How to Dress 18th Century: 1750 - 1770 Robe a la Francaise

Have you ever wondered what all goes into dressing in those big, fancy eighteenth-century dresses? What did Marie Antoinette and Madame de Pompadour wear, and what were all the layers of her Rococo dress? In this video Lauren demonstrates getting dressed in a Robe a la Francaise, or sacque, gown, accurate to the period of c. 1750 to 1770. Robe a la Francaise gowns were popular for almost all of the 18th century, in one form or another. By the mid-18th century, panniers (or pocket hoops) had shrunk in size and width, but were still essential to creating the wide silhouette so popular and iconic in the Georgian period. The Robe a la Francaise continued to feature the beautiful “Watteau“ pleats at the back, but by the 1760s featured a waist seam and could be made with or without robings, and with or without a separate stomacher. About the Costume - * The gown in this video was made using Simplicity 8578, with a few small adjustments that you can read more about here: * The fabric is silk taffeta. Similar silks perfect for 18th century can be found at Fancy Styles Fabric here: * The lace is antique, though not 18th century. Tambour net can be found on Etsy. * This gown is completely hand sewn using techniques in The American Duchess Guide to 18th Century Dressmaking, which also contains patterns and instructions for the underpetticoat, pocket hoops, tucker, sleeve ruffles, bows, and at attifet (cap): * The shoes are American Duchess “Pompadours“ that have been dyed and decorated. The tutorial for how I decorated them is here: and the undecorated shoes are for sale here: * The jewelry is from Dames a la Mode: FAQ Answers - * Regular steel-headed straight pins are used to pin the stomacher and gown. They are driven into the stays with the boning between the pin and the body, so you will not stab yourself. I have never had pins stab me while wearing a gown nor fall out during the day. * It takes about 10 - 15 minutes to get dressed, even with lacing the stays. It takes longer to do the hair than to actually put the clothing on. * The crossed straps on the stays are to hold the shoulders back. This style of shoulder straps appears on several extant stays and is a good method for narrow or sloping shoulders. They’re easily adjustable. * I have dated this video 1750 - 1770 because the style of the gown - particularly the waist seam, width of the panniers, and the separate pinned stomacher - cover that range. In the 1760s, comperes front stomachers became popular - this was a center-front closing (pinning, hooking, or buttoning) stomacher that was stitched to each side of the gown. Comperes front and separate stomacher front coexisted. * I have styled my hair and headdress for the late 1760s, even though the gown can back-date to the 1750s. ------------------------------- Get social with us! Instagram: Facebook: Blog: Shop our Website: Don’t forget to subscribe! ❤ 0:00 Introduction 0:09 Start with shift stockings, and shoes My hair is also already styled 0:16 A ribbon and lace choker was popular in the 1760s. 0:41 Next is the underpetticoat 0:54 The underpetticoat provides an additional layer of warmth and padding under the stays. 1:19 Now for the stays 2:14 The boned stomacher helps with pinning the gown later on. 3:16 Panniers, also called pocket hoops, hold the skirt out in the fashionable silhouette 3:27 Panniers came in a variety of shapes and sizes. 3:40 They also served as very capacious pockets! 3:54 Next is the petticoat. 4:09 The petticoat is split at the sides, allowing access to the pocket hoops. 4:16 The petticoat ties on back-to-front, then front-to-back 5:48 This type of gown is called a “sacque“ or a “robe a la Francaise.“ 6:03 It was popular in various incarnations for almost the entire 18th century 7:41 Jewelry is the final addition