Lady in a green dress

I sent this postcard as a birthday card to someone. I love the way that the dress sweeps round. I wonder what colour it was in real life.

A La Belle Jardinière

Two postcards from the auction we attended at Bordeaux. These beautiful cards are amongst several that were published by La Belle Jardinière in Paris. Founded in 1824, the store was the first to sell clothing that had been mass produced. This was a revolution at the time and met the needs of the growing middle class. The stores were open until the 1970s when they were taken over.

The postcards really are in excellent condition considering their age. The first features the Opera in Paris and fashions worn around 1815. The second card is of the Belle Jardinière store and clothes worn around the time that the cards were produced 1900. The backs of the postcards are non-divided. Any correspondence would have to be written on the space at the side of the illustrations. In France, postcards were like this until the autumn of 1903.

The season of the Three Graces

This postcard dates before 1903 and is in very good condition. What beautiful hats, I would have liked to have worn one. Click on the image in order to see the detail of the dresses more clearly.

Five pretty ladies

I know that they were probably quite uncomfortable and involved the wearing of corsets, but aren’t they beautiful? And then there are the hats…

Maison Rouff

A very old postcard, not at all in good condition, but with a wealth of information after a ltttle research. The ladies are standing in front of the French fashion house, Maison Rouff. Beautifully made clothes and soft furnishings from this store are now sought after collectables. César Ritz chose Rouff for table cloths etc. when he opened his first hotels.

I have no idea why the ladies were showing off their lovely parasols like that. Click on the image to get a more detailed view of their clothes.

The terrasses at Monte-Carlo

This is where I’d rather be today. Although it’s sunny here, it’s rather cold and I’d prefer a warmer climate. This card was sent in 1927 from a teacher to a pupil she was obviously fond of who had sent her a letter from Paris. I think the card dates from a lot earlier than 1927 looking at the lovely hats and parasols and the length of the ladies dresses.

1909

I’d love to be able to dress up and wear a hat like this one. I wonder if it was heavy? Ladies in 1909 would be looking at this kind of creation in the shops and wondering what excuse they could give their husbands for buying yet another hat. The inscription on the back is actually dated 1915, I wonder where the card got to for six years?

O la la!

These three ladies are modelling the latest fashions at the races at Auteuil. If you look closely at the lady on the left you will see she is wearing a ‘jupe-culotte’ which has divided legs! From what I can find out this was in 1911. The card has writing on the back but no date.