The 1760s mark the last decade during which the robe à la française dominated women’s wardrobes since it was first introduced in the 1720s. In the last three decades of the eighteenth century, other, more informal styles became fashionable for daywear and the robe à la française was increasingly worn for evening. For men, the distinction between the subdued informality of Englishmen’s dress and the colorful formality of Continental styles (particularly those of France and Italy) remained pronounced, although this would change in the following decades in favor of the former. The narrowing of the coat that began around 1750 continued in this decade and a low standing collar that would increase in height until the end of the century appeared in the middle years.

Womenswear

The difference between men’s and women’s clothing during this decade that was especially pronounced in England is evident in Joseph Wright of Derby’s 1765 portrait of Peter Perez Burdett and his first wife Hannah Burdett (Fig. 3). In contrast to her husband’s informal clothing that was eminently suitable for the Derbyshire landscape in which they are portrayed and which he was in the process of surveying, Hannah Burdett (a wealthy widow at the time of her marriage) selected a cream silk sack trimmed with scrolling self-fabric along the center front edges, a pale lavender taffeta petticoat with a scalloped flounce, a stomacher with ribbon bows known in French as an echelle, pearl choker and earrings, a luxurious white silk satin fichu edged with blonde (silk) lace and matching triple engageantes (Egerton 87-88). On her right hand, she wears a mitt, probably of kid, and, around her left wrist, a hardstone bracelet (Fig. 4). While her cartographer husband holds a telescope, Mrs. Burdett’s concession to the out-of-doors setting is the “small branch of may, or hawthorn” in her right hand (Egerton 87).

Women of fashion kept up with subtle changes in appearance. In the winter of 1765-66, Lady Sarah Bunbury (née Lennox) shared important advice with her niece, Susan Fox-Strangways:

“To be perfectly genteel you must be dressed thus… The roots of the hair must be drawn up straight and not fruzed at all for half an inch above the roots; you must wear no cap and only little, little flowers dab’d in on the left side; the only feather permitted is a black or white sultane perched up on the left side and your diamond feather against it. A broad puffed ribbon collier [necklace] with a tippet ruff or only a little black handkerchief very narrow over the shoulders; your stays very high and pretty tight at the bottom; your gown trimmed… the sleeves long and loose, the waist very long, the flounces and ruffles of a decent length, not too long nor so hideously short as they now wear them. No trimming on the sleeve, but a ribbon knot tied to hang on the ruffles.” (quoted in Tillyard 157)

After providing these numerous details regarding female attire, Sarah indicated that “the men’s dress is exactly what they used to wear latterly” (quoted in Tillyard 157).

In the winter months, English women favored quilted petticoats that provided insulation in houses that relied on fireplaces to heat the rooms. An example in the Victoria & Albert Museum (Fig. 20) is typical of these practical yet decorative garments; the top fabric is silk satin, the lining is glazed wool, and the batting is also wool. Quilted petticoats were among the first ready-made clothing items for women, available since the late seventeenth century (Lemire 65). Although manufacturers had to keep abreast of current fashionable colors and quilting patterns, the perennial popularity of these garments ensured regular demand (Lemire 65). They did not require custom fitting since the tapes at the waistband could be tied to accommodate the individual wearer, or other fastenings such as hooks and eyes could be added later as necessary, and “the dimensions of the petticoat were less related to the size of the wearer than to the width of the hoops or number of underpetticoats employed” (Lemire 65).

Characterized by “uniformity and regularity,” ready-made petticoats that ranged in price and quality were made on quilting frames either by a seamstress at home or in a warehouse (Lemire 66). The large expanse of plain silk taffeta or satin (ivory, pink, blue, yellow, and green were favorite colors) provided an ideal surface for decorative display at the front opening of a woman’s gown. Sir Joshua Reynolds’s portrait of Nelly O’Brien dating about 1762-1763 shows the celebrated beauty and courtesan in a blue-and-white striped silk gown and pink silk petticoat quilted in an all-over diamond pattern over which she wears an almost transparent delicately floral-patterned apron (Figs. 21, 22). The petticoat’s subtle color compliments O’Brien’s (rouged) cheeks that set off the paleness of her skin (which was the fashionable ideal for women at the time) and creamy pearl choker.

A French sample book dating to 1764 in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum (Figs. 23-24) shows the wide range of designs, weaves, and palettes that were fashionable in the middle years of the decade. At the high end are the brocaded silks with complex weave structures featuring what are now referred to as “meander patterns” in which undulating bands of ribbons, lace, faux fur, feathers, and other motifs interspersed with floral bouquets create a strong vertical emphasis (Fig. 23). The rich textural effect of these heavy silks—“a tour de force of the weaver’s art”—is enhanced by the amount and variety of threads including silk, metal, and chenille and their figured grounds (Rothstein 53). Taffetas with shaded stripes, floral-sprigged striped satins, and chiné (warp-dyed) taffetas also appear in this merchant’s sample album (Fig. 24). The widespread popularity of these silks is confirmed in both portraiture and surviving garments (Figs. 25-29).

European printed cottons and woven silks as well as Chinese painted silks attested to the continuing vogue for chinoiserie in the 1760s. The “imaginary flowering branches [on] the creamy surface” of an informal French block-printed robe à la française (Fig. 30) “exemplify the spirit of Orientalist fantasy and its perfect adaptation to Rococo taste in French fashion” (Stewart 212). The exotic motifs show the influence of the French artist Jean-Baptiste Pillement (1728-1808), who created numerous designs that were subsequently engraved and used on porcelain, wallpaper, textiles, and silver. His publications including A New Book of Chinese Ornament of 1755 aided in the dissemination of these finely drawn and often whimsical images (Stewart 213). On a French formal gown brocaded with silk and metal thread, the diminutive pagodas are barely visible among the larger floral-and-foliate sprays and gold stripes entwined with floral sprigs (Figs. 31, 32). Chinese painted silks, commissioned for Western consumers, featured colorful exotic flowers on sinuous stems against white or pale-colored taffeta or satin grounds (Fig. 33)

Fashion Icon: KITTY FISHER (CA. 1738-1767)

In the eighteenth century, respectable society women did not draw attention to themselves through their behavior or their dress. Those whose names are familiar to us in the twenty-first century as trendsetters were often perceived as morally compromised. Marie Antoinette’s status as Queen of France did not protect her from vitriol and slander when it came to her pursuit of la mode; in fact, her attention to fashion was a liability that contributed directly to her downfall. Although courtesans’ propensity for ostentatious dress and jewels was condemned, for these women who made their living by being beautiful, fashion was integral to their success and an acknowledged part of their visibility and renown.

Fisher was one of Sir Joshua Reynolds’s favorite models at the time and, in 1759, she sat for two portraits by the celebrated painter. One of these depicts her in pearls, a black silk fichu, and outsized lace engageantes that trail over the edges of the table at which she is seated (Fig. 1). The other shows her as Cleopatra in a scene that “recalls [the Egyptian queen] impressing Mark Antony by dropping a pearl into a glass of wine and drinking it at their first banquet” (Conway 36) (Fig. 2). Literary and cultural historian Alison Conway notes that this painting aptly comments “on Kitty Fisher’s status as a courtesan” since it evokes an incident in which she was said to have ingested a L50 banknote as dismissive gesture to one of her admirers, the Duke of York (Conway 36-37). Conway further suggests that:

“Reynolds was willing to translate Kitty Fisher’s status as a courtesan into an aesthetic and material opportunity for himself, to respond to a popular demand for scandalous images.” (Conway 36)

Both 1759 portraits of Fisher were engraved and widely disseminated, enhancing the reputations of both artist and sitter.

Susan Fox-Strangways, the recipient of fashion advice from her aunt Sarah, was one of many young women at the time who were:

“fascinated with the theatre and the personal power that actresses and courtesans like Kitty Fisher occasionally attained [and] copied her eagerly.” (Tillyard 139)

Another of Fox-Strangways’s female relatives referred to Fisher’s “extravagant dress and manner” as “the Kitty Fisher style” (quoted in Tillyard 139). Nonetheless, Fox-Strangways would emulate Fisher’s pose in Reynolds’s 1759 painting (Fig. 1) when she sat for her own portrayal by Allan Ramsay in 1761 (Fig. 3). Fox-Strangways’s portrait would join those of other members of her illustrious family in the picture gallery at Holland House, London.

Nathaniel Hone’s 1765 portrait of Fisher (Fig. 4) uses a rebus, “a common semiotic tool in eighteenth-century prints,” as a play on the courtesan’s name and as “a kind of ‘doubling’, representing the woman as the subject of the painting, and… by representing her emblematically in a way which says something about her character and her position” (Thom). Draped in gauzy gold-embroidered fabric, Fisher wears a delicate choker and multi-strand pearl bracelet. To her left is a cat dipping its paw into a large goldfish bowl—literally “a fishing cat, or indeed a kitty fisher.” The cat, however, can be interpreted as “representative of Fisher herself, the playful, feminine and kittenish courtesan; but also as a predator” (Thom). Visible for all to see through the glass, the “goldfish, like celebrated ‘women of the town’, are shimmering, ephemeral, and easily replaceable” (Thom). Thus, at the same time that Hone’s portrait promotes Fisher’s beauty and celebrity, it also comments on the courtesan’s vulnerability that, in her case, was her death at age 29.

Menswear

Men’s coats were always lined with silk during the period and we clearly see the white silk lining in three of the sitters’ coats; Mytton’s coat, however, is lined in black silk, which is more unusual. Known as à la marinière and fashionable from about 1750, Wynne’s sleeve cuffs with vertically applied, scalloped galloon are the same width as the sleeves, while those on Grant and Robinson’s suits retain some of the fullness and the horizontal trimming of the first half of the century (Cunnington 193, 203). All four wear white linen shirts with plain muslin ruffled cuffs (matching jabots are visible on Robinson and Wynne’s shirts); black silk stocks; three-cornered black hats, either trimmed or untrimmed, that were ubiquitous during the century; gleaming white silk stockings with long knitted-in clocks and fashionably low-heeled shoes with oval buckles (Fig. 5). Their status as gentlemen is conveyed by the inclusion of their swords, worn on the left side. Adding to their decidedly English appearance is their unpowdered hair.

A young man who sat to Pompeo Batoni for his impressive life-size full-length portrait in the early 1760s chose to be represented in formal attire (Fig. 6). As the Met explains, he is surrounded by

“the props Batoni used repeatedly in order to announce various aspects of a Grand Tour education, including a bas relief of Antinous, a statue of Minerva, an armillary sphere, guidebooks to ancient and modern Rome, a volume of biographies of painters, and a volume of Homer’s Odyssey.”

The unidentified sitter shows off his suit that announces its cost through its silk velvet textile (expensive to weave), its brilliant red color (expensive to dye), and the extensive gold embroidery on the coat and white silk satin waistcoat. His white silk stockings and black buckled shoes are similar to those worn by the Englishmen in Dance Holland’s portrait; however, his shirt is trimmed with lace and he wears a powdered wig with its queue enclosed in a black silk bag. His sword and feather-fringed hat on the chair beside him complete his courtly ensemble. Although Batoni primarily painted English subjects, “this sitter’s costume suggests that he may have been French”—and, presumably, accustomed to dressing lavishly (Figs. 7, 8).

In addition to solid colors like those worn by Batoni’s elegant young man, small all-over patterned silks and velvets were especially fashionable in the 1760s for formal suits. In 1762, Thomas Gainsborough painted a portrait of Sir Edward Turner (Fig. 9) “who had recently come into a fortune” and was eager to show off his “nouveau-riche taste” with his matching patterned suit of French silk (Fig. 10 / Ribeiro Art of Dress 45). Dress historian Aileen Ribeiro notes that “the effect… is of an embarras de richesse” and that “although such suits survive in museum collections… it is rare to see them in portraits” (Fig. 11 / Ribeiro Art of Dress 45).

In another league entirely from Diderot’s scarlet dressing gown is the dazzling and highly impractical banyan worn by Göran Nilsson Gyllenstierna (1724-1799), “a Swedish nobleman, jurist, and from 1781 riksmarskalk (Marshal of the Realm)” (Cora Ginsburg 23) (Figs. 14, 15). The resplendent textile features:

“intermingling plum, leafy green, and silver diaper-patterned vines with an ogival lattice structure…brocaded on a sky-blue silk ground… with cloud-like sprigs. Sprays of purple lilies backed by silver feathers and bouquets of red and pink roses float inside the ogives.” (Cora Ginsburg 23)

Particularly opulent is the use of “remarkably untarnished gold (silver gilt) and silver threads” that “suggests that the silk originated on royal looms” (Cora Ginsburg 23).

CHILDREN’S WEAR

(BY SUMMER LEE)

By the mid-1760s, a new style for young children emerged: a white gown worn with a colored sash around the waist (Fig. 3). This style was worn by very young children of both sexes. The most common sash colors were pink and blue, although they were not used to indicate gender. A colored underslip could also be worn, which would show through the translucent white top fabric (Paoletti). While the style originated with very small children, it quickly became more pervasive as the century continued.

An English family portrait circa 1766 depicts the newly emerging white gown style on three young children (Fig. 3). The couple’s daughter is depicted at the center of the painting, wearing a white frock with a pink sash and tight-fitting cap. Two sons are depicted on either side, wearing white frocks with blue sashes. Blue leading strings are visible on the back of the leftmost boy.

References:

• Buck, Anne. Dress in Eighteenth-Century England. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1979. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1148934170.
• Callahan, Colleen R. “Children’s Clothing.” In The Berg Companion to Fashion, edited by Valerie Steele. Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. Accessed August 08, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781474264716.0003223.
• “Childhood.” In European Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1600, edited by Norman J. Wilson, 319-321. Vol. 1 of World Eras. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2001. Gale eBooks (accessed August 7, 2020). https://libproxy.fitsuny.edu:2653/apps/doc/CX3034600137/GVRL?u=fitsuny&sid=GVRL&xid=480f4328.
• Conway, Alison. Private Interests: Women, Portraiture, and the Visual Culture of the English Novel, 1709-1791. 2001. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/8182072599.
• Cunnington, C W, and Phillis Cunnington. Handbook of English Costume in the Eighteenth Century. London: Faber & Faber, 1972. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/751792955.
• Diderot, Denis. “Regrets on Parting with My Old Dressing Gown; or a Warning to Those Who Have More Taste than Money 1769.” In Fashion: Critical and Primary Sources: The Eighteenth Century, Peter McNeil, ed, Oxford & New York Berg, 2009. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/958721947.
• Egerton, Judy. Wright of Derby: Tate Gallery. London: Tate Gallery, 1990. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/507499396.
• Fass, Paula S. Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood: In History and Society. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/318387847.
• French, Anne, Aileen Ribeiro, and Viola Pemberton-Pigott. The Earl and Countess Howe by Gainsborough: A Bicentenary Exhibition. S.l.: English Heritage, 1988. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/472516312.
• Ginsburg, Cora. A Catalogue of Exquisite & Rare Works of Art Including 16th to 20th Century Costume, Textiles & Needlework: Winter 2001. New York: Cora Ginsburg, 2001. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51865187.
• Ginsburg, Cora. A Catalogue of Exquisite & Rare Works of Art Including 18th to 19th Century Costume Textiles & Needlework. 2016. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/955855038.
• Lemire, Beverly. “Redressing the History of the Clothing Trade in England: Ready-Made Clothing, Guilds, and Women Workers, 1650–1800.” Dress. 21.1 (1994): 61-74. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/4917451500.
• Levey, Santina M. Lace: A History. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2004. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/874134825.
• Magidson, Phyllis. “Fashion.” In Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood: In History and Society, edited by Paula S. Fass, 344-348. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. Gale eBooks (accessed August 7, 2020). https://libproxy.fitsuny.edu:2653/apps/doc/CX3402800166/GVRL?u=fitsuny&sid=GVRL&xid=0084684d.
• Miller, Lesley E. Selling Silks: A Merchant’s Sample Book 1764. London: V&A Publishing, 2014. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1083133217.
• “Miss Nelly O’Brien – Joshua Reynolds (1723 – 1792).” Wallace Collection Online, https://wallacelive.wallacecollection.org/eMP/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=64928&viewType=detailView.
• Nunn, Joan. Fashion in Costume 1200-2000. Bridgewater, NJ: Distributed by Paw Prints/Baker & Taylor, 2008. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/232125801
• Paoletti, Jo Barraclough. “Children and Adolescents in the United States.” In Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: The United States and Canada, edited by Phyllis G. Tortora, 208–219. Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. Accessed August 28, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/BEWDF/EDch3029.
• Pointon, Marcia. “The Lives of Kitty Fisher.” Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies. 27.1 (2004): 77-97. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5156717986.
• Pointon, Marcia. Hanging the Head: Portraiture and Social Formation in Eighteenth-Century England. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/925097861.
• Pratt, Lucy, and Linda Woolley. Shoes. London: V & A Publications, 1999. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/603674113.
• Reinier, Jacqueline S. “Breeching.” In Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood: In History and Society, edited by Paula S. Fass, 118. Vol. 1. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. Gale eBooks (accessed August 7, 2020). https://libproxy.fitsuny.edu:2653/apps/doc/CX3402800074/GVRL?u=fitsuny&sid=GVRL&xid=360a7a45
• Ribeiro, Aileen. Dress in Eighteenth-Century Europe 1715-1789. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 2002. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/873114892.
• Roche, Daniel. The Culture of Clothing: Dress and Fashion in the “ancien Régime”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28632365.
• Rothstein, Natalie. A Lady of Fashion: Barbara Johnson’s Album of Styles and Fabrics. London: Thames and Hudson, 1987. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/715272687.
• Rothstein, Natalie. Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century in the Collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Boston u.a: Little, Brown, 1990. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/643770082.
• Thom, Danielle. “Kitty Fisher & the Fishing Kitty.” The Droll Hackabout, WordPress, 12 May 2013. https://thedrollhackabout.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/kitty-fisher-the-fishing-kitty/.
• Watkins, Gwen. “The Characters of Kenwood: Mary, Countess Howe.” MFAH, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 22 June 2012. https://www.mfah.org/blogs/inside-mfah/characters-kenwood-mary-countess-howe.
• Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Men’s Clothes: 1600-1900. New York: Theatre Arts Book, 1964. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/756979502.
• Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Women’s Clothes 1600-1930: With Line Diagrams by Margaret Woodward. London: Faber and Faber, 1968. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/462461256.
• Wilson, Norman J. The European Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1600. Detroit, MI: Gale Group, 2001. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45283259.

Secondary Sources

Also see the 18th-century overview page for more research sources… or browse our Zotero library.