\ jlaktd'Sfte 





Figure 21. — Summer dress of a gentleman. He wears 

 a linen waistcoat garnislied with lace, and a long 

 wig (cf. fig. 18). From the Extiaiirdinaiie of the 

 Meriure Cahuil. Jinie 1678. (.Author's collection.) 



^. j{aktd:£fie 



Pirrenes 



:- G-ans Je 



.•.[■ti-ri\- 



. l/..n.-.r-ttrs 





(yr'} ?_^; \\ 



./ .Ttt.r.rti'rre 

 her im fens 



9mM 



Figure 22. — Summer dress of a lady with a 

 pleated lace (Point d' Arigletcrre) petticoat. 

 From the Extraordinaire of the Mercure 

 Giilant, June 1678. (.-\uthor's collection.) 



the Alerciire Galant. Donneau de \'ise depended on 

 trade support and took the opportunity to mention 

 names wherever he could. The new fabrics displayed 

 below the shelves are distinguished by letters; the one 

 on tile right (letter M), for example, is an Italian 

 yellow satin brocaded with white and violet. Other 

 small figured fabrics, he wrote, might be obtained 

 away from the Palais "chez le Sieur Baroy, au Cloitre 

 Saint Opportune," and ribbons might be found from 

 Sieur le Gras in the Palais itself. The editor de Vise 

 gives thanks to M. Berain (1637-1711), designateur 

 ordinaire du Cabinet du Roy, and to M. Lepautre 

 (1618-82) for engraving the plates. 



The summer fashions for 1678 were illustrated in the 

 ne.xt Extraordinaire number published on July 20 and 

 represented by a gentleman (fig. 21) and his lady 

 (fig. 22). Details of these plates are poor, and, 

 although they are taken from the Dutch edition, the 



original designer and engraver must have been lar 

 less competent than either Berain or Lepautre. 



The winter fashions for 1678-79 were described in 

 a long article in the ordinary October nuiiilier of the 

 Mercure Galant, which, for the costume historian, is of 

 great importance, since it deals among other topics 

 with the evasion of the sumptuary legislation by the 

 fashionai:)le world. The fashion plates are by a new 

 artist and are reduced to two (figs. 23 and 24). 



From this point the Mercure Galant ceased to publish 

 a regular series of fashion plates. Occasional articles 

 on fashion appeared through the rest of the 1680s 

 and into the next decade, but they are sliorter and 

 less informative. Donneau de Vize's adventure into 

 fashion journalism evidently had failed, probably 

 because of a lack of demand for it. Fashions both in 

 clothes and in fabrics did not change very rapidly, 

 and general fashion information was supplied by two 



82 



BULLETIN 250 : CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY .A.ND TECHNOLOGY 



