This glossy posh-looking folded card is among the treasure in my postcards collection, it was published by Amsterdams Historisch Museum in the Netherlands, featuring historical European costume collection from past centuries, and this one particularly in my hands, is the Robe à la Française dates back in 1755 – 1760.
From Sire. This dress was probably from France by its name, and the period when these wide hips were in fashion was around 1755-1760. The dress is made of silk and painted by hand… so it does look fragile. And even in the past the fragility of these costumes used to prevent their exhibition.. but with expert restoration now they have made it possible for the collection to be brought out of storage. Okay, the idea behind the wide hips is that women with wider hips are more fertile than women with narrower hips, and in those days the most important thing for a woman was to get marrried :-) So the wider hips you have, the easier you can attract the (hopefully) rich men! ;)
Happy ABC Wednesday!! :D
Ninnu
May 20th, 2009Thank you for visiting my blog and the link to that lovely song and video, which I didn’t know. It definitely brought so much beauty to my day and my life!
Marie
May 20th, 2009I love this! What a card and what a dress! LOL! I must be really fertile then… I certainly have WIDE hips:) Now where is my rich man?
Gordon
May 20th, 2009Thanks for visiting my blog. You do have some interesting postcards and this no exception.
I just saw a theatre production of Phantom of the Opera and there were many beautiful costumes, not quite as wide and not as fragile, but beautiful nonetheless.
Lily Hydrangea
May 20th, 2009Interesting R post. & I love your very unique postcard.
Jay
May 21st, 2009I love the dress. I am fascinated by social history, and that includes dress, especially worn by ordinary people on special occasions. This one looks magnificent, so probably belonged to someone rich or aristocratic, but it’s gorgeous.