Sunday, January 9, 2011

Yay or Nay? Maria Luisa of Parma

Our fashion-experts have a taste for the exotic and like the narrow waist Mary Wortley Montagu sported before the Great Revolution which put Empire gowns into style, earning her a Yay.  Style and comfort is always a winning combination with me! However, comfort might be out of the picture for this week we are traveling back to Spain where grand fashions tend to always have sitters painted in discomfort.


Mariano Salvador Maella paints Maria Luisa of Parma (circa 1780) in a blue and white day gown and large chandelier earrings.  Yay or Nay?

[Bank of Spain]

16 comments:

  1. VicJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:42 AM

    I think 3/4 sleeves are so attractive, don't you? And there is something arresting about a person with gray hair and a young face. Yeah.

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  2. UnknownJanuary 9, 2011 at 9:54 AM

    Nay. The big, blue bow in the front is atrocious and overwhelming. It distracts from her face. I think this gown has way too many embellishments although I love the choice in color and her pouf.

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  3. Olympe de la Tour D'AuvergneJanuary 9, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    I think that if it involved many more colours it would be too much, but with primarily the two it's very nice. Yay!

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  4. CherylynnJanuary 9, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    Love the colour! and apart from the bow, love the dress as well. However if she truly was as jammed into it as it looks, no wonder that's the best she can muster up for a smile. So, a nay because my overwhelming concern for her comfort.

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  5. MeadowlarkJanuary 9, 2011 at 12:25 PM

    I love it! Its a definite YAY from me. The colour and the detail is delicious and I especially love the hat. Its so elegant and unusual.

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  6. Snickers MomJanuary 9, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    Yay! I'll forgive that bow because the embroidery looks to die for!!!

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  7. NycterisJanuary 9, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    She's really pretty!
    Yea!

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  8. RebeccaJanuary 9, 2011 at 4:11 PM

    ...That had got to be the ugliest gown i have ever seen.
    A massive nay for me!

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  9. Anne BoleynJanuary 9, 2011 at 5:30 PM

    Nay! That headdress looks like the left overs from a pre school craft box.

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  10. EmmaJanuary 9, 2011 at 9:38 PM

    Yay! The dress is lovely. I have always wondered though why the subjects in Spanish paintings always seem so rigid and stiff, because it's not simply a trait of one period of Spanish history or one painter, but expands over a few centuries and multiple artists.

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  11. Malena of Royal WomenJanuary 9, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    I actually like thw big, blue bow. It spikes up her dress in a good way, so I give her a YAY!

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  12. DCJanuary 10, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    Yay, although her discomfort is her lookout.

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  13. ExalJanuary 11, 2011 at 10:14 PM

    YAY !! i must say maria luisa of parma was a queen with sense of style ;)

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  14. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2011 at 3:40 AM

    Woah Nelly! That's a nay for me. The ruffles make the dress look cheap, at least to me. Because I think we all know how expensive a dress like that can be. And the bow just won't let me look anywhere else, its too big.

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  15. AileenJanuary 13, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    yay. She looks almost comfortable for a woman in Spanish clothes, and I love those colors.

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  16. LauraJanuary 15, 2011 at 12:59 AM

    I agree with Emma - the Spanish ladies always look very stiff and uncomfortable - why is that?

    Otherwise, a yay from me! I love the colors and I think the dress is very pretty.

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