Yay or Nay? Mlle Lavergne
Well, after a streak of success with yays, Princess Louise Augusta ruined our consecutive approval with her ill choice of gown. That style just doesn't look good on apple shapes or...top heavy shapes, whatever her shape is called, I can't keep track of them. But to her credit, it was a very close call between our judges. Sometimes to stay ahead of fashion you have to work a look that's unusual, and therefore can't be out of fashion since it was never 'in.'
Jean-Étienne Liotard draws his niece, Mlle Lavergne (1746) in her attire which can only be described as "unique." Yay or Nay?
[Dresden Gallery]
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30 comments:
Yay, yay, yay. It has sophistication, whimsy and prettiness. What more could one ask for?
Ew. Nay. Very definitely nay. Maybe if the lacing up the front matched the blue in her dress and cuffs, I'd say yay, but that orangey color? Nay.
YAY!!!
Yay. :-)
Totally yay! Sophisticated and witty colour scheme which is also completely appropriate for a young woman - combined with a flattering shape and touches of whimsy. What's not to love?
How many Yay's can I give it? Whimsical and fresh looking. I'd love to have some tea and a good gossip with her. I'll bet she's a fun companion!
I like the dress and I would say Yay wouldn't it be for the blue cuffs. I think they should be in another colour, so in this combination... Nay.
Yea!
The blue fabric of the "cuffs" though looks a little bit thick to have such a boxy shape. I'd like for it to be a little bit more flowing.
Nay! The lacings=dress combo doesn't work for me at all!
Yay!
Cute and youthful!
Thrice yay! 'Nough said =)
Nay. Too unusual, too much going on, and I don't like the strings on the bodice.
an overall yay from me...
very pretty and quite fetching although i'd prefer the cuffs a little daintier and a few less laces across the front.
An absolute yeah, from the colors to the proportions to the beautiful lacing in the bodice. I would want to remembered for posterity in this gown and wonderful hairdo.
Yay! I think the blue and orangey are great together. Overall delightful!
I feel like I should like it, but something just seems...off. It's too busy, and the lacing and the blue don't quite work. I think this has to be a nay.
A definite yay.
I love that the picture shows slightly more ordinary clothes, as worn by an ordinary girl, i.e. not from a rich or noble family.
Liotard must have made several copies of this painting. There's one in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam as well.
Dear Heather,
thank you so much for your nice words about La pagina escondida, it´s a great honour for me since I really admire your work in The Duchess of Devonshire. Actually it´s one of my favourite blogs and since I discovered it I haven´t missed a discussion. I enjoy them very much and love the images you choose to ilustrate them. Thank you very much :) (I apologize for my English)
No way! I'm flattered. Your English is great especially compared to my Spanish, as you could probably judge by how bad the translating went!
yay! i've always loved this painting. hints of color in just the right places, lovely
As a mad horse would say, Nay! Nay! NAY!!
Yay!! I just love it. In fact it would go great with these shoes!
Oh Lord! You do know how to pick them, Heather! Now, is it just me but is that lacing just a tad bit naughty seeing as it tends to make you think it just about barely obscures a teasing V neckline from the dainty little cross around her neck all the way to Jersey... On the other hand, she is a pretty thing and I'm sure an expert at doing the "offended innocent" thing so I'll have to say... YAY!
Yay. Very unique and very pretty.
YAY. I like the orange laces and big blue cuffs.
I'll give it a yay. I do know that she was dressing whimsically--her outfit is an upscale version of what French peasants in the Alsace-Lorraine (IIRC) region. Note that this was the 1740s! Dressing as a 'peasant" didn't become popular for another 30 or so years, so yay for being ahead of her time. :)
Nay..too much going on...
a (des)propos: I still could not find those book references I told you about. But meanwhile I bought a huge book on the Lisbon earthquake. I will look for a English translation if, once I finish reading, I find it worth advising...
Yay...yay...yay...Just lovely. Very pretty and fun.
I don't know about the contrast between those orangey-red lacings and the blue. a reluctant nay, though she does look very comfortable
Yay - definitely.
Considered that Mlle Lavergne was Swiss (as far as I remember).
We have quite some plates showing this kind of fashion in a "more folkwear than fashion" connection in the Regions from Berne, Fribourg and Genève (altough in 18th le Vaud would also belong to Berne) it's not that sophisticated, but rather down to earth...
Usually this style is used in genre copperplates to distinguish a "peasant" from a "fashionista".
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