A la Turque

For those of you lucky enough to be in the UK, there is a program on tonight called Secrets of Arabian Nights.  BBC News has a video snippet of the show regarding the book's arrival in Europe in the early 18th century.  Check it out here.  The video goes on to credit The Arabian Night's Entertainments (aka 1,001 Arabian Nights) with bringing the Turkish trend into vogue.  Let's check out some of the results of this new interest. 

Jean Baptiste Vanmour, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu with her son and Attendent , 1717

George Knapton, Portrait of Lady (Possibly Mary Wortley Monatgu)

Jean-Étienne Liotard, Richard Pococke, 1738-9

Jean-Étienne Liotard, Woman in Turkish costume in a hamam intructing her servant, 1742-3

Jean-Étienne Liotard, Marie Adelaïde de France en robe turque, 1753

Sir David Wilkie, Lady Hester Stanhope

Turbans

In our continued exploration of hats it would be crazy to exclude the major trend that was the turban. Turbans would appear here or there throughout the 18th century but by the end of the century the vogue simply exploded. Visitors to the mysterious lands of the Orient and Turkey, such as Mary Wortley Montague brought back many of the peoples' mysterious ways (such as the smallpox inoculation) to the curious English. One of the things that made it back to Europe was the curious manner of dress which everyone took a major interest in. Soon Turkish dress was one of the most common costumes seen at the masquerade. Of course this dress was not proper for normal, everyday wear (you couldn't look like a barbarian!) but one aspect did stick and that was the turban. Women found that the rolls of elegant fabric could make for the perfect fashion accessory. One woman particularly loved these headdresses and frequently had herself portrayed wearing them, Marie Antoinette. Even after the queen's fall and subsequent death turbans became increasingly popular, especially in France. They evolved into fabric that would wrap around women's curly, loose hair so that it would show through the fabric. The trend had adapted to the Classical trend to combine the Turkish style with that of the ancient Roman. By the 1790's and into the early 19th century no woman of fashion was complete without a turban, Turk, or chiffonet.
This site has some great fashion plates of Turbans after 1793.

1. 1782
2. 1783
3. 1787
4. 1787
5. 1787
6. 1787
7. 1788
8. 1789
9. 1790
10. 1793
11. 1794
12. 1795
    

Tart of the Week: Mary Wortley Montagu

Some women are difficult to sum up in their honourary Friday mention. Lady Mary is one of those women. It almost makes me feel bad for calling her a tart...but then again, I never said being a tart was a bad thing!

The daughter of the Earl of Kingston, Mary was born in 1689. Mary's intelligence was apparent early on in a time when educating women was considered a waste of time. She later talked of how she would "steal" her education by secretly studying Latin while her family thought she was reading romances. She made friendships with early feminists such as Mary Astell and Anne Wortley Montagu. After Anne's death's in 1709 Mary continued corresponding with her similarly-minded brother, Edward Wortley Montagu. Soon love bloomed, but Edward was not Mary's father's choice

Instead, Mary was betrothed to Clotworthy Skeffington; I'll just give you a moment to visualize what someone with that name might look like (hint). As the day of the wedding drew closer Mary became more agitated at her future prospects, describing the wedding preparations as "daily preparation for my journey to hell." But just as with her education, Mary was not about to accept what others' intended for her. Days before the wedding, Mary caused a scandal by eloping with Edward, much in the style of the romance novels she always pretended to read.

The early years of her marriage were spent in seclusion while Edward climbed the political ladder. Four years after their marriage, Edward was appointed ambassador in Istanbul. Mary, instead of being fearful of the foreign customs of the Ottoman Empire, dove into the culture head first, even learning the language. When she returned to England she did so in Turkish dress, which began trends in Europe. She also, and very importantly, introduced the Turkish practice of inoculation against Smallpox to Europe, saving the lives of many daring Europeans who were willing to take the risk of exposing themselves to the deadly disease.

By now Mary was a celebrity. She also had a famous group of friends which included Horace Walpole and Sara Churchill. She also had a very famous spat with Alexander Pope. He probably had a crush on her! Mary, herself, was rumoured to have had an affair or two.

In 1739 Mary kissed her husband goodbye for what would be the last time, and went abroad. They didn't leave on bad terms and she continued writing affectionately to him. She traveled around France and Italy, visiting friends. Edward died in 1761, leaving Mary a very wealthy widow. She was not to enjoy the money, however, because she died the following year. After her husband's death, her daughter begged her to return to England, which she did, only to die shortly thereafter. Her last words were reportedly, "It has all been most interesting." Having never published any of her writings during her lifetime to avoid public scandal, her letters of her Turkish Embassy Letters and other works were published after her death and received with great interest.

Tart of the Week: Lady Hester Stanhope

Hester was the first child born to the Earl of Stanhope. Her mother had died after giving birth to her 3rd daughter, leaving three young girls and a devastated, and unfatherly husband. Life in the Stanhope house was not the ideal situation. The earl, needing an heir, quickly remarried a woman who could care less about the daughters from his first marriage. The earl himself was reportedly unkind to his children and busied himself in his work. It's no wonder Hester grew up to be a rebellious teenager. By the age of twenty she managed to get herself kicked out of her house for her various rebellions. Hester had nowhere to go - except of course, Uncle Pitt's House.

Yes, the Prime Minister just happened to be Hester's uncle by way of her mother. You would think the rebellious and striking young lady and the stuffy politician may not have been the best combination but the odd couple actually worked. Pitt was notoriously asexual and never had a wife or children but Hester's presence brought out out his fatherly side and he loved having Hester around. Hester, in turn, loved living with her uncle and her intelligence and wit made her a welcome asset to his home. She soon proved herself to be a great political hostess, much like Georgiana and the Duchess of Gordon. This new position also allowed her to meet many new people.

One of those people just happened to be Granville Leveson-Gower, Harriet's longtime beau. The dashing Tory was flirtatious and Hester fell hard for him. She had been courted by many of her uncle's friends but Granville was a hard man to resist, with his blue eyes and dark hair. Unfortunately, Granville was just flirting and had no serious intentions for Hester; yes she had great political connections, but what he needed was a wife with money. Hester flew into a rage at his rejection. As Granville was preparing to depart for his new ambassadorial mission in Russia Hest sent him a frantic letter threatening suicide if he refused to marry her. Granville, did was any typical man would: he showed the letter to his girlfriend (Harriet) and left anyway. Hester promptly poisoned herself but survived. Forever afterward she despised Harriet and had no problem showing it. Like any rejected, love-sick woman, she wrote twenty page letters to Granville telling him how horrible he was and when that didn't seem to get his attention she claimed she was pregnant...to just about everyone.

But more pressing matters were soon to distract Hester from heartbreak. Pitt was ill. Hester tended to him night and day but it was becoming obvious that the former prime minister was dying. After Pitt's death, Hester was once again homeless and bored. A series of illness and lousy men caused her to make the rash decision to leave England and travel through exotic lands.

Hester's entourage consisted of her doctor (who was secretly in love with her), her faithful maid, and 20 year old Michael Bruce who later became her lover. Many adventures met our heroine in these eastern lands and news would constantly reach England of Lady Stanhope's scandalous escapades. Once, a shipwreck in Rhodes left the party without any clothes so they were forced to adopt Turkish garb. Hester chose to wear men's clothing since she refused to veil her face. Feisty! Eventually she stopped traveling and settled down to live in Turkey with her party. Vistitors from Europe began to visit the eastern lands knowing they could safely stay with Lady Stanhope. Life was good.

Unfortunately good things cannot last forever. First, Michael returned to England to help his dying father, promising daily letters and money. Neither arrived. Next her faithful maid died and her doctor returned to England to settle down and have a family. A life of isolation brought Hester back into the same state of crazy that Granville put her in years earlier. She became eccentric like a female Howard Hughes and plunged into debt. Guests were only allowed to see her hands and face, she shaved her head and wore a turban, she only appeared at night, Hester had finally lost it. While her servants stole her possessions from under her nose, Hester became ill and died penniless and alone in 1839.