On account of a rapidly moving screen, these movie stills leave something to be desired but bear with me, it’s worth the squinty eye I’m going to force upon you. Helena Bonaham Carter, right, wears an amazing post 1789 Fall of the Bastille gown here. It’s the sort of gown one wouldn’t have seen before this period. First of all, it’s striped with huge pink revers (lapels showing the lining facing out). Second and third, a matching pink stomacher, which I suspect is more of a corset, sports an exaggerated upside down triangle design and the petticoat is not just peeking out, it’s front and center. Whatever’s dangling from her waist reminds me of a man’s fob, but upon closer review, I think they are silhouettes. Either that or she’s wearing sentimental trinkets displaying a favorite person or thing. From an historical perspective, these initally grew in popularity thanks to Marie Antoinette and her elaborate poufs and of course, were similiar to carrying a beloved’s miniature.
A Closer Look
The French Revolution brought about numerous fashion changes including a preponderance of stripes. Why, you ask? Stripes were the outgrowth of the patriotric “constitutional costume” and openly displayed one’s support for the fall of the ancien regime. The national symbol for the revolution, the tricolor cockade, were concentric stripes, red, white and blue. Working class women wore striped skirts. San-culottes and men of political affiliations donned striped stockings. The list goes on and on.
If you are so inclined, The Devil’s Cloth: A History of Stripes can fill your head with more than you ever needed to know about stripes, from the 13th century onward!
Read Part I of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Costume Archives.
Making History Tart & Titillating 