Women's clothing--France--History--18th century
"Three women led a fashion revolution and turned themselves into international style celebrities. Joséphine Bonaparte, future Empress of France; Térézia Tallien, the most beautiful woman in Europe; and Juliette Récamier, muse of intellectuals, had nothing left to lose. After surviving incarceration and forced incestuous marriage during the worst violence of the French Revolution of 1789, they dared sartorial revolt. Together, Joséphine and Térézia shed the underwear cages and massive, rigid garments that women had been obliged to wear for centuries. They slipped into light, mobile dresses, cropped their hair short, wrapped themselves in shawls, and championed the handbag. Juliette made the new style stand for individual liberty. The erotic audacity of these fashion revolutionaries conquered Europe, starting with Napoleon. Everywhere a fashion magazine could reach, women imitated the news coming from Paris. It was the fastest and most total change in clothing history. Two centuries ahead of its time, it was rolled back after only a decade by misogynist rumors of obscene extravagance. New evidence allows the real fashion revolution to be told. This is a story for our time: of a revolution that demanded universal human rights, of self-creation, of women empowering each other, and of transcendent glamor"-- Provided by publisher.
Cast of characters -- An approximate guide to money -- French Revolution timeline -- Introduction -- Part I: Three Paris shopping trips -- Sumptuary dictates (Joséphine) -- Style enterprise (Térézia) -- Strained seams (Juliette) -- Part II: During the Revolution, 1789-1804 -- Off with their silks, 1789-1793 -- Cut to nothing, 1794 -- Desperate measures (Térézia & Joséphine), 1794-1796 -- At ease (Térézia), 1794-1799 -- Altered fortune (Joséphine & Napoléon), 1794-1796 -- Minimalist principles (Juliette), 1794-1799 -- A directory of accessories, 1794-1804 -- Freedom from clothes (Térézia), 1797-1804 -- Dressed for success (Joséphine), 1797-1804 -- Opposition patterns (Juliette), 1799-1804 -- Part III: After the Revolution -- Order in the wardrobe -- Epilogues -- Conclusion.