All dressed up

History, function, codes and characteristics of all the dresses.

Corsets, panniers, crinolines or bustles are words that no longer have significance today. But at various times throughout the history of clothing, women wore these essential pieces under their dresses and often needed help to put them on.

Depending on the fashions of each period, certain parts of the body were highlighted as elements of seduction (a tiny waist, extremely wide hips, an exaggerated bottom,...). Women sought what they believed to be an ideal of perfection while obeying the strict, often extravagant codes of Fashion and social norms. It was the events surrounding World Wars I and II and then the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s that finally introduced dresses which did not restrict the body.

But even today, dresses still assert a woman’s femininity. Every woman has at least one precise memory of a dress that marked a key event in her life and was intrinsically associated with her joy of pleasing others!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Originally a passionate collector of old fabrics and clothing, Mireille Tembouret today oversees the enormous “Vestiaire” (wardrobe), a mix of civilian and religious garments from many eras. The company - with its surprising resources - provides clothing to film, television and theater professionals as well as special-event organizers or private individuals. After teaching fashion design at Esmod Paris and a design career in the Paris fashion industry. She now dedicates her energies to developing her company, based in Paris.