliothèque nationale de France

No. 14. — Petite mante en soie brochée rose sur beige, froncée sur les épaules et remonte dans le haut par un collet formé par des feuilles de satin noir, avec broderies de jais en dessus, petite dentelle autour des feuilles, autour du cou grosse ruche retenue par une draperie de mousseline de soie enroulée et nouée en gros nœuds sur les côtés.

No. 14. — Small pink-on-beige embroidered silk mantle, gathered on the shoulders and raised at the top by a collar formed by black satin leaves, with jet embroidery above, small lace around the leaves, around the neck large ruffle held by a drapery of silk muslin rolled up and tied in large knots on the sides.

—

No. 17. — Mante de drap gris allant plus bas que la taille, montée sur un col Médicis doublé de dentelle blanche; devant, longs revers brodés de soutache noire, même broderie dans le dos.

No. 17. — Gray cloth mantle reaching below the waist, mounted on a Medici collar lined with white lace; front, long lapels embroidered with black soutache, same embroidery on the back.

—

No. 21. — Collet mante de soie brochée vert amande et rouge montée sur haut col Médicis doublée de dentelle; dans le bas, ceinture corselet à revers faisant la mante courte sur le devant.

No. 21. — Collar of almond green and red embroidered silk mantle mounted on a high Medici collar lined with lace; at the bottom, corselet belt with cuffs making the short mantle on the front.

—

No. 23. — Mante de satin vert bouteille montée sur col Médicis, coupé de créneaux doublés de pattes de velours noir, mante à pointes devant et dans le dos, avec grands revers de velours.

No. 23. — Bottle green satin mantle mounted on a Medici collar, cut with crenellations lined with black velvet tabs, pointed mantle in front and back, with large velvet lapels.

[blondebrainpowered]

Paris, 1890

[innocentscemetery]

Mugshots of anarchists taken by Alphonse Bertillon, Paris, 1890's.

Élisée Bastard, 22, polisher.

Pierre Martin, 23, salesperson.

Auguste Solier, 18, draughtsman.

Nicolas Deliège, 19, tailor.

Aimé Léonard, 30, miner.

Georges Brunet, 25, carpenter.

Charles Parisis, 20, tailor.

Cyprien Charrié, 26, printer.

Armand David, 27, earthenware maker.

Armand Godard, 18, electrician.

Met collection

[digitalfashionmuseum]

Green velvet dinner dress, 1894-1896, French.

Designed by Jeanne Hallée.

Met Museum.

[haveyouheardthisband]

[efemmera-archive]

The Sofa by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French, ca. 1894–96

Lautrec set out to document the lives of prostitutes in a series of pictures executed between 1892 and 1896. At first he made sketches in brothels, but he was apparently hampered by insufficient lighting and had his models pose in his studio. He appreciated the naturalness of sitters like this lesbian couple, "who stretch themselves out on the divans…entirely without pretensions." The candid image may take its cue from Degas’s monotypes of brothel scenes and erotic Japanese prints.

Source

And heres a pic i took when i saw it in person today :)

[spyboy2000]

𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐠𝐡:

First Steps. 1890. Oil on canvas: 72 × 91 cm (28 × 36 in).

The Siesta. 1890. Oil on canvas: 72 × 91 cm (28 × 36 in).

[danskjavlarna]

Source details and larger version.

Vintage France imagery.

[fashionsfromhistory]

Dress Owned by Lydia Williams Lyman (Mrs. Robert Treat Paine)

Emile Pingat (Paris, France)

1885-1890

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Accession Number: 56.849b)

[labyrinthofstreams]

"Group of young women performing atmospheric pressure experiments while studying science in school, Washington, D.C."

Photographed by Frances Benjamin Johnston, 1899.