Jacques Louis David (French, 1748–1825). Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and Marie Anne Pierette Paulze, 1788. Oil on canvas; 259.7 x 194.6 cm (102 1/4 x 76 5/8 in). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977.10. Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman. Gift in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 . Source: The Met

Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze wears a white muslin chemise gown with a blue sash, which sits at her natural waist. The visible sleeve is decorated with a blue bow, possibly to fasten it above the elbow, which would be convenient for working in the Lavoisiers’ laboratory. The neckline of her dress is decorated with lace flounces, not unlike her husband’s cravat. The skirt of her dress balloons outward and ends in a slight train. Her hair is curled and dressed, but only loosely; a few locks have uncurled and fall freely down her back.

This style was infamously worn by Marie Antoinette in a 1783 portrait by Vigée Le Brun (Fig. 2). When worn by the Queen of France in Vigée Le Brun’s painting, critics had two routes of attack: not only was the dress considered too informal for public display, but it was also made of cotton, as opposed to French Lyonnaise silk (Steele 39). The painting was withdrawn from the Salon, but the chemise à la reine withstood criticism, and became the dominant style through the end of the 18th century.

A similar ensemble can be see in a 1787 fashion plate from the Magasin des modes nouvelles (Fig. 3). The fashion plate depicts a woman wearing the same style of gown, though with longer sleeves, a shorter hem, and a fichu. Angelica Kauffman’s 1786 portrait of Lady Elizabeth Foster provides another view of the chemise dress (Fig. 4). Foster’s white muslin dress is accented with a black and gold sash around her waist, long sleeves that end in cuffs just above the wrist, layers of fabric along the neckline, and an ostrich-feather-plumed straw hat.

As Hill says, the chemise dress “was revolutionary in its simple lines and construction” (443). The light fabric and sash at the natural waist gave it a soft appearance, and set it at odds with older fashions, such as the robe à la française and the robe à l’anglaise. Though the latter was not as formal, or necessarily as structured, as the latter, both relied upon multiple pieces of clothing for the overall appearance. The robe en chemise, however, was a muslin gown that allowed the wearer’s body to be “defined rather than reshaped by clothing” (Hill 443).

Antoine Lavoisier demonstrates the new masculine silhouette of the 1780s. His hair is powdered and pulled back from his face, with two small rolls at the temples. His coat and breeches are cut so as to be form-fitting, while his hose emphasize the shape of his calf. Excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum prompted a renewed interest in antiquity, and a classical appreciation for the male form was echoed in tight-fitting jackets paired with breeches and hose. The modest coloring and relative simplicity of Lavoisier’s garments contrast against the bright colors and elaborate embellishment common earlier in the century, further strengthening his appearance of an intellectual who, though stylish, was not consumed by fashion. Hill describes menswear:

“The harmonious truth of the masculine anatomy as defined and expressed by Neoclassical aesthetics was delineated in cloth–sculpted according to the principles of the tailor’s craft. By the end of the eighteenth century, men’s clothing was designed to suggest a youthful, athletic male build with a broad chest and shoulders, a small tapered waist, a flat abdomen, and long, slender legs.” (434)

Lavoisier accessorizes his ensemble with a lace cravat and cuffs. The standard round-toed shoes with buckle complete his outfit in modest elegance. A 1786 fashion plate from Cabinet des modes demonstrates how Lavoisier’s outfit might look from another angle (Fig. 5), and an extant example provides a clear view of the cut and overall shape of 1780s menswear (Fig. 6).