The Countess and Susanna in "The Marriage Of Figaro" by Mozart, sapphic version

Marbled endpaper. 1786.

Internet Archive

Fashion Plate, 1786, French.

From Cabinet des modes.

Portraying a woman in a red robe à la turque, white cotton fichu and red hat.

BNF Gallica.

Planche 1, Cabinet des Modes, May 15th 1786, Bibliothèque Nationale Française.

This plate has a LONG description, and here's a (shortened) rough translation of the description:

We can say it is no longer desirable for women to dress with great adornment (...) and these fashions are no longer made but for ceremonial gatherings, weddings, formal balls, large meals, which take place in very small numbers. This justifies us to not have often representations of these garments (...), nevertheless since they re sometimes worn, we show them in plates 1 and 2. In plate 1 we can clearly see that we no longer wear the big paniers and even in the most adornment, the fashions have been simplified (except, of course, the court clothes, which do not vary much and can be traces to the clothes of our fathers) (...). The woman in Plate 1 wears a blue robe à la Turque. The petticoat is of the same fabric and colour, the sleeves are made of white gros-de-Naples or another white fabric. The trim of the dress is in white crepe in the shape of rosettes, and in the middle of each is bouquet of artificial roses. The skirt of also decorated with white crepe and rosettes similar to the dress. The cuffs attached to the sleeves are made of cut white gauze. The throat is covered with a gauze fichu, tied at the front with a rainbow ribbon bow, she wears white leather gloves, and a fan. The head is covered with a bonnet also tied with a rainbow ribbon and topped with a garland of artificial roses. The ribbon forms a large bow at the back and holds a white crepe veil that falls almost to the waist, and on top of the bonnet rises a set of feathers: two rose, two blue, one white, and one green. The hairstyle has light curls along the entire front of the head, her hair is pulled up at the back in a flat bun, and two large curls on each side fall down her length. Her shoes are blue to match the colour of the dress, and are adorned with rainbow ribbon.

I found many funny things in this description, like that the magazine writers thought in 1786 that this look was simple, the concept of rainbow ribbon (ruban à l'Arc-en-Ciel) that seems to simply be a ribbon in colourful stripes, and the size and complexity of that bonnet. How about you? Please let me know in the comments or reblog tags, what is your favorite part of this outfit, or even if you'd like to reproduce it.

Also, the plate 2, that is a men's outfit, will be posted soon :)

You may remember this brooch - this is a mourning brooch remembering the loss of father and son at sea. Well, I found out that it is a set and that it comes with a ring.

On the left the brooch from the British Museum and on the right the ring that was sold at auction

The scene is the same except that the landscape is much smaller, the ship is bigger and the boat is much rougher. It is dedicated to Captain James Gilbard, 58 years old, lost at sea on 2 September 1786 and his son William Gilbard, 15 years old, lost at sea on the same day. James Gilbard of Exeter was a Mariner and Master of the ship Polly and Charlotte.

The back of the brooch is inscribed with the names of the two sons Samuel, 16 years old- he died on 22 September 1783,three years before his father and brother- and William 15 years old, the father's name is inscribed on the edge of the brooch. The ring bears the names and dates of the father and the older boy on the outside. William is noted on the back.

The Scots Magazine, Volume 48, 1786 said : On September 2nd a most alarming hurricane threw the whole island of Barbados into the utmost consternation. The Polly and Charlotte went out into the storm and Captain Gilbard and two lads perished endeavouring to board.

Whether the two were worn together or whether the brooch was possibly worn by James's wife and the ring by someone else is impossible to say. I suspect, however, that both were worn by the widow.

Ganymede, James Irvine, 1786

in the Cause of My Black Brethren I feel Myself Warmly interested, and Most decidedly Side, so far as Respects them, Against the White part of Mankind— Whatever Be the Complexion of the Enslaved, it does not, in my opinion, Alter the Complexion of the Crime Which the Enslaver Commits, a Crime Much Blaker than Any Affrican face— it is to me a Matter of Great Anxiety and Concern to find that this trade is Some times perpetrated under the flag of liberty, our dear and Noble Stripes, to which Virtue and Glory Have Been Constant Standard Bearers

the Marquis de La Fayette to John Adams, February 22, 1786

“To John Adams from the Marquis de Lafayette, 22 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-18-02-0091. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 18, December 1785–January 1787, ed. Gregg L. Lint, Sara Martin, C. James Taylor, Sara Georgini, Hobson Woodward, Sara B. Sikes, Amanda M. Norton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016, pp. 182–183.] (02/13/2024)

Illustrations of 1780s jacket styles from "Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français", after Francois-Louis-Joseph Watteau;

"Amazon" after Francois-Louis-Joseph Watteau, circa 1784

"La sémillante Lisett.." after Francois-Louis-Joseph Watteau, 1786

"La Belle Omphale", 1787

"Jeune Nymphe provoquant le plaisir", circa 1787

Le jeune amazone se reposant...", 1787

Postcrossing US-9457777 by Gail Anderson Via Flickr: Postcard with a photo of the Santa Barbara Mission in Santa Barbara, California, which was founded in 1786. Sent to a Postcrossing member in Indonesia.

At length all the obstacles of business, of idleness and of procrastination are so far overcome that I find myself with my pen in my hand to answer your three letters.

William Pitt to William Wilberforce, September 27, 1786

A. M. Wilberforce, editor, Private Papers of William Wilberforce, T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1897, pp. 15-17.

Goebel soldiers 1757, 1786, 1805, and two different 1812

Bust of young woman with headscarf (1786) - Gilles Demarteau after François André Vincent

Oil painting, ca. 1786, Spanish.

Painted by Francisco Goya.

Portraying María Ana de Pontejos y Sandoval in a white dress.

National Gallery of Art.

Planche 2, Cabinet des Modes, May 15th 1786, Bibliothèque Nationale Française.

We already looked at the female look for this Cabinet des Modes edition, here we have the male, which I LOVE, because late 18th century menswear is just *chef kiss*. The description is a little shorter than the one for the woman, but here we are in my loose and shortened rough translation:

Plate 2 The coat and waistcoat of the man shown in this plate, are made of spring velvet in a lemon green background with green stripes and lilac spots. The buttons that decorate the coat and waistcoat are enameled and speckled in a contrasting colour. The breeches are made of black liver cloth and the fit is snug/tight. The stockings are white and the shoes have red heels (this fashion is not for everyone) (...). The man wears a white plumed hat on his arms, and lace ruffle on his wrists. He has his left hand in his waistcoat pocket, and his right in his coat pocket.

Copper halfpenny, lovetoken by John Marshall, he was born in June 14 1772. Reverse: 1786 ‘LET VIRTUE BE YOUR GUIDE’, 1786