"King Louis XIV would stage elaborate ball after exquisite party after expensive festival and require luxurious attire at each one. The nobility wanted to remain within the higher circles, which were quickly congealing at the court of Versailles, because it was “believed that mere physical proximity to the monarch…would elevate them to a higher social level” and the king spent almost all of his time at court.[4] It was thus necessary to attend all the fashionable balls and festivities and spend outrageous amounts of money on new clothing. Eventually it was almost certain the courtier would fall into debt and should they want to remain within the court they would be required to ask for a loan from the king. The king would only grant them said loan or even hear their request for the loan if they had been spending the proper amount of time at court.[5] This endless cycle kept the nobles trapped in Versailles and focused on the wearing the proper and most fashionable clothing, which led them to be both too poor and too preoccupied to revolt against the monarch."
It could certainly be argued that today, American "leaders" stage elaborate scandals, controversial Tweets and manufactured news day after day after day to keep citizens too preoccupied to revolt....and use means other than governmental enforced fashion to keep them poor. Disturbing thoughts in a frightening time.
That said- sleeves. With all the madness in the world we can still love a good, dramatic sleeve! And certainly without going bankrupt!
Some decadent sleeves over the years....
The Virago Sleeve, 1628
Jacket with sabot cuffs, 1780s
Muslin dress with mamaluke sleeves, 1816
"The gigot sleeve, also called the leg-of-mutton sleeve, was named for its resemblance to a sheep's hind leg: wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. With a large puff of material at the shoulder, gigot sleeves tapered sharply at the elbow to fit closely along the lower arm. This dramatic style of sleeve was first seen on women's dresses in the sixteenth century but became a very popular style during the late 1820s and early 1830s"
Here, an 1890s version...
1910 Liberty afternoon dress of pale blue-grey crepe with draped crossover bodice, medieval revival sleeves
Butterfly sleeves in black taffeta, 1930s (Dorothea's Closet Vintage archives)
1960s bell sleeves
1980s dolman sleeves
Spring 2018 runway- puff sleeves!
