18TH CENTURY

ROCOCO PERIOD

INTRODUCTION
Rococo comes from the french words for

rocks(rocaille) and shells (coquilles) and evolved

from the baroque style, also known as late
baroque.
The rococo style embodies light and beauty and
is inspired by nature, people, curved lines and
light colors.

FASHION LEADER

Ironically, the single most important figure to

establish Rococo fashions was Louis XVs
mistress Madame Pompadour. She adored
pastel colors and the light, happy style which
came to be known as Rococo, and
subsequently light stripe and floral patterns
became popular. Towards the end of the period,
Marie Antoinette became the leader of French
fashion, as did her dressmaker Rose
Bertin. Extreme extravagance was her
trademark.

MENS CLOTHING
Men generally wore different variations of the

habit la franaise: a coat, waistcoat, and

breeches.
The waistcoat was the most decorative piece,
usually lavishly embroidered or displaying
patterned fabrics.
Lace jabots were still worn tied around the
neck.
Breeches usually stopped at the knee, with white
stockings worn underneath and heeled shoes,
which usually had large square buckles.
Coats were worn closer to the body and were not
as skirt-like as during the Baroque era. They
were also worn more open to showcase the

FRENCH REVOLUTION
Fashion played a large role in the French
Revolution. Revolutionaries characterized
themselves by patriotically wearing the tricolor
red, white, and blueon rosettes, skirts,
breeches, etc. Since most of the rebellion was
accomplished by the lower class, they called
themselves sans-culottes, or without breeches,
as they wore ankle-length trousers of the working
class. This caused knee breeches to become
extremely unpopular and even dangerous to wear
in France. Clothing became a matter of life or
death; riots and murders could be caused simply
because someone was not wearing a tricolor
rosette and people wearing extravagant gowns or
suits were accused of being aristocrats.

WOMENS CLOTHING
A new silhouette for women was

developing. Panniers, or wide hoops worn under

the skirt that extended sideways, became a
staple.
Extremely wide panniers were worn to formal
occasions, while smaller ones were worn in
everyday settings.
Waists were tightly constricted by corsets,
provided contrasts to the wide skirts.
Plunging necklines also became common.
Skirts usually opened at the front, displaying an
underskirt or petticoat.

WOMENS CLOTHING
Pagoda sleeves arose about halfway through the

18th century, which were tight from shoulder to

elbow and ended with flared lace and ribbons.

WOMENS CLOTHING
There were a few main types of dresses worn during

this period. The Watteau gown had a loose back

which became part of the full skirt and a tight
bodice. The robe la franaise also had a tight
bodice with a low-cut square neckline, usually with
large ribbon bows down the front, wide panniers, and
was lavishly trimmed with all manner of lace, ribbon,
and flowers.
The robe langlais featured a snug bodice with a full
skirt worn without panniers, usually cut a bit longer in
the back to form a small train, and often some type of
lace kerchief was worn around the neckline. These
gowns were often worn with short, wide-lapeled
jackets modeled after mens redingotes. Marie
Antoinette introduced the chemise la reine ,a loose
white gown with a colorful silk sash around the
waist. This was considered shocking for women at
first, as no corset was worn and the natural figure was

FOOTWEAR
Mens shoes were still of practical dark colours with a

high polish added from around 1725. Occasionally red

heels were still worn for court, and red sole edges
remained in vogue until around 1760.
Velvet was used primarily for dress wear. For dancing,
satin shoes were seen, though fabric was quite
uncommon for mens daily wear. Mules at the
beginning of the period were made from brocade.
Later they changed to light leathers of assorted
colours.
For womens shoes, fabric was much more popular.
Silk and wool were the primary materials. The lower
classes favoured hardwearing wool, but this fabric
was also used by the upper classes for winter wear.
There were few leather and suede shoes in the
womens wardrobe, though the fabric shoes were
often lined with white kid

FOOTWEAR
The footwear was pointed.

Later the shoes had heels, the heels was about

1.
The buckle was an extremely important part of
the shoe during this period. While the shoes
themselves were rather plain, the buckle was
elaborate and extremely expensive. The buckle
was where all of the decoration was channelled.
Mules were still popular for men- They were first
of brocade, but then changed to light leather.

FOOTWEAR
Womens heels became much daintier with

slimmer heels and pretty decorations.

calf-high kid, front-laced boot

JEWELRY
Rococo style is marked by the asymmetry of their

naturalistic designs.
Many flowers, foliage, ribbon,scrollwork and
feathers were the images depicted.
They would either be engraved or embossed on
the metal.
This style was mainly found in functional jewelry
such as chatelaines and snuff boxes.

HAIRSTYLES
MEN:

Wigs were usually worn by men, preferably

white.
The cadogan style of mens hair developed and
became popular during the period, with horizontal
rolls of hair over the ears.

HAIRSTYLES
WOMEN:
At the beginning of the period, women wore their

hair tight to the head, sometimes powdered or

topped with lace kerchiefs, a stark contrast to
their wide panniers.
However, hair progressively was worn higher and
higher until wigs were required.
These towering tresses were elaborately curled
and adorned with feathers, flowers, miniature
sculptures and figures.
Hair was powdered with wheat meal and flour,
which caused outrage among lower classes as
the price of bread became dangerously high.

HEADDRESS
MEN:

Tricorne hats became popular during this period,

often edged with braid and decorated with ostrich

feathers.

MATERIALS USED
Light weight silk like taffeta and satin (since they

were layered around the body several times).

Large floral motifs were popular at first.
Then smaller motifs became popular.

CONCLUSION
The Rococo era was defined by seemingly

contrasting aspects: extravagance and a quest

for simplicity, light colors and heavy materials,
aristocrats and the bourgeoisie. This culmination
produced a very diverse era in fashion like none
ever before. Although this movement was largely
ended with the French Revolution, its ideas and
main aspects strongly affected future fashions for
decades

CLOTHING FROM BAROQUE TO

ROCOCO
1650

The woman wears a high-waisted dress

with a falling, wide lace collar and turned-back
lace cuffs common during the early Baroque
era. The man wears a cavalier-style outfit with a
high-waisted jacket, wide lace collar, lace cuffs,
and high boots. Decorative canes became very
popular during this period and many men would
carry them around as an accessory.

 1660

The woman on the left wears the German

fashions of the period, with puffed sleeves, a
small hooped skirt, and a fur hat. The woman on
the right is dressed in the Scandinavian style,
with a brocade palatine or capelet over her
shoulders and a white cap. Both women wear
decorative aprons and a housewife hanging
from their waists

 1670

The woman wears a wide collar trimmed

with ermine fur, a muff, a hood, and a velvet mask
to keep out the cold. Her underskirt is
trimmed with gold embroidery and her bodice and
sleeves are trimmed with ribbons. The man
wears a long coat, breeches with hose
underneath, and a wide-brimmed hat with
feathers on it. He also carries a cane.

 1690

The man wears Rhinegrave breeches

under a long, buttoned coat, a lace jabot, and
large boots. His hair is worn long and free in the
style of Louis XIV. The woman wears a high
fontage headdress and the stiff stomacher that
returned to fashion in the latter part of the
Baroque period. Her decorative apron,
headdress, and sleeves are all lavishly trimmed
with lace.

 1720

This period was a transition from Baroque

to Rococo fashions, and so incorporated styles
from both eras. The man wears a long coat
buttons at the middle, knee breeches, hose, and
buckled shoes. His sleeves are loose and cuffed,
showing the undershirt underneath. The woman
wears a flowered robe langlais with large cuffs
and a lace collar.

 1730

Both women wear a robe la franaise in

the Watteau or flying style, in which the back
hung loose from the bodice. Small panniers are
worn, but only aristocratic women and royalty
wore the ridiculously wide panniers. The woman
on the rights bodice is adorned with ribbon bows
down the front and has large cuffed sleeves. The
woman on the left wears a lace cap common
during the period

 1750

The woman on the left wears a hooded

capuchin cape trimmed with fur and ribbons. The
woman on the right wears a gown with large
cuffed sleeves and a fichu around the neck and
shoulders. She also wears a mobcap tied under
the chin with a ribbon.

 1770

The woman wears a solid colored gown

with embroidery at the opening of the overskirt
and bodice. A quilted underskirt is
worn underneath. She also has sleeves flared at
the elbow and wears her hair powdered and
curled, common during the last part of the
Rococo era. The man wears a brocade silk vest
under a long coat lined with silk with large
buttonholes down the side, as well as a tricorn
hat and buckled shoes. His hair is also powdered
and is tied back with a ribbon.