King Louis Xiv's Fashion In The 17th Century

Louis XIV’s excessive grandeur made the French economy weak. His palace at Versaille, his constant need to gain more territory, and the crumbling of France’s economic system and caused the greatest revolution the world has ever seen. His grandiose estate, the palace at Versailles, required half of Louis XIV’s revenues to maintain. Although this palace may have kept up appearances for the sake of foreign

King Louis XIV was very egotistic. Lisa Hilton explains, “he was of the opinion that he was pretty much a god himself.” He only dressed in the finest fabrics and was very conscious of his appearance. Fashion was of great importance to him. He started wearing a wig when his hair line started to recede. To make himself appear taller, he wore high heeled shoes. He ritualized his daily activities. Nobles would stand in line to help him get dressed, watch him eat, and help him get ready for

These industries provided jobs but also helped to establish France as world leader in export. Louis XIV’s finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert organized the workers in companies that were regulated to ensure quality. This also prevented competition among each other, but helped them to compete against foreign imports. Louis XIV imposed a strict dress code that made certain there was ready need for French made clothing (Chrisman-Campbell, 2015). They would also speak of Louis XIV’s effect on the arts. Colbert and the king shared the belief of idolizing the monarchy through the arts. Louis XIV was an astute fan of the best literary and artistic figures of the time. The crown developed several schools, to include those for painting and sculpture, as well as inscriptions in 1663. French artists at Rome and science in 1666. Followed by the Paris Observatory in 1667 and the academies of architecture in 1671 and music in 1672. The literary Academie Francaise would also come under royal control in 1671 (Steingrad,

Still, the negative aspects of France’s rule under King Louis XIV far outweigh the positive ones. His reign can best be described by the statement “L’état, c’est moi,” (I am the state) that is attributed to him. King Louis XIV spent state money to pay for his own luxuries and monuments that glorified his image. It was also customary for the artists King Louis XIV sponsored to include direct or indirect allusions to him in their productions thus creating a god-like image of him. The Palace of Versailles alone used 5% of France’s income. This liberal

Have you ever wondered what people in the Elizabethan Era wore? Fashion was just as important in those days as it is to some people today. What people were wearing mattered to others, and even the government. During the Elizabethan Era clothing, accessories, and cosmetics were all a part of daily life.

There have been and still are hundreds of fashion designers in the world. But only a few of them have had any major impact on fashion industry today. And even fewer have revolutionised the fashion industry completely. One of these revolutionaries is the renowned Christian Dior. He reestablished Paris as the centre of the fashion world, and created his name as a symbol of elegance, quality, and modernity. I will be looking into how Dior’s context informed his practice, by using three of his most iconic and popular designs; The Bar Suit, Venus Dress and the Cygne Noir dress. And how these were a direct representation of 1945-1950 France.

In 1661 Louis appointed Jean-Baptiste Colbert as controller general of finances. This proved to be very successful in adding to the increase of France’s economy, and it helped Louis achieve his second goal of having “one law.” Colbert’s ideas were similar to that of mercantilism. He insisted on having an economic system that would make France a self-sufficient powerful country where they exported more than they imported. He improved France’s economy through the invention of a merchant marine fleet, the support of industries, the control of tariffs on French goods, and the collection of taxes. All of these gained money for France, which led to the creation of a powerful army. Due to a powerful army, France was able to secure its natural frontiers, even in the North East, which was France’s weakest natural border. While Louis claimed a flaw of his was that, “I loved war too much,” he was able to make a strong French presence in Europe, adding to his idea of “one law.”

This further alienated him and caused contempt from a lot of people. When he said the phrase “One king, one law, one faith” he meant it. He tried to standardize his nation’s laws in all parts of the country, using the Intendant system, as was already mentioned. He also modernized the army, which can be perceived as a good thing but this was mainly to fight his many wars, earning him hatred from his subjects. During his later years, when Colbert died and the economy began to decline, he was forced to increase taxes and sell government offices again; this also contributed to some enmity from the masses.

Over the course of the history of clothing styles and production, one thing has never changed: a person’s wealth directly influences

After the War Chanel returned to Paris in 1953 to find that Parisian women were obsessed with Christian Dior and the “New Look”, which is a very feminine

Louis hired Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a Swiss banker, to reform France's financial situation. By seeking out people who avoided their taxes (for example, people posing as nobles) and reorganizing the tax collection system (Before Colbert the majority of collected tax never even made it to the treasury), Colbert was able to reduce the loses of the treasury by 30,000,000 liras. This, in conjunction with stimulating the economy by reducing taxes, allowing monopolies, and encouraging immigration of skilled workers, boosted the worth of the French economy, and had a positive influence on the country as a whole.

Louis XIV 's France was an absolute monarchy, meaning the king had the power, control, finances and the nation in his hands more then ever before. In the 17th century, France was the strongest and wealthiest nation in Europe, and the head of the state, the king, was the most influential person of the time. In the ideas of the scientific revolution and the soon-coming changes of the enlightenment the country was developing. For a few decades France was not involved in any major wars or battles and the peace helped the population grow fast.

Some people think that King Louis XIV did more harm to France than good. They cite his lack of moderation in managing his money. They also point out that Louis denied religious liberties to the Protestants of France and tightened control over his Roman Catholic subjects by revoking the Edict of Nantes. They also claim Louis’ war efforts were very costly and drained the treasury of France. Some say his arrogance, including his emblem of the “Sun King”, turned “his” people away from him. They think that Louis only cared about himself and what he wanted and didn’t think about future France.

Colbert knew to get the French economy moving again he had to create and protect french industries, restrict imports and encourage exports. He did this by endlessly regulating and supervising what came in and what went

Brief Summary- Dr. Munro Price, Modern European Historian at the University of Bradford, wanted to find out the truth of what the true actions and feelings of the King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were in those years before the collapse. After being dragged back to Paris from Versailles, they were then held prisoner in the capital. Concerned for their own safety, the King and Queen forced to agree with the revolution and its agenda. However, in secret, they both began devising a strategy and took the utmost precautions to hide their real policy. The Road from Versailles reconstructs much of what had been speculated until now as to the King and Queen’s clandestine diplomacy from 1789 until their executions. Dr. Price focuses on a small portion of history that has generally been unknown to the public, but could hold the key to the final days of the Old Regime and the mindset of the King. This book could give insight into the economic and social status