Kenna Libes | Fashion History Timeline

Inès Gâches-Sarraute and the Straight-Front Corset

1890-1899, 1900-1909, 1910-1919, 19th century, 20th century, thematic essays

Often anachronistically called the ‘S-bend,’ the dramatic straight-front corset of the early 1900s was invented by a doctor for health purposes and quickly swept up into the tides of fashion.

Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion

18th century, 19th century, 20th century, Asia, thematic essays

Beetle-wing embroidery: a colonialist fantasia and exotic fad in nineteenth-century England and...

1770-96 – Agostino Brunias, Free Women of Color with Their Children and Servants in a Landscape

1770-1779, 1780-1789, 1790-1799, 18th century, artwork analysis, BIPOC

In a late 18th-century painting organized by skin tone, Agostino Brunias has depicted a range of colonial Dominican fashions from the wealthy elite to the poorest people whom they enslaved.

1787-9 – Alexandre-August Robineau, The Fencing-Match between the Chevalier de Saint-George and the Chevalier d’Eon

1780-1789, 18th century, artwork analysis, BIPOC, LGBTQ+

This 18th-century painting commemorates an historic fencing match between two French knights: one an illegitimate Black nobleman and the other a gender nonconforming spy.

1797 – Anne-Louis Girodet, Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley

1790-1799, 18th century, artwork analysis, BIPOC

This important painting of a Black Haitian deputy, once enslaved, commemorates his participation in the assembly that abolished slavery in France in 1794. He wears the tricolored uniform of a deputy of the French National Convention and only his gold earring speaks to his Colonial ties.

1650 – Diego Velázquez, Juan de Pareja

1650-1659, 17th century, artwork analysis, BIPOC

This dignified portrait by Diego Velázquez depicts his enslaved Black assistant, Juan de Pareja, who was a skilled artist in his own right.

polonaise

18th century, P, term definition

A style of dress popular in the 1770s-80s, with a bodice cut all in one and often with the skirts looped up. The polonaise also came back into fashion during the 1870s.

1778 – David Martin, Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and Lady Elizabeth Murray

1760-1769, 1770-1779, 18th century, artwork analysis, BIPOC

This 18th-century grand manner portrait of two cousins juxtaposes fashionable turquerie with luxurious but conventional children’s clothing.

guipure lace

17th century, 18th century, 19th century, G, L, term definition

Guipure lace is a type of continuous bobbin lace made without a mesh ground; its motifs are connected by bridges or plaits.

1750 – Stephen Slaughter, Two Women Gathering Fruit

1740-1749, 1750-1759, 18th century, artwork analysis, BIPOC

This painting of two 18th-century gentlewomen features fashionable trends in portraiture and clothing, including Orientalism, pastoralism, and masculine-inspired dress.

Author: Kenna Libes

Inès Gâches-Sarraute and the Straight-Front Corset

Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion

1770-96 – Agostino Brunias, Free Women of Color with Their Children and Servants in a Landscape

1787-9 – Alexandre-August Robineau, The Fencing-Match between the Chevalier de Saint-George and the Chevalier d’Eon

1797 – Anne-Louis Girodet, Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Belley

1650 – Diego Velázquez, Juan de Pareja

polonaise

1778 – David Martin, Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and Lady Elizabeth Murray

guipure lace

1750 – Stephen Slaughter, Two Women Gathering Fruit

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