Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/406

 DRESS (^ ^ PRESS IN THE STUJAMT A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION TO MODERN DESIGNERS By MARY HOWARTH How Hints for the same Dress may be picked up from several Old Pictures— The large Hats worn ? by Nell Gwynn — Cavaliers and their THE Stuart period serves, in the history of dress as well as politically, as a dividing line between modes ancient and modern. It was essentially a period of transition. The destruction of the Spanish Armada one retrards as ancient history (although people still syndicate themselves for the purpose of discovering wrecked galleons), but the adventures of Bonnie Prince Charlie appeal to one as a romance of modern times. Simi- larly, it is with a realisation of comparative modernity that one contemplates the fashion of patching the face, whilst the Elizabethan ruff seems to be a reUc of almost prehistoric times. Art as a Source of Inspiration Designers of dress find their best inspiration in old pictures, taking from this one a slashed sleeve, from another a resetted belt, from a third .a panier, and from a fourth a short- waisted corsage cut in battlements. Among the most potent sources of aid are the portraits painted during the reigns of the Stuart kings and the dominion of the Protectorate, when men and women elected to be sent down to posterity clad in their best, the Royal- ists in all the finery of their brave array, the Puritans in the sober guise it satisfied their consciences to wear. The great Dutch portrait painters, Sir Anthony Van Dyck, commonly known as Vandyke, and Sir Peter Lely, have left us an absolutely faithful de- lineation of fashion in this most interesting of periods. Their portraits of the Kings Charles I. and Charles II., and of their queens and their renowned favourites, and of Oliver Cromwell are a running comment on the modes of a day that has come down to posterity as a byword for extravagance in every way. The contemporary period in France was just as rich in superb habiliments, and the portraiture of that period is a gold-mine to the King Charles i. led the fashion for extravagant attire. In this picture by Vandyke he is seen with the Star of the Garter blazing on his cloak, and in his ear a beautiful pearl drop. Rich Clothing — Patches and Chopines clever conjurer in clothes, for it must be admitted that with the world as old as it is now, novelty worthy of the name is rare, and any originality in dress can usually be traced to bygone days. Certain deft alterations have, of course, to be made, for fashion nevei repeats herself slavishly. She would be her own undoing were she to be so unwise. Mis:nard'8 Madonnas The name of the great court artist Mignard' is closely associated with the grand ladies of his day in France, at which time his style was so admired that the ladies he did not paint were as anxious as if he had painted them to be distinguished as the possessors of ^ ." mignard " faces, " mignard " expressions of countenance, and even of " mignard " smiles. All Mignard's sitters were madonnas. Much mirthful- criticism has been expressed of late re- specting the fashions of the twentieth cen- tury. But our large^ hats, copied from the* stupendous millinery worn by the charming Nell Gwynn, and even our hobble skirts, are the meekest and mild- est of freaks compared with some of the ex- aggerations in which the madcaps of the seventeenth century indulged. James I. himself led the way towards the goal of sheer and foolish eccentricity by wearing clothing so distended by padding that he looked like a figure of fun, the " Punch " of that and other generations. There was method in the sovereign's mad- ness, we are told, for he suffered so much from fear of assassination that he desired to make his attire dagger-proof, and thus took advantage of the fashion that had arisen in Queen Elizabeth's day for copious stuffings, which gave an overblown appear- ance to everyone. It must be remembered that during this i