Sunday, August 1, 2010

Yay or Nay? Louise Élisabeth

Menswear in the watermelon shades (even a loose black cravat for the seeds!) has its appeal and the Earl of Charlemont was award a Yay for his fetching attire.  Although I raised an eyebrow at the cravat I can't argue with the panel.  Now let's look at something from the Van Dyck line.


Adélaïde Labille-Guiard paints an apparition of Louise Élisabeth (1788) after her death.  But has she returned to the earthen world in good clothes?  Yay or Nay?

[Versailles]

18 comments:

  1. Either the hat or the ruff need to go, but wearing them together is too much. I say nay for the combination and the drab colors.

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  2. Marchioness de VogueAugust 1, 2010 at 3:50 PM

    It looks like ice crystals are poking out of her arms and shoulders. Pity, it's a beautiful painting but in terms of what she's wearing in the painting, nay.

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  3. She must be in hell because no one would be forced to wear a dress like that in heaven. NAY.

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  4. Total and utter YAY.
    She looks fierce.
    I wouldnt want to be immortalized wearing the same damned ruff as everyone else. And I think the 'drab' colors make her look edgy. Furthermore, the lady is so beautiful and looks like she has a sense of humor. I think that samon colored silk or grey or whatever would be over the top...and in this case, I think the hat works, especially because she is playing with a toddler, and there is a pet parrot hanging about. I feel like her wardrobe and the scene clue you in to the madame louises personality, and so the whole combo works for me.

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  5. Though I'm not so familiar with this particular lady, and I'm not so sure about the spiky ruffles, the painting has a rather wistful quality to it, the dark colors, the dark dress, the overall feel that I would have to say YAY. It is painted after her death after all.

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  6. Oh YAY! If I come back as a ghost I want to wear equally awesome clothes. The ensemble is a bit much for a 'real' outfit, but for a posthumous portrait, a little bit of goth fantasy is perfect!

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  7. I love love love the hat!!! In the painting the colors do look a bit drab but when imagining the lady walking around wearing it in my head, i love them. However the ice princess ruffles freeze the love right there, but to me the pros out weigh the cons. YAY!!!

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  8. Being a pirate, I give her points for the parrot. Yay.

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  9. I say yay! She looks like a German fairy tale princess. ;-)

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  10. I wouldn't mind if she lost the hat, but the gown is a keeper. I love how it combines the general shape and style of the 80s (the _good_ 80s, that is, not the 1980s) with 17th century-esque detailing, like the collar (which I LOVE, which is strange, as I'm not usually a ruff kinda gal) and the slashed upper sleeves.

    I would love to see the painting in reality or as it was originally - I suspect the drab colours (boo!) are either down to the reproduction of the painting or a yellowed varnish. A yay overall.

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  11. Big "Yay!" I love this painting too.

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  12. I give this a yay. It is a wonderful posthumous painting. The sorrowful expression on the child's face and her fingers barely holding the child's gives the idea that she has slipped away. Her gown is a fantasy of fashion eras, slashed sleeves, laced bodice, ruffs and the dark colors of mourning. Plus I own parrots and I love the use of them in portraiture.

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  13. Yay! It's really pretty. I love it.

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  14. At first glance I liked it but upon closer inspection it's a huge nay. The ruff?! White Queen from Narnia would spring to mind if it weren't such an anachronism!

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  15. I absolutely love this!! This is one of my favorite outfits you've picked yet.. even though she was, well, DEAD at the time.

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