All posts tagged: 17th century

French Queens and patriotic attire

When I posted this weeks rate the dress, I was aware that numerous French queens had been painted in dark blue dresses with fleur de lys patterns, and intended to do a whole post about the trend. Then the Lady of Portland House pointed out that the dresses in some of the paintings are very similar. Too similar. In fact, I think they are the same dress. Fascinatingly, it looks like Marie de Medici, the Mother in Law of Anne, may have been painted in the dress first: And then Anne immediately seized on the idea, and had her own portrait done in the dress, only she got Rubens to do it, so it looked better than Maria’s version (what a way to up your mother in law!). Maria got her revenge in two ways. First, she commissioning Rubens to do an entire series celebrating her life, struggles and triumphs, including a coronation scene with her wearing the dress, painted at the same time as Anne’s portrait. And second, she commissioned a (very flattering and …

Rate the Dress: Anne of Austria by Rubens

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week you found the shocking pink Victorian well…shocking, either for being avant garde, or just for being shockingly bad. It rated a 5.6 out of 10 I promised that this week I would not post another late Victorian dress, and I’m holding to that. So I present you with a period that inspired many a late Victorian fashion trend: the Baroque. Rubens paints Anne of Austria, Queen of France in an extremely patriotic dress of brilliant blue fleur de lys ornamented silk with a fleur de lys shaped bodice. The dress, and portrait, are perhaps an attempt to solidify Anne’s position as Queen at a particularly uneasy time. Her husband had never been particularly interested in her and blamed her for a series of miscarriages. She had been unpopular with the people for refusing to give up her Spanish ladies in waiting and adapt to French ways, and had only recently been convinced to adopt French fashions. The portrait celebrates Anne’s new look, and aims to present her in a flattering light to her …

Rate the Dress: Sophia of Hanover

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week you decreed that Whistler’s Symphony in White was slightly out of tune, giving it a respectable but not brilliant 7 out of 10. Will this weeks post sing a different tune? Last time you looked at a portrait of the mother of a British monarch (OK, so only Prince Phillip, so not quite a monarch!), you heartily approved. Will Sophia of Hanover (14 October 1630 — 8 June 1714), mother of George the First of England, have the same luck, or will you find her exotic outfit too outlandish? Sophia of Hanover is shown in 17th century fancy dress as an Indienne princess in a portrait painted by her rather talented sister, Elisabeth of Bohemia. How do you feel about the pairing of a classic white slipper satin gown with a fanciful feather headdress and the tasseled and feathered polychromatic cloak? Picture perfect? Or positively provincial? Rate the dress on a scale of 1 to 10 SaveSave