The Colour Palette of Fashion: Black

Unlike other European powers - particularly Spain - black was never truly the colour in French fashion during the 17th and 18th centuries. Instead, the French focused on more colourful ensembles to signify wealth and status. Traditionally, entirely black ensembles were worn for mourning by the French courtiers whereas single articles of clothing could be black if combined with other colours. The Spanish court, in contrast, highly valued somber black outfits and that trend spread to a remarkably wide array of European countries: the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Sweden, Naples etc. Yet, while France stuck to their richer colours that is not to say that they abhorred black or only used it for mourning - rather, it was merely used on a far smaller scale. There was another reason behind the French reluctance to don completely black outfits in the 18th century; traditionally, black had been the colour assigned to the Third Estate in the Estates-General.

Surprisingly enough, black was a particularly difficult colour to achieve which made black clothing quite expensive - especially if the fabrics were valuable in themselves, i.e. silk. The original way to achieve black in Europe was to continually dye a fabric with woad which was otherwise used to get a nice blue tone. Already at that point, the extra labour involved in the dyeing process would have spiked up the prices. 

Caraco 1770-89, Gown late 18th century, suit
1774-89 and suit mid-18th century

These did not fall when a more convenient way of dyeing clothing black was found. The Spanish colonies in South America yielded completely new ways of achieving a more pure black colour - undoubtedly, this was another reason for the Spanish fondness for the shade since it thus displayed their imperial power. With French colonies emerging in the Americas too, logwood became the preferred way of dyeing black.

The introduction of logwood to Europe was an instant hit with the cloth merchants. Logwood is a hardy plant that grows easily and yields a wide variety of dyes besides black: purple, blue, grey.

Lady Frances Courtenay, Marquise of Llano,
Louisa Ulrika of Prussia and Maria Josepha Sobieska

Considering Louis XIV's personal ties with Spain (his wife and mother were both Spaniards and his grandson would become king of Spain) it is hardly surprising that he would often display the colour in his own wardrobe. Notably, he and Philippe d'Orléans took advantage of the dark background to highlight the exquisite diamonds they wore.

Madame de Maintenon also made great use of the darker tones which was quickly followed by other ladies at court. Her predecessor, Madame de Montespan, had worn somewhat richer colours but was noted to have intertwined black ribbons with her curls on several occasions. Armour, too, was often designed to be almost black in colour which contrasted nicely with the intricate details in gold or silver.

Empress Maria Theresia (in mourning), Amalia van
Solms-Braunsfel, (presumed) Count Flaminio Tassi
and Sir Christopher Wren

During the reign of Louis XV there was a general shift from the darker to the lighter colours when it came to fashion. This was largely thanks to the influence of Madame de Pompadour who championed the rococo style. Nevertheless, black still managed to sneak its way into the everyday-life of Versailles. For instance, when it came time for the king's debotter (a brief ceremony when he took off his hunting boots), his daughters, Mesdames, would leave their apartments wearing a black taffeta cloak to conceal the fact that they were basically deshabillé underneath.

In the 1770's and 1780's black was quite fashionable for accessories. For instance, M. de Bouilly noted that Marie Antoinette had worn a pouf of black velvet on the day of his presentation. The death of Louis XV also presented a new opportunity for Rose Bertin to cash in on the royal death. Soon, headdresses with black marigolds or other flowers were seen everywhere.

Jacques François Bégouën, unknown lady, 
Madame de Ventadour and Philippe d'Orléans

Towards the dying years of the French monarchy black was in bad standing; when combined with yellow it represented the imperial house of Austria, the native dynasty of the then-hated Marie Antoinette. It was also seen to be symbolical of the wearer's mourning for the old way of life. Indeed, the records of Rose Bertin shows that after the royal family had been taken to Paris, there was a high demand for black items of clothing. In itself this is rather ironic considering that white was the colour of the French monarchy.