Lyon in the south-east of France was by the late 17^th century the silk-weaving capital of Europe, its products ranging from simple, lightweight plain silks to elaborate brocaded silks woven with silver and gold. It was to these patterned silks that the city owed its reputation, as designers created new ranges of patterns seasonally, thus outdating silks woven to the previous season’s designs. The frontispiece commissioned for the final volume of the inventory of the papers of the silk weaving guild in the late 18^th century suggests that these silks sold on four continents, including in the Americas. ‘As long as extravagance reigns, the manufacture will survive’, proclaimed the legend on the drawing. Continue reading “L” IS FOR LYON. THE MARKETING AMBITIONS OF EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH MERCHANT MANUFACTURERS, OR WHERE DID ALL THE LYONNAIS SILKS GO? LESLEY MILLER, SENIOR CURATOR OF TEXTILES, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON/PROFESSOR OF DRESS AND TEXTILE HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW →

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The lady on this Casta painting is wearing a huipil (from Aztec: huipilli) – the pre-Columbian and contemporary native women costume in Mexico and Mesoamerica. Continue reading “T” for Traditional Mexican Woman Dress called: Huipil. Lena Bjerregaard, Conservator, Guest Researcher, Centre for Textile Research/SAXO Institute, University of Copenhagen →

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In the pre-Columbian times the woman’s outer garment was the mantle, or the manta. The mantle (Spanish: Manta, Quechua: Lliclla) of the pre-Columbian Inca ladies was a square textile, which was held together with a pin in the front. This garment was for many centuries the favourite over garment all over Peru. It was in classic times woven in alpaca wool on an upright loom, but was later also sewn together from two rectangular textiles woven on the back strap loom. Continue reading “M” for MANTA. Lena Bjerregaard, Conservator, Guest Researcher, Centre for Textile Research/SAXO Institute, University of Copenhagen →

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A stunning yellow moiré dress from the early 18^th century is conserved in the collection of the National Museum of History in Mexico City. This dress consists of two parts: a bodice that closes at the front, and a skirt that was probably worn with a small panier underneath. Both of them were tailored with a fabric that was intentionally cut and sewn in order to symmetrically place the metal brocade motives throughout the dress. On the inside, the bodice possesses a fine, bright pink lining. Continue reading “Y” for Yellow Moiré silk Dress. Laura G. García-Vedrenne, M Phil student in Textile Conservation, Centre for Textile Conservation, University of Glasgow →

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According to the 1803 dictionary of the Real Academia Española, gandaya meant both ‘type of hair bonnet’ and ‘mischievous, idle, free living’. No scholar has ever paid attention to the relationship between these two meanings and the majismo. The gandaya was a headdress usually knitted, colourful and, depending on the wearer’s wealth, made of silk. It was characterized by a lavish hanging tasselled ‘tail’ that swayed loosely following the movements of whoever wore it, captivating everyone’s attention. Not surprisingly, majos borrowed this accessory (originally a Catalan-Valencian adornment, therefore autochthonous) for the essential mise-en-scène of their ‘figure’. Continue reading “H” for Headdress: The Gandaya, a colourful silk knitted bonnet in Global-Spain. Victoria de Lorenzo, MA alumni at the Royal College of Art/Victoria and Albert Museum, London →

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To the anonymous mannequins standing in fashion plates, the Bonnarts rapidly added portraits of high- ranking people from the Court. Repeating the same formal codes, these “portraits in mode” speculated on the celebrity of people from the Court, by adding to the stereotype image of a young and elegant man the name of a well-known person from the Court entourage. Praising their appearances and their “beauty”, these images were also a way for the merchants, who were selling them, to compliment and flatter the sitter. Continue reading “R” for Refashioning Fashion Plates in Early Modern Europe. Pascale Cugy & Corinne Thépaut-Cabasset →

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Les quatre frères Bonnart, nés entre 1637 et 1654 à Paris, sont particulièrement célèbres pour leurs images de vêtements, produites en grande quantité à partir des années 1680 et considérées comme les premières estampes à pouvoir vraiment prétendre au titre de « gravures de mode ». Ces centaines de planches de même format, gravées à l’eau-forte et au burin, très stéréotypées dans leur présentation, sont depuis longtemps perçues comme une chronique des apparences du règne de Louis XIV. Continue reading “N” for Night Gown: The Informal Gown of a Lady Wear. A customized fashion plate circa 1700: Dame de la Cour en « déshabillé négligé ». Pascale Cugy, Docteur in History of Art, University of Paris-Sorbonne →

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Discovered in a box in the Church of Santa Clara de Asís, California, a group of about one hundred pieces including liturgical vestments and related items from the Mission era, today represents the most important part of the historical collection in the de Saisset Museum next to the Mission Church on the campus of Santa Clara University. As in similar collections in the other Missions (twenty one in total) in California, the liturgical vestments encompass different styles, mainly 18^th-19^th century French, Italian, Spanish, and also Chinese. Continue reading “E” for Embroidery: Mission Style in Alta California. Mariachiara Gasparini, Adjunct Lecturer, Art & Art History department, Santa Clara University, California →

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With a population of between 6 and 8 million in 1700, larger than the Netherlands, Denmark, or England, the Spanish colonies in the Americas constituted a vast, wealthy market for a wide variety of European textiles. Despite local colonial production of woollen and cotton fabrics, Spanish American consumers were heavily reliant on European manufacturers, especially for higher quality textiles. Few of these textiles were manufactured in Spain. By the end of the 17^th century, over 90% of the manufactured goods exported in the annual fleets which sailed from Cadiz originated outside Spain. The textiles smuggled into Spanish America from the neighbouring American colonies of other European powers, such as British Jamaica or Dutch Curaçao, were even more likely to have a non-Spanish origin. Continue reading “W” for Wool: War and Worsteds / Words and Things. Exploring the market for woollen textiles in early-modern Spanish America. John Styles, Research Professor in History, University of Hertfordshire, UK →

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“Besides, the consumption of all sorts of silk fabrics should be seen in Mexico as the main point of its commerce; clergy men, gentlemen, merchants, bourgeois, artisans, craftsmen and even Africans and mulatto, they all dress in silk for most part of the year. Therefore Spain, together with France, should focus firmly on this trade in order to rectify the deterioration in the situation due to the introduction of silk from China to Mexico.” (Translated from Jean de Monségur, 1709, chap. XXXVII)

Court dresses from the Eighteenth-century were made with extremely luxurious materials, and possessed three essential parts: a train, a rigid bodice, and a skirt (commonly called petticoat) that had to be used with a panier underneath. This type of dresses is usually defined by its function because court dress was worn in the presence of the royal couple. In the case of the New Spain, it is likely that it was used in front of the viceroys. However, more research is needed because formal dress could also be seen in important city celebrations, weddings, taking of vows, etc. Continue reading “C” for Court Dress: An elaborate masterpiece made of green silk velvet, 1780-1790. Laura G. García-Vedrenne, Conservator, National Museum of History, Mexico →

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Stockings for children are rarely found in museum collections, but they do exist. The Museum of Copenhagen has several different samples, and they tell a bit about the way children were seen and cared for in the 17^th century. Continue reading “S” for Stockings for children. Charlotte Rimstad, Ph. D. Student, Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen →

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“Stockings embroidered with gold and silver, and garters: very few assortments of this type of stockings would be sold, but as was noted in the article on silk stockings, they should be wider from the calf down to the heal, like those from Genoa. Having said that, those produced in Lyon are more beautiful and more highly regarded. The colors must be beautiful and as described in the article on silk stockings.

Along with the stockings, one should have an assortment of embroidered garters like those from Genoa. There should be one pair of garters for every four pairs of stockings. No garters are produced in Spain, and none have come yet from China.” (Translated from Jean de Monségur, 1709, Chap. XXXVIII)

Some examples of garters from early modern time Continue reading “G” for Garters: →

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“Silks Black sewn silk stockings, long enough to be rolled. Those from Seville are more highly regarded than those from France; Short stockings of the same quality, not intended to be rolled, but rather for use with the golille outfit, which have since fallen out of fashion. Other silk stockings of all colours and all lengths, for both men and women: Stockings from Naples and Milan called punto, both for men (when not rolled), as well as for women and children. This type of stocking is made in Toledo in Seville and across Spain, but those from Milan are considered the best. These stockings are also produced in France, and they are without question the most beautiful and the best of them all, but since they are also the most expensive- and have the disadvantage of being too narrow from the calf down to the heel- they do not sell as quickly as the others. In the detailed listing of the assortment of the cargo earlier mentioned, we will see which colours are the most coveted, with red and blue generally being the most popular. Many of this type of stocking also comes from China, and although they are not as good quality or as beautiful as those from Spain, France, or Italy, sales of these have detrimental effects on the consumption of the European ones, since they are offered at a better price.” (Translated from Jean de Monségur, 1709, Chap. XXXVIII) Continue reading “S” for Stockings: Made in Europe – but where? Edwina Ehrman, Curator of Textiles and Fashion, Victoria and Albert Museum, London →

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“Fans Assortment with beautiful and pleasant portraits and figures, with ivory sticks, all painted in bright colors, and some others dull.” (Translated from Jean de Monségur, 1709, Chap. XL)

« Les éventails à la mode sont de taffetas de différentes couleurs, et argentés. Continue reading “F” for Fan: Fashionable fans. PhD Georgina Letourmy-Bordier, Fan Expert →

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