Surviving clothes that belonged to Marie Antoinette 🥿|| 18th century || rococo #history #fashion

“The Nelson and Norfolk exhibition included a bodice said to have been worn by Marie Antoinette. Made in silk of striped white/turquoise, the bodice was clearly meant to be worn over a tightly-laced corset. When the exhibition received the garment for preparation, it was in remarkably poor condition. The sleeves had been cut up as pieces had been taken for mementos over the years; besides the garment was absolutely filthy. After several careful washes, the dull blueish colour turned out to have been originally a bright turquoise.”

“This ruffled ribbon was worn by Marie Antoinette in either 1784 or 1786. Given the colour, it could very well be a mourning item; her youngest daughter, Sophie, died in 1786 which makes a likely candidate for the clothing's origin. Such a ribbon would typically be worn under a hat or a bonnet”

“These slippers were worn by Marie Antoinette herself and are made of striped white and green silk; if you look carefully at the body of the shoe, the green stripes are delicately joined by a pale pink. They were sold at auction by the French auction house Drouot. The shoes were supposedly given to her in 1775 by Alexandre-Bernard Ju-des-Rets. They are now the private property of an unknown bidder.”

“Another shoe which belonged to the late queen was this white silk slipper, also sold on auction. Despite a few tears and stains, the show is in remarkably good condition with two rows of ruffles and a heel of 4,7 cm. It measures 22 cm in length and - besides the silk - is made of goatskin with a leather sole. For once, we know how the shoe survived the turmoils of the royal family's captivity. It was given to the Marie Émilie de la Chapelle who happened to be a good friend of Madame Campan - Marie Antoinette's close confidant. Her husband was also in the king's household but was sadly guillotined in 1794.”

“Perhaps this corset is a result of the queen's dislike for whalebone corsets. This one is made from delicate taffeta but not boned; instead, a piece of curved wood would be inserted at the front, creating the same stiff bodice. It is hard to see from the photo, but the corset is actually slightly blue - it is currently owned by the city of Paris”

“A lace fichu worn by Marie Antoinette; the type of lace is the so-called Beauvais and was made by hand. It came into the possession of Alexandre Chappet de Vangel who served as an officer in the bodyguards attached to the protection of the dauphin and dauphine. From there, it was passed through his family before finally being sold at auction recently.”

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