Bright Flowers

Marina Cristalle plays Madame de Laborde in "Louis XV: Le Soleil Noir" in which she wears this brightly coloured gown. The patterns are floral in green and red tones on a cream background; the skirt itself and some of the bodice is a special peach-colour.
It is worth noticing the large amounts of ruffles on this dress: almost every line has been decorated with large ruffles in matching colours. Of course, the white lace at the elbow was customary at the time. The floral pattern is continued in the decoration of her neck-ribbon - a cream-coloured rosebud with two leaves are attached to it.
Notice how the bodice is rather pointed - this was fashionable in the beginning and middle of the 18th century.

A Cruel Verse

Some of the verses that circulated Paris throughout the l'ancien régieme seems harsh and very insulting to us but at the time were not meant as an insult but rather a joke. However, other verses aimed at insulting the main "character" as much as possible - and no subject was too personal to be dealt with. This verse was known to all at court:

"By your manners noble and frank,

Iris, you enchant our hearts;

On our path you spread flowers,

But they are only flowers of white"

The verse was about Madame de Pompadour who had recently suffered a miscarriage. Most courtiers knew that the Marquise suffered from a gynaecological illness that was known as "leucorrhea" which was a white discharge from her "lower regions" - it is possible that the disease was an unfortunate side-effect of the birth of her daughter. Because of the colour of the vaginal discharge it was often referred to as "white flowers". It was rumoured that the verse was authored by Maurepas - a long-time enemy of the maîtresse-en-titre.   

Anne d'Arpajon, Comtesse de Noailles

Anne Claude Louise d'Arpajon was born on March 7, 1729 as a French aristocrat. Not much is known of her childhood which she spent at her father's marquisat Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon. Anne married Philippe de Noailles, Duc de Noailles which made her the Duchesse de Noailles on November 17, 1741. It was a very advantageousness match since the Noailles family was one of the leading noble families in France.

Anne de Noailles (as she was now titled) was among those who went to the French border in 1770 to greet Marie Antoinette. Anne was not merely a lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette, she was in charge of the Dauphine's household and was responsible for making the Dauphine familiar with the strict court etiquette. Personally, Anne was convinced that etiquette was important and was always making sure that Marie Antoinette followed the unwritten rules to a fault. Of course, to a fourteen year old girl this was not received very well and Marie Antoinette nicknamed Anne "Madame Etiquette".

Four years later in 1774 Anne was fired by Marie Antoinette from her post which meant that Anne lost a valuable position at court. Anne consequently joined the company of the Mesdames Tantes at Bellevue were the young Queen was not thought highly of. Anne would have six children with her husband but three of them would die in their childhoods. When the revolution swept through France it did not spare the Comte and Comtesse de Noailles. Anne and Philippe were both executed on June 24, 1794.

Game Purse of Marie Leszczynska

The court was mad about gambling even though it was formally considered a faux pas. The monarchs often joined the games on their evening soirées and for that they would need a purse to contain their personal "poker chips". Of course the purse had to be just as elaborately decorated as everything else the monarch came in contact with.
This is the gamble purse of Marie Leszczynska which has been embroidered with her personal arms. The main fabric is red velvet - a very expensive fabric. Two golden tassels hangs on each side of the purse.

The Tricorn Hat

The tricorn was a popular type of hat during the 18th century worn by both men and women - however women would usually wear a smaller version of the hat. Originally the triangular shape was practical because it protected the wearer's face from rain and sun. This made it ideal to use in the army and the navy but it spread to the court which - of course - turned the hat fashionable. Soon the hat was seen decorated by feathers, silk and small ornaments. Originally the hat worn by soldiers was made of simple black, grey or brown fabrics without any other decoration than the national emblem at the front of the hat. The special feature of the tricorn is that the brims were pinned up to the top of the hat - thus creating the triangular shape.
By the end of the 18th century the tricorn had gone out of fashion and slowly evolved into the bricorn.

Portrait of Marie Antoinette shortly after her
arrival in France 

A young Louis XV wearing a feathered and jewelled tricorn hat

Corsets - the Shape of a Lady

The corset was an essential part of a woman's attire in the 18th century but the term "corset" was not invented until the 19th century - before that it was known as a "stay". The stay was such an important part of a woman's attire that even very poor women were supposed to wear them - prostitutes would wear loose stays to signal that it could easily be removed if a customer wished it. The purpose of the corset was to create a small waist as well as tightening the bust and enhance the breast - almost like a push-up bra. In the 18th century the stay was considered a part of a lady's underwear but it had previously been a part of the visible dress. Now, it was worn over a shift or a chemise and so was not in direct contact with the skin.
At the very beginning of the 18th century the stays were long in the front (forming a "V") but remarkably shorter at the back.

To make sure that the corset would stay in place and constantly provide the lady with the desired small waist it had to be made out of rather hard materials. A gentlewoman's stay would consist of several layers of linen which had been stiffened with a sort of paste. Besides, several "channels" would be hand-sewn into the linen - the channels would be stiffened with whalebone. Towards the end of the 18th century the old-fashioned stays - that would be very stiff and painful to wear - had been replaced by a more relaxed style that would put focus on the breasts. Horace Walpole noted that a lady had been severely bruised by her corset!
Even though the stay was considered an integrated piece of underwear it would still be lavishly decorated with silks. When wearing a corset a woman could not bend forwards at the waist but it was actually very healthy - it would mean that women would always lift with their legs thus sparing their backs.

Pretty example of an 18th century stay (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

A rather good description of how a stay was laced

                

                   French, between 1735-1770

Étionne Francois, Duc de Choiseul

Étionne François was born on June 28, 1719 as the son of the Marquis de Choiseul who was one of the Duke de Lorraine's closest advisers. Upon his birth, Étionne was immediately created the Comte de Stainville.

Like most other young men of the nobility, Étionne soon participated in warfare. He was known to have conducted himself well at the battle of Coni in 1744. It was also him who was sent back to Paris with the message that France had lost the battle of Dettigen. When he married Louise Honorine Crozat, Étionne had become a lieutenant-general; through this marriage Étionne's fortune became a great deal larger.
Étionne was the cousin of Madame de Choiseul whom Louis XV had begun a short and low-key love affair with and happened to be in possession of some letters from the King. Étionne showed them to Madame de Pompadour who was so grateful that she supported Étionne's political career.