18th Century Pinks – the 1730s
Almost every shade of pink possible shows up in extant 18th century garments and portraits. (yes, even hot pink!). Pink was far, far more common in 18th century clothing than purples was.
Almost every shade of pink possible shows up in extant 18th century garments and portraits. (yes, even hot pink!). Pink was far, far more common in 18th century clothing than purples was.
Getting back to pink in the 18th century, we did 1700-1709, now let’s look at the 1710s. Rather than going from palest to darkest, like I did in the last post, I thought I’d start off with a bang. And by bang, I mean Barbie pink. This post was written by Leimomi Oakes for thedreamstress.com. If it is published somewhere else it has been stolen. Maria Clementina is absolutely 1710s Barbie in this amazing mantua. (side note, the women in this post really do have the best names). I’ve never been a bright pink wearer myself, but if I ever found the correct fabric I would LOVE to recreate Marie Clemantina’s ensemble. Then we have Three Princess: The Barbie Movie: The three portraits are miniatures, which can exaggerate colours, so just to confirm that colour appears in other settings, here’s a significantly more muted portrait, except, that is, for Hedwig’s lining: And why stick to just a lining when you could go for a whole dress? Just in case you are wondering if the paintings …
Update: house tidied, votes tallied, and last weeks chrysanthemum and swags dress came in at 6.8 out of 10, loosing a point for awkward transitions, and lots of points for looking like eyeballs (a resemblance that I can’t see no matter what size I look at the image from, and how much I squint!) I’ll be coming back tomorrow morning to tally the votes for last weeks Japonisme-inspired ensemble, but I’m afraid I was too busy tonight getting the house ready for guests (why do you always get a spectacularly good evening when you have to vacuum the whole house instead of getting to go for a walk in the actually-balmy weather!). For now, here is this week’s Rate the Dress for your delectation. Twenty-year old Henrietta Cavendish Holles, Countess of Oxford and heiress to one of the largest fortunes in England, is depicted in a suitably luxurious and decadent riding habit the year after her marriage to Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford. Portraits in riding dress were all the rage in early 18th …