After the iron corset in the first half of the 17th century, the garment became rather looser and was usually made out of satin or silk on a framework of wire or whalebone, stretching way below the body. This kind of corset was worn even by young girls in the 18th century. At this time the farthingale, a framework of hoops worn under the skirt, gave way to the puffy dress and the crinoline, also called the pannier (basket) or tournure (bustle), giving the skirt its shape, but of course the shapes were subject to prevailing fashion. Around 1720, this shape tended to be round, but ten years later it was oval and subsequently even conical. In the middle of the 18th century the front and back of the skirt were given a very flat shape by two small panniers fitted on the sides, but the skirt was also laterally far outstretched. At the end of this century, the pannier was replaced by the bustle, which emphasised or embellished the natural shape of the rear. Above this the manteau (coat), worn open at the front, was predominant.

      The gentlemen, not only in France, wore under the three-cornered hat, also known as the three-master or fog-splitter, a bag-wig, which gradually displaced the curly, voluminous, full-bottomed wig and consisted of a black silk bag containing the neck hairs or the end of the wig. The Prince of Brandenburg, Frederick William I (1657–1713), introduced into Prussia the tie-wig, which was especially popular amongst members of the military. At court and in the aristocratic circles that frequented it, the just-au-corps, a collarless, jerkin-styled coat buttoned at the front and reaching over the breeches to the knees, was worn over the jacket. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that the English fitted a collar to this garment, which was then taken over by the French as a stand-up collar. So that the coat did not obstruct the dagger carried by every gentleman, the back seam, from around the hips and downwards, was left open.

      At the beginning of the 18th century it was still France that, in questions of elegance, set the tone throughout Europe. Ladies’ shoes were made of silk and bore large buckles on the insteps. The form of the shoes changed only slightly in the period between the Regency and the French Revolution. The toe cap was round or pointed and sometimes raised. Two kinds of shoes were popular: the slipper was worn indoors and the high-heeled shoe was worn to go with elegant clothes. The slipper with a heel of varying height was covered with satin, silk or white leather and often embroidered. Engravings from this period show numerous models with both types of shoes. The picture The Swing (1767) by Jean-Honoré de Fragonard (1732–1806), shows a young woman sitting on a swing with a playfully-raised skirt, who sends a dainty pink slipper flying towards her admirer crouching in the bushes. The chased silver buckles, set with paste or genuine precious stones, were kept in jewellery caskets and handed down to later generations. When one went out, the shoes were protected by wooden slippers or clogs fastened on the top of the foot with two leather straps.

      The men’s shoes were adorned with buckles and had a simple form with flat heels. Made of dark or black leather, they were shown off to their best advantage with silk trousers and brightly-coloured stockings made of satin or silk. Boots were a fashion later imported from England.

      These clothes were taken over by the bourgeoisie, which in the course of the century became increasingly more established.

      Antoine Watteau, An Embarrassing Proposal, 1715–1716.

      Oil on canvas, 65 × 84.5 cm.

      The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

      François Boucher, Morning Coffee, 1739.

      Oil on canvas, 81 × 65 cm.

      Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      Germain Boffrand and Charles Joseph Natoire, Hôtel de Soubise, Chambre de parade de la princesse, 1735–1739. Paris.

      Pierre Alexis Delamair, Hôtel de Soubise, front, courtyard side, 1704–1707. Paris.

      Architecture

      Architecture adapted quite easily to the new trends in taste. Even at the beginning of the 17th century some theoreticians, probably under the influence of the Italian architecture critic Andrea Palladio (1508–1580), had demanded greater simplicity, greater symmetry and a distinctly quieter language of form. This demand was supplemented by the desire for more comfort in the hotels. The contractors of the hotels now did away with splendid façades and demanded that the architects paid greater attention to the needs and lifestyles of the residents. In particular, the living rooms now became more intimate. The entertaining rooms were not eliminated from the building plan, but the long gallery, taken over from the Italians, was moved to a side wing. The centre of the ground floor, raised by steps, was taken up by a stately vestibule and a room behind that. This meant that all the splendour was on the inside of the building; the horseshoe-shaped external architecture, with the mansard roofs, lacked artistic value.

      Strict classicism asserted itself in the external structure throughout the 18th century, although in the meantime, shortly after the death of Louis XIV and under the Regency of Philip II of Orleans (1674–1723), the Rococo style – consequently also called by the French the “Style Régence” – had emerged. Of course this new style was restricted almost exclusively to interior decoration and the arts and crafts, which was responsible for its more elegant furniture, accessories and wall-coverings. The ponderous ostentation of the Baroque ornamentation in sculptural embellishment and in its colourful appearance was made lighter and brighter, and any remaining straight line dissolved into sweeping scrolls.

      By a carefully considered, well-planned division of the rooms, by each space’s connection with the others and by the ubiquitous ornamentation, the decorative style of the mouldings became distinctive. The corners of the mouldings were broken and curved. Into the spaces that this created, little ornaments or flowers were then inserted, and later the mouldings, too, were wrapped with leaves and flowers and the straight lines were transformed into curved lines. Alongside the flirtatious curves and dainty arcs, beside the constantly increasing revitalisation of the floral and tendril-shaped ornaments, the intentional avoidance of rigid symmetry was one of the most striking symbols of Rococo decoration.

      Emmanuel Héré, Place Stanislas, 1751–1755. Nancy.

      Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Grand Trianon, 1787–1788.

      Domaine national du château de Versailles, Versailles.

      The French architects formed two groups: one represented pure adherence to the classical style of building, the other had raised irregularity and flirtatiousness to a pitch. Each of these two directions laid claim to a particular territory. In exterior architecture the requirements of the first group were met; the ornamentation of the interior spaces presented the second group with the so-called architectural ornamentation, with a broad field of activity. This second group,

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