Would Eugénie like these ?

As hot summer days are slowly coming in and weddings being very much in the air (no...not mine!), I'm in the mood for white or ivory lace, velvet ribbons, flowers and frou frou, all these delightful unnecessary things which make us feel fresh and summery. I made these few items some months ago to put in my Etsy shop which I've completely forgotten. But then, I might keep them for my personal use as I enjoyed very much sewing these little things by hand, just like a trousseau really!

I titled this post Would Eugénie like these? because at the time I made them, I felt very much inspired by the exhibition held in Paris, in the Musée Galliera Le temps des crinolines, fashion during the French Second Empire. I would have loved to be able to see it as I always had a weakness for Empress Eugénie and the romantic and bucolic portraits her favorite painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter made of her.

The famous portrait of Empress Eugénie and her ladies in waiting, always impressed me by the richness of attire and fabrics contrasting with the artificial pastoral scene. Slightly off centered towards the left, Empress Eugénie seems to reign over her amiable entourage. Each of them poses gracefully. Each of them barely wears jewelry, as if to be more in harmony with the bucolic ambiance. My eye doesn't focus on their face or hair though but mainly on the voluminous crinoline. This happy explosion of silk, mousseline, tulle and ribbons is really what I like in this painting, albeit academic.

Why don't we wear flowers in our corsage any more ? It's so much fun !

I wish you all a merry week end!

(ice cream will be my main sin this week end)

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