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| Sophia Magdalena, Queen consort of Sweden by Nicholas Lafrensen |
This is the year of the Swedish national gown for me, so I thought it wouldn't
be amiss with a more throughout post about it than I have done before. I am
leaving the men's suit out of it, but I can tell you that though the ladies
weren't that keen on their gown, the suit was rather a success. The idea of a
national suit was something that cropped up all around Europe in the 18th
century, but it was only in Sweden that it was actualized. Gustaf III felt
strongly about the subject and there are very strong indications that he
designed them himself. If he didn't, he sure did have a lot of influence over
the process, because the suit was certainly made to fit his preferences for
clothes that weren’t too tight and with the handy cape that hid some slight deformities
in his body. His interest in history and historical fashion is also evident.
The women's gown consisted of three parts, a sleeveless bodice, a
petticoat worn over pocket hoops and a robe. They were all trimmed with a
pleated trim in the same fabric and there were also a belt and bows in a
contrasting fabric. The fabric could be of various colours, but even if the
fabric had a pattern, the colour should be solid, i.e. woven into the fabric
like the extant gown. The robe was originally cut like a polonaise, but both
pictures and the remaining extant gown are cut like an anglaise. The poufy
sleeves and a standing collar were the largest deviation from the fashion of the
day, but even from the start, ladies could opt for a small white collar
instead. There were also numerous rules for how a gown should look, depending
on the wearer’s status and when it was to be worn.
The court gown
The big difference between the court gowns and the common gown was the
sleeves. A lady who had been presented to the king wore white gauze sleeves
with a lattice work of the robes fabric over. The trail was also longer and
looped up a bit differently than the common version. For everyday court
business the gown was black, apart from the sleeves and the bows and belt were
in a colour that indicated which court the wearer belonged to. Red for the King,
although it seems that pink could be worn as well, if one looks at portraits, blue
for the Queen and yellow for the Dowager queen.
Another lady attached to the King's court.
For grand balls the gown were originally meant to be bright red with
white belt and bows, to honour the Queen's Danish heritage, but it must have
been clear very early on that bright red wouldn't be the best shade to put a
whole court in and there are no evidence that the red version were ever made.
Instead the gala version became white with pale blue bows and belt, nicely complimenting
the men's suit which was pale blue with white details.
There are no paintings of the gala version as it is described; this portrait
of Queen Sophia Magdalena seems to be the closest. The lattice sleeves are
decorated with gold and so it the robe, which seems to be in a patterned fabric
and is not trimmed with pleated fabric. The bodice is blue, and not
white.
There was also a third version meant for the countryside, known as the
Eksolsund's gown. It was in a pale yellow with blue details and for young
ladies it deviated from the standard cut as it was supposed to be made like a
riding habit. Older ladies wore the ordinary bodice/petticoat/robe combo. There
are stories on the problems the court had when they were residing at Drottningholm
castle as the castle itself demanded the back version, but if they were to go
to the Chinese pavilion in the park, the Ekoldsund's version were to be worn. The
king advertised the clothes of the day by putting a card on the door to his
room, but he often changed his mind several times, so the court had to keep a
vigilant eye on the door so to not show up in the wrong clothes.
I have never seen a portrait of a lady wearing the Ekolsund’s gown, but
here is Gustaf III’s son, Gustaf IV Adolf with his wife Fredrika in the early 19th
century in the male version, just to give you a sense of the colours.
The common gown
With sold sleeves and a shorter train, it was very easy to spot the
common gown. In theory it could be made in any colour, as the male suit seems
to have, but there are only records of black, blue and grey ones. The one remaining
gown is just in the common version and was made as a wedding gown for Sofia Lovisa Brüch in
1780. The bows and belt are reconstructions.
Lady in the common gown with striped bows.
A common gown in self-striped grey fabric and pale pink stroped bows.
There were also gowns that, even if they weren't strictly cut after the
national gown, still took their inspiration from it, like this charming one it
patterned white/yellow silk/cotton.
Or this black one. The bodice in those gowns are discarded and the pouffy sleeves changed for more fashionale slim ones.
Perh Hilleström paintied several paintings with peole dressed in the national suit and gowns. On the first you can see a seated lady belonging to the King's court and a lady in a grey common version. The lady arriving is also wearing a black national gown, though you can't tell if it is the court or common version.
http://historyofsweden.diary.ru/?tag%3D3245
