A Sumptuous ca.1750-70 Robe à la Française

Sometimes you just want to go over the top!  This sacque gown (robe à la française) is without doubt the most opulent gown of its type I've made yet, inspired by a small number of extant gowns of the 1750-70 period made of beautiful brocade textiles with applied silver trim and lace.  My challenge was to create a gown that represented the luxury of the era in upper class dress, while still maintaining the balance, grace, and elegance of mid-18th century dress.  

As often happens, this project was sparked by a fortuitous discovery of a luxurious silk blend brocade at a price that, while expensive, wasn't shockingly high.  This lovely fabric, with soft metallic gold motifs woven throughout, on a golden tan ground, and little sprinkled motifs in rose-red, was rich looking without being garish -- a perfect background for metallic silver laces and trim.  Please read on to follow my journey of creating this unique gown! 

I had a small assemblage of sources depicting extant gowns with silver trim and/or silver lace embellishment, including the well known example in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum (see photos below).  What I had specifically been looking for was a brocade sacque with silver trimming, but few such gowns survive. 

​However, amongst those that I was aware of there was enough detail to be able to create an ensemble that represented a sort of amalgam of those examples, in essence using elements of extant gowns to create an entirely unique garment.  Still, the pattern of application of silver trim and lace was based primarily on the ROM example, as you can see from the following photos. 

Compare the front and back of my completed creation with some of the photos above, to see where I drew elements of inspiration: 

Every good maker must consider how best to adapt to and work with their raw materials, including determining the order of construction based on practical necessities, in order to achieve the desired result.  In this case, I was working with a substantial brocaded textile, about the weight and drape of modern duchesse satin.  I also knew that over 12 metres of 5cm wide silver lace trim, plus about 1.0m of heavy metallic silver lace, plus at least 10 metres of silver trim, were going to require a well-supported gown structure. 

In addition, the nature of brocade is such that the reverse side is usually quite rough and uneven, with many threads carried over during the weaving process, creating a rather delicate surface that might be subject to fraying, snagging, or tearing from ordinary movement when worn.   The photo below shows the wrong side of the brocade used in this gown, where you can see the crossing red threads used to create the scattered red motifs, and the metallic gold threads carried over the textile's tan coloured ground: 

Accordingly, I decided it was prudent (in fact necessary) to fully line the petticoat, and to create deep facings for the edges of the gown itself.  Although most gowns and matching petticoats of the era were not lined (aside from the linen linings of bodices), there were apparently exceptions. 

One such gown is studied in detail in the book "Costume in Detail" (by Nancy Bradfield).  That gown, a blue silk damask sacque, dated as ca.1742-52, is described as having its skirts fully lined in dull red cotton, with thin blue silk stitched over it along the edges.  (I actually suspect the gown is somewhat later than the 1742-52 date, as the style seems more typical of ca. 1760-70.  But the principle of protecting the costly silk is the same).  

In my case, I constructed a full petticoat lining from gold coloured silk shantung, and created deep (about 30cm/12") hand-applied facings from a thin tan coloured silk shantung all along the front edges and hem of the gown (see photos below).  These facings actually serve two separate purposes: those along the front edges of the gown are permanent, intended to prevent abrasion of the delicate threads on the wrong side, whereas the facing along the hem is intended to protect the train from dirt and wear, and to be removed and replaced if need be. 

One other practical issue involved the sleeve flounces.  It was clear to me that, given such a substantial brocade, creating double-tiered flounces was going to be not only a challenge, but likely end up looking unsightly, with heavily bunched-up gathers at the sleeve end all vying for space in the less than 30cm (12") circumference of that edge.  

I reluctantly decided there was no choice but to create just one flounce for each sleeve, and rather than lining each one with linen (as I usually do), I chose the same thin tan silk that I planned to use for the gown's facings. 

​However, in order to better balance the thick appearance of the flounces, I increased their depth, and planned instead to furnish the flounces with lavish and generously cut two-tiered engageantes, as shown in the photos below.