Drama Queens - Opera Costumes from the time of Marie Antoinette

There is a small collection of Opera or Theater Costumes from the time

of Marie Antoinette that I simply adore. 

I have nicknamed this interesting collection of fashion plates

"Drama Queens" just for the fun of it.

(I liked several these ladies so much that I've created my own altered versions of them;
and will be posting some fun artwork using them in upcoming posts.)

Late 18th Century Opera or Theatrical Costume (French)

Not all the costumes are of women, there are some male entertainers as well; 

however the costumes are a bit bizarre - which makes them all the more fascinating.

These French "Theatrical" Costumes are from the late 1770's.
Just the perfect time period for all you Marie Antoinette fans.

I hope you enjoy seeing them!

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A bit about 
"Galerie des Modes et Costumes Francais"

In the late 1700's two print sellers in Paris decided to sell fashion plates of current fashions and costumes of the time.  They dubbed this plate series "Galerie des Modes et Costumes Francais" and started selling these plates sporadically from 1778 till 1787.  

 Over the years there have been several book published containing variations of these designs.
Some are black and white only versions of the fashions, others are less crisp colorized versions and then there is my favorite the 1912 version by M. Paul Cornu.

In 1912 many of them were re-worked and sold as a 4 "folio" set.
The images I'm displaying above are from the more modern 1912 version; however I did want you to see an example of an older print from the late 1700's for comparison. 

A much older version "original" version of this fashion plate

I think you will agree that while this older print has a lot of charm;
the 1912 versions are a more entertaining way to view these designs.


I hope you have enjoyed seeing these fantastical costumes from the late 1700's.


Till the next time...