BOUCHER'S MADAME DE POMPADOUR AND ROCOCO DRESSES BY JULIETTE ET JUSTINE.
Rococo Week continues as I play connect-the-dots between modern Lolita fashion and late 18th century Versailles. If I may be fustian, the appropriate word is “palimpsest”. Loli designs draw from the Ancien Regime but without historical comment; a lace-layered, corset-stitched dress is worn simply because it is beautiful.
Compare the Sweet/Hime dresses by Justine and Juliette (left) to the portraits of Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher (right). Her gauzy, intricate outfits evoke a “vie en rose” – much like the one Momoko (of Kamikaze Girls) yearns for.
Every lace trim and lush bow is brought out by François Boucher’s brush. He was appointed first painter to King Louis XV in 1765, and both loved and hated for his extravagantly sensual works. His harshest critic, Denis Diderot, had to admit of his art: “c’est un vice si agréable.” (It’s such an agreeable vice.)
His success was greatly facilitated by his patron, Madame de Pompadour, the cunning and beautiful mistress of Louis XV. She commissioned Boucher to paint her portrait several times, usually set against an idyllic and pastoral landscape. Her sweet features and charm are in full display here (and I love the cameo bracelet that matches the rosy bow of her capelet.)
Back to our palimpsest layers. We have the decadent court of Versailles dominated by Madame de Pompadour… Boucher’s sensual and semi-fantastical depictions of his patroness… Justine et Juliette’s Lolita dresses that draw upon the fiction and reality of the Rococo age. What a shame that courtly fashion has been shuffled away into museums – but Lolita designers are re-kindling the flame and crying out (in the words of Adele): “It’s high time we had a bit of decadence!”
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19 Comments
Great pics for the Rococo post. It is amazing how inspiring a bunch of “old paintings” can be. Just today I noticed “palimpsest” in the NYTimes. Damn, it's catching on.
Great pics for the Rococo post. It is amazing how inspiring a bunch of “old paintings” can be. Just today I noticed “palimpsest” in the NYTimes. Damn, it’s catching on.
The Sweet/Hime (it is fitting that Hime is the name of the dress…) dresses are beautiful! They make me wish it were more acceptable to wear such things, and that I also had the money to afford them.
The Sweet/Hime (it is fitting that Hime is the name of the dress…) dresses are beautiful! They make me wish it were more acceptable to wear such things, and that I also had the money to afford them.
Yeah, I have a really hard time finding occasions to wear goth-loli, since I never go to clubs and I don’t want to ruin my dresses at concerts. v_v So, I always end up wearing them at anime conventions. ^^
Wow, i just love every dress in this *__* By the way, I watched “Kamikaze Girls” yesterday.
Wow, i just love every dress in this *__* By the way, I watched “Kamikaze Girls” yesterday.
That last purple dress is just soo pretty. o:
That last purple dress is just soo pretty. o:
First picture… so cute ^.^ BEAUTIFUL!
First picture… so cute ^.^ BEAUTIFUL!
Oh, i love the second dress! It's so lovely ;3
hehe.. I wanna watch Kamikaze Girls again XD
Oh, i love the second dress! It’s so lovely ;3
hehe.. I wanna watch Kamikaze Girls again XD
Love the Rococo post – great style inspiration!
Love the Rococo post – great style inspiration!
Yeah, I have a really hard time finding occasions to wear goth-loli, since I never go to clubs and I don't want to ruin my dresses at concerts. v_v So, I always end up wearing them at anime conventions. ^^
Oh my God!!
Ur blog is awesome !!
I'll be passin' around.
I got a friend that i'm sure she's gonna luv it too !!
Oh my God!!
Ur blog is awesome !!
I’ll be passin’ around.
I got a friend that i’m sure she’s gonna luv it too !!
Oh my God!!
Ur blog is awesome !!
I'll be passin' around.
I got a friend that i'm sure she's gonna luv it too !!