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We are right in the midst of Haute Couture Fashion week in Paris! Chanel's collection debuted this morning and the Dior collection on Monday. Both collections drew influences from the 18th century, think Petit Trianon, decorative arts and gardens.
Showing posts with label Petit Trianon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Petit Trianon. Show all posts
Perfume captures the fragrance of Marie Antoinette's gardens
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Camp Versailles: 18th century inspired fashion and #Giveaway
I have recently been in touch with long-time reader and fashion designer Quinne Myers from local apparel brand she & reverie. Quinne's Spring 2014 line has just launched, and her inspirations for it are Marie Antoinette's 18th-century Petit Trianon and its wonderful gardens.
This is so appropriately timed with the new book release, The Gardener of Versailles, which talks about these very gardens, and of course Dior's Spring 2014 make-up collection also inspired by the Petit Trianon!
The capsule collection is called Camp Versailles and is full of sweet made-in-NYC pieces like frothy silk mini tops, cute-yet-luxe kitsch-inspired hoodies, sundress/chemise combos, and perfect puff-sleeve lounge dresses.
Book Review: The Gardener of Versailles
I am very excited to share my review of The Gardener of Versailles: My Life in the World's Grandest Garden, which I recently featured on my my latest reading list! This book was just released February 11th, and I am hosting a giveaway for this new book this week!
Dior inspired by Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon for Spring 2014 Makeup Collection
Dior looks back to the 18th century again for inspiration, this time it is Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon that has inspired their new makeup collection. The colors are soft and glowy - and the details are ornamental and fun, the palette vessel is a bow and the pots are impressed with ribbons.
What do you think of the colors selected for this collection? I can see the floral, pastoral and decorative arts influence!
First Architect to the King
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| Jacques-Ange Gabriel, Chateau Fontainebleau. France, 1754. Hartill Art Associates Inc. |
Cire Trudon Candles: The choice of Marie Antoinette
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| Birthday scene from Marie Antoinette, 2006. |
The company was founded in 1647 when a shopkeeper, Trudon, sold candles, constantly working to improve the quality of each one. His craftsmanship of the candles did not go unnoticed and by 1719 Trudon was creating candles for French nobles and the royal family.
The business was a success and the family was able to carry on the company. The company famously catered to the court of Louis XIV and supplied candles for Versailles, commissioned by Marie Antoinette herself. Today the company still makes high quality candles in their historic tradition. The vegetable based wax burns for a long time and they use a pure cotton wick.The scents of the candles are almost like recipes, they are layered and sometimes blended. I am particularly fond of the historic varieties. The company has made candles for Dior and also supplied the candles that decorated and lit the screen for Sofia Coppola's 2006 version of Marie Antoinette. Did you notice the candles in the film??
The picking of jacinth, roses, white flowers, wild herbs from the meadows and graminaccous plants, this bunch of flowers reminds us of an ideal nature, that of the Nouvelle Heloise and the country life dreams of Marie Antoinette. vibrating with the memory of a summer evening and the warm musk scent of torches, this candle is a homage to the Queen of taste who inspired so many candles to Maison de cire Trudon.
Head: Galbanum, cyclamen. Heart: Jacinth, Rose white flowers. Bottom: Musk
La Marquise
The cheerful and powdered air of a delicious boudoir: verbena and lemon stimulate the sensuality of the white flowers and the rose. This perfume at once tender and clever, keeps up all the sharpness of Madame de Pompadour's conversations and the voluptuous charms of the Rocaille chic.
Head: Verbena, lemon, citronella. Heart: Rose. Bottom: Cedar, Rosewood.
Roi SoleilFragrance of the Mirror Gallery and the vast wooden floor of the Chateau de Versailles, vapours of wax, candelabras and palace. This kingly and solar perfume blends a green and wooded wake of coniferous trees to the sumptuous dizziness of incense with a light ray of citrus.
Head: green leaves, eucalyptus, orange. Heart: fir's bark. Bottom: cedar, incense.
There are several other fragrances and candles that look quite divine so I encourage you to check out the website at http://ciretrudon.com/. Some other brands that I like include Voluspa candles and Bluewick. If you have any other suggestions please let me know. If you try any of these candles I would love to hear what you think!
Famous Libraries: Build your own Marie Antoinette Library
Perhaps you might find your library more special if you knew some of the same books also sat on the shelves in Marie Antoinette's library at her Petit Trianon?
So what books belonged in her library?
Let's start with a title from her History section:
Warens, Louise Françoise Éléonore de la Tour du Pil, and Amédée Doppet. 1786. Memoires de Madame de Warens, suivis de ceux de Claude Anet.
Where to get it:
Amazon: Mémoires de madame de Warens, suivis de ceux de Claude Anet (French Edition)
Library Hours
For some time she would schedule a small part of her day aside to spend in the library. It was her hope to cultivate her mind, and supplement her education by studying and reading. The idea was noble. After several failed attempts to be secluded and uninterrupted, she gave up on her scholarly pursuits.
The Queen Just Stepped Out to Recieve the Duchess of Devonshire
If you go to Petit Trianon you can wander through the interior, noticing the lovely details of walls, furniture, colors, flooring and the view. You may also stumble into private quarters, where small exclusive gatherings took place; nights of music, comedy and gossip. Another thing to notice are the small items that were owned by Marie Antoinette, on display, as Paris Atelier puts it, "The museum wanted one to feel as though the Queen had just stepped outWell, Paris Atelier also posted this photo and I couldn't help notice this small compact. If you want your own like this, then you are in luck that I am such a fan of pretty make up. Mac has offered a holiday series and the 2007 series, Royal Assets, features a compact oh so like this one!for a moment and you looking into a day in her life."
Unfortunately Royal Assets was a limited edition, and now can only be found on ebay for a steep rate. Worth it? The case comes in antiqued silver or gold with the special mac crown enblem. The palettes come with 2 shades of color, and 1 shade of gloss (I mean a shade of lipglass) - which smells like chocolate. Color names include Courting Rose, Reigning Pink, Lady Ship, Pure Pomp, Sceptre, Privee, Cardinal and Media. So if you have to have it, you can get it!Still want the sweet 3 lip compact? Mac is selling sets from their 2008 line, Viva Glam on their website. The case is not as 18th century as the Royal Assets case but it is just as pretty with a large gem in the center, mirror, application brush and yes, the lip gloss smells of chocolate!
Meet Me In The Grotto
We all know and love the pretty Grotto at Hef's Playboy Mansion. You can swim, drink and be merry in a dark (yet well illuminated) 'cave' like area. Wonderful, no?An earlier Grotto could be found on the grounds of Marie Antoinette's beloved Petit Trianon. The design of the Grotto was exquisite and during the 18th century nothing could be more 'in.' The English Garden style demanded a look of natural forms, nothing premeditated, so it was pure genius to place large rock forms here and there and have some 'natural' areas where water could run. It was all an illusion of the ideal Arcadian landscape, the result rather stunning. As visitors wandered through this landscape they would come across the grotto; where nature was overgrown, a curious entrance almost suffocated by vine and
branches welcomed them accompanied by the calming sound of flowing water.Inside the Grotto was cool, an ideal escape from the summer sun. Were there always boys hanging around this cavern of delight? Maybe.... It was private, and big enough to have a side entrance, allowing airflow and light to creep in. Enough light to enhance the secret waterfall within and the mossy walls. Antoinette was at this tranquil escape when warning of the mob reached her in 1789. How bittersweet!
Tea For Two!
I recently mentioned that one set of Marie’s Sèvres services is on display at Petit Trianon. Sèvres is the factory that Louis XVI and Marie supported, as did Louis XV. The factory opened during the 1740’s. Read more about it here. I wanted to give you a quick look at the design of the delicate pieces. They are decorated with strings of pearls and elegant cornflowers. Georgiana has a set on display at Chatsworth and her set is a bit earlier, and I think Marie would have liked it as her own! This set is from 1785, and she was aiming for things less lavish and luxe. The simplicity of the design as a whole describes this desire, the cornflowers seem to represent the aim for
nature and its simple beauty yet at the same time are an exotic bloom (I believe from North America - correct me if you know anything on that). The pearls of course valued as jewels fit for a queen (Pearl Post Coming Soon!) yet they are jewels not shaped by the hand of a stone cutter, they are jewels in their most natural state.This last image is the design of a different set she had, not on view at the Petit Trianon. It does give you an idea of designs Marie liked.
Just lovely!
Petit Trianon and Petit Hameau
You must take a moment to look at this post about Trianon's English style gardens and Petit Hameau. It is not only very interesting but has beautiful images to accompany it! I highly recommend! :o)
It is agreed Marie felt confined to the strict rituals of court life, and her choice of keeping an English style garden at Trianon (her retreat from Versailles) is visual proof of a separation from the formal bounds of her life. The English gardens represented freedom more so than the French formal gardens* because with the later your eye was bound to only look where the designer directed you. Whereas the former style allows your eye to roam freely across the landscape. In fact it becomes difficult to tell where the 'garden' ends and the landscape begins because it is designed so naturalistic.Extravagant? Yes.
Also, if you are a fan of WE TV like Ms Heath and I, you might want to check out tonight's episode at 7:00pm Eastern. Yes, it is a Persian theme, but they have the wedding at a location in LA that is modeled after the Petit Trianon in Versailles!
*of course both gardens are designed by a landscape architect and no matter what you are seeing what was intended by said designer. It is all in theory!
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