Fig. 89. A and B,
Perruque ˆ noeuds
; C and D, Tie-wig.
(Figure available in printed form)
Fig. 90. A and B, Catogan; C, Double Pigtail.
(Figures available in printed form)
In the early part of the eighteenth century the fan was generally in use among ladies of the middle classes. The
London Magazine,
in 1744, mentions fans two feet wide, and the writer remarks that by using them “a lady will soon screen herself and her family against all the inclemencies of the weather.” In the
Spectator,
Addison wrote his well-known and amusing satire: “Women are armed with fans as men with swords, and sometimes do more execution with them. To the end, therefore, that ladies may be entire mistresses of the weapon which they bear, I have erected an Academy for the training up of young women in the exercise of the fan, according to the most fashionable airs and motions that are now practiced at court. The ladies who carry fans under me are exercised by the following words of command: Handle your fans, Unfurl your fans, Discharge your fans, Ground your fans, Recover your fans, Flutter your fans. By the right observation of the few plain words of command, a woman of tolerable genius who will apply herself diligently to her exercise for the space of but one year shall be able to give her fan all the graces that can possibly enter into that modish little machine.” He continues: “There is an infinite variety of motions to be made use of in the flutter of a fan. There is the angry flutter, the modern flutter, the modest flutter, the timorous flutter, the merry flutter, and the amorous flutter. There is scarce any emotion in the mind which does not produce a suitable agitation in the fan—insomuch that if I only see the fan of a disciplined lady, I know well whether she laughs, frowns, or blushes. I have seen a fan so very angry that it would have been dangerous for the absent lover who provoked it to have come within the wind of it; and at other times so languishing, that I have been glad, for the lady’s sake, that the lover was at a certain distance from it.”
Lesson Plans 1,2,3
This unit will include three lesson plans, each one geared to better understanding through the different activities the fashion and the mentality of the XVIIth and the XVIIIth centuries.
Activity A
The students will be shown slides from the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. The slides offered will concentrate on the different styles of the two centuries. However because they include historically famous people, the teacher will have the opportunity to ask if:
1.
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Anyone recognizes the person shown.
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2.
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What kind of person is he or she and how old does the individual look.
|
3.
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Does anything in the slide give a clue on his or her place in society.
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This activity is part of the steps leading to Visualization, Background Check-up and Final Discussion.
A written assignment might follow, asking the student to describe the slide he or she liked the most and why.
Activity B
The student will be asked to draw a sketch of a costume of one of the periods of his or her choice. It might be a wig (hairstyle), dress, shoes etc.
The student must also specify the occasion the item has teen devised for and who would use it (social class, woman, man, etc.)
Activity C: Making of a Fan
Materials
sticks, cloth or paper, ribbon (optional), scissors, paints or crayons, glue, screw or pivot to connect the sticks.
The objective of this particular lesson is not only the making of a fan but also the drawing Of particular French items, such as a flower (lily) , a French monument (the Tour Eiffel), a curiosity (a wig). Anything that will excite the student’s curiosity and is connected with the French culture will be suitable. In fact the student should feel free to choose his or her own item to draw.
Aria,
Costume: Fanciful, Historical and Theatrical
. New York: the MacMillan Company, 1906
Flory, M.A.
The History of Fans and Fan-Painting
. New York and London: MacMillan and Co., 1895
Peacock, John.
The Chronicle of Western Fashion
. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1991
Ribeiro, Aileen.
Fashion in the French Revolution
. New York: Holmes & Meir Publishers, 1988
Willett, C. & Cunnington, Phillis.
The History of Underclothes
. London: Unwin Brothers Ltd, 1951