Young French Woman

Young French woman of the reign of Louis XIV

A woman in dress of the period of Louis XIV wears a bodice of dark burgundy velvet with jewels trimming the front. Her skirt is burgundy with a train, open at the front and gathered back at the hips with pink bows. The undersleeves show at the open fronts of the burgundy elbow length oversleeves, and have double ruffles of lace at the elbows, with small jewels trimming the cuffs. A wide collar of scalloped lace edges the neck. She wears a large ornate gold brooch with red jewels and three gold pendants fastened in the center.

Her light blue underskirt has two narrow gold stripes with a center row of jewels down the front, and four large pink bows. There is a wide border of jeweled gold brocade at the hem. She wears gold earrings, a short gold necklace with a red jewel, and a bracelet made of round gold beads. She holds a closed fan, and her softly curled hair is shoulder length, with short curled bangs. This plate is part of a series of depictions of historical costumes.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges