#Robe à la française

[frostedmagnolias]

robe à la française

c. 1740

Musée des Arts Décoratifs

[history-of-fashion]

1770-1775 Robe à la française, consisting of an overcoat and skirt

silk

(Centraal Museum, Utrecht)

[resplendentoutfit]

Robe à la Française, Part II

Fig. 1: Robe à la française • 1730-1740 • © Stanislas Wolff / Paris Musées, Palais Galliera

When I was researching the Rococo fashion era, I collected so many images and I have to share some of my favorites. It's not so much the style of the Robe à la Française that I like (though I do very much like the box pleats and drape of the back) but the fabrics, colors, and patterns. Fig. 1 shows a gorgeous print in a beautiful color combination. Such a print for a dress today wouldn't work very well, as contemporary dresses don't have the volume of the 18th century styles, nor the lovely draping in the back of the Robe à la Française.

The Robe à la Française was derived from the loose negligee sacque dress of the earlier part of the century, which was pleated from the shoulders at the front at the back.

Metropolitan Museum of Art • 1760-70 • Silk, cotton

The silhouette was achieved with a funnel-shaped bust joining wide rectangular skirts. The wide skirts were supported by panniers and hoops constructed from cane, metal, and baleen. Fig. 2 shows a portrait sitter wearing a Robe à la Française with a contrasting underskirt.

Fig. 2: Artist unknown (British). Mrs. Cadoux, ca. 1770

[heaveninawildflower]

Woman’s Dress (Robe à la française). France (1760s-1770s).

Silk taffeta.

Images and text information courtesy LACMA.

[digitalfashionmuseum]

Purple Silk Robe à la Française, 1770-1775, English.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

[gogmstuff]

Early 1730s dresses (from top to bottom) -

1730 Tea Party at Lord Harrington's by C. Phillips detail (Yale Center for British Art, Yale University - New Haven, Connecticut, USA). Probably from Wikimedia; fixed spots with Pshop 1247X1623. There are many caps and veils, square necklines, and laced bodices with revers. But full-blown panniers are not to be seen.

1730 Marquise de Gueydan as Flora by Nicolas de Largillière (Musée Granee - Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France). From cutlermiles.com/portrait-of-marquise-de-gueydan-as-flora-nicolas-de-largilliere/ 1908X2484. She wears a stout Swiss belt and cleft coiffure that harken back to the late Louis XIV era.

ca. 1730 Empress Elisabeth Christine by Johann Gottfried Auerbach (auctioned, probably by Lempertz). From Wikimedia trimmed 1715X2352. She wears a round skirt and a scoop neckline.

ca. 1730 Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg, Queen of Sardinia by Maria Giovanna Clementi (location ?). From tumblr.com/blog/view/jeannepompadour; enlarged by half 1053X1385. Her dress has a deep V neckline filled in by a modesty piece.

ca. 1730 Rhoda Apreece, Mrs Francis Blake Delaval attributed to Enoch Seeman the Younger (Seaton Delaval - Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, UK). From artuk.org; enlarged by half 994X1200. The ruff makes this a Van Dyck revival dress. The laced vest and jaunty hat lend a casual air to the portrait.

ca. 1730 Robe volante (Musée de la Mode - Paris, France). From fripperiesandfobs.tumblr.com-post-139802377452-robe-volante-ca-1730-from-the-palais-galliera 1140X1620. Dresses before the 1750s often had cuffs that could be substantial like these.

1731 Die Liebeserklärung by Jean François de Troy (Sanssouci, Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin - Brandenburg, Germany). From artsandculture.google.com/asset/die-liebeserklärung-jean-françois-de-troy/XAFpCyLiWrxHZw?h 3074X24.12. Known in the Anglophone world as “The Declaration of Love. The large patterns mark this as early century. The robe à la française is firmly established in the form it would take until the late Louis XVI period.

1731 Infanta Maria Teresa Antonia de Borbón by Jean Ranc (Museo del Prado - Madrid, Spain). From their Web site; removed spots and streaks with Photoshop 2621X3051. Spain was ruled by Borbóns after the last Habsburg was cleared out in the early 1700s.

1731 Julia Calverley, Lady Trevelyan, by Enoch Seeman the Younger (Wallington Hall - Wallington, Northumberland, UK). From nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/584399; erased navigation marks in corners & fixed spots w Pshop 1616X1992. Clasps replace lacing to close this bodice.

1731 Lady by John Vanderbank (location ?). From the Philip Mould Historical Portraits Image Library 920X1214. The dress is Van Dyck revival similar to the one worn by Rhoda Apreece.

[theodoreangelos]

Dress – robe à la française (late 1770s; fabric 1750-60s) The Kyoto Costume Institute (KCI), photo by Takashi Hatakeyama 公益財団法人 京都服飾文化研究財団, 撮影いただきました畠山崇 様 Kyōto Fukushoku Bunka Kenkyū Zaidan Ivory Lyons silk striped brocade with floral pattern of chenille; self-fabric trim; matching petticoat; stomacher of matching fabric with flower ornaments of chenille; sabot sleeves. Detailed description

• Dress (“robe à la française”). Date: Late 1770’s (fabric: 1750-60’s) Place of origin: France

[mlle-erica]

Florence très parisienne élégante dans sa robe moulante.

[frostedmagnolias]

Robe à la française

c. 1770 - 1775

Centraal Museum, Utrecht

[resplendentoutfit]

Rococo Fashion: Robe à la Française

The robe à la française was derived from the loose negligee sacque dress of the earlier part of the 18th century, which was pleated from the shoulders at the front and the back. The silhouette, composed of a funnel-shaped bust feeding into wide rectangular skirts, was inspired by Spanish designs of the previous century and allowed for expansive amounts of textiles with delicate Rococo curvilinear decoration.

The wide skirts, which were often open at the front to expose a highly decorated underskirt, were supported by panniers created from padding and hoops of different materials such as cane, baleen or metal.

The robes à la française are renowned for the beauty of their textiles, the cut of the back employing box pleats and skirt decorations, known as robings, which showed endless imagination and variety.

Jean-François de Troy (French, 1679–1752) • La Déclaration d'amour • 1731

Robe à la Française • 18th century (probably 1770s) • silk

[jsebouvi]

La vie en rose version 1

[digitalfashionmuseum]

Blue Quilted Silk Robe à la Française, ca. 1750, European.

Met Museum.

[fripperiesandfobs]

Robe à la française, 1750-60

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art

[costumeloverz71]

Robe à la française, c.1770

[recycledmoviecostumes]

More Halloween thrills and chills are on the way—make sure to follow us daily for new Halloween-related costume posts all month long! In the beloved 1993 Halloween classic 𝑯𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝑷𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔, Vanessa Shaw’s character wore this incredible peach robe à la française to her parents’ Halloween Party. However, this piece did not originate with 𝑯𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝑷𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔! It was initially designed by James Acheson for Michelle Pfeiffer as Madame De Tourvel in the 1988 film 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑳𝒊𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔. Find out where else this costume has been used at bit.ly/StuGeo069

[frostedmagnolias]

Robe à la française

1770-1790

Amsterdam Museum