Women's Fashion from the Ancien Regime


Woman from French Revolution, 1792

This figure, recreated from a period plate, is wearing the typical attire of the Revolution. In contrast to the dresses of the 1770s, this gown in plain and conservative, completely lacking ornamentation. Any show of frivolity was antihetical to the revolutionary values. Powdered hair was viewed as wasteful and royalist. Blue, white, and red became teh favored patriotic colors at the beginning of the Revolution. Black was also popular, and gray was hailed as a politically moderate color. Silk was still popular, though linen, cotton, and wool were more "politically correct."

Back to Women's Fashion in the Ancien Regime


Back to Table of Contents -- Napoleon #4
© Copyright 1996 by Emperor's Press.

This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
The full text and graphics from other military history magazines and gaming magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com