L’Art et la Mode 1903 #37

The elusive artist named Lucy is once again responsible for a lovely vintage French fashion plate. I love the way that she puts the model into a landscape rather than alone on a white background. Lucy does seem to favor outdoor settings with greens and yellows.

This time she’s drawn a white taffeta gown with pleats at the top of the sleeves and just below the waistline.

It was originally described as having a “large inlay Venice skirt” – maybe someone could explain what that means as I’m not finding a good definition anywhere. It has a short cape with points in front, known as a perlerine. It also appears to have a lace inset collar and bodice made of fine lace and that lace is repeated along the hemline.

Our lovely model is sporting a plum hat with a silver/gray buckle.

Isn’t she oh so stylish. It’s no wonder these old French fashion images are so highly sought after by collectors. Though, I must admit every time I look at their waistlines, I just cringe at the thought of being so tightly bound just to be fashionable.

I’m also in awe of the workmanship of these garments – remember this was 1903 – sewing machines, the few that were available, were far from the sophisticated, computerized marvels of today. A great deal of these dresses was no doubt hand sewn and even the lace may have been made by hand.