Month: Last updated Mar 16, 2018 | Published on Aug 27, 2017

The 1720s marked a distinct change in men’s and, particularly, women’s silhouettes from the two preceding decades. Although the basic forms remained the same—three-piece suits for men, and two-piece gowns for women—the shapes of these were different. 

The French Revolution was the defining event of this decade—politically, socially, and culturally. At the meeting of the Estates General in May 1789, dress became a point of contention and between the fall of the Bastille on July 14 to the end of the Reign of Terror in July 1794, men and women’s clothing was the subject of scrutiny, surveillance, and controversy.