HEADLINE: The Empire Style: Colonial Influence and the End of Sumptuary Laws GUEST AUTHOR: Anne Higonnet SUMMARY: During the Directory, Teresia and Rose dominated Parisian society, where Rose eventually captivated a young Napoleon Bonaparte. Higonnet expl
Season 8, Episode 336, Jan 19, 02:26 AM
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HEADLINE: The Empire Style: Colonial Influence and the End of Sumptuary Laws GUEST AUTHOR: Anne Higonnet
SUMMARY: During the Directory, Teresia and Rose dominated Parisian society, where Rose eventually captivated a young Napoleon Bonaparte. Higonnet explains that their signature "chemise" dress was a fusion of Teresia’s prison shift and the simple white muslins Rose knew from the Caribbean, inspired by the dress of women of color in Martinique. This style, while mimicking Neoclassicism, relied on colonial Indian cottons. The revolution’s abolition of guilds and sumptuary laws allowed these women to dismantle centuries of class-based dress codes, shocking observers with an aesthetic of "expensive undress" that defied traditional European modesty.
1812 HOTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS
SUMMARY: During the Directory, Teresia and Rose dominated Parisian society, where Rose eventually captivated a young Napoleon Bonaparte. Higonnet explains that their signature "chemise" dress was a fusion of Teresia’s prison shift and the simple white muslins Rose knew from the Caribbean, inspired by the dress of women of color in Martinique. This style, while mimicking Neoclassicism, relied on colonial Indian cottons. The revolution’s abolition of guilds and sumptuary laws allowed these women to dismantle centuries of class-based dress codes, shocking observers with an aesthetic of "expensive undress" that defied traditional European modesty.
1812 HOTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS