Empire Style

The New York Public Library held an exhibition in 2004 that illuminated the Library’s rich holdings of the Napoleonic Era; entitled “Decoration In the Age of Napoleon: Empire Elegance Versus Regency Refinement,” it showed the cultural rivalry between the two nations, including the area of fashion. An online bibliography to the Empire and Regency styles is available on the Library’s website.

In fact, the French had held the fashion edge since the time of Louis XIV. The English might have a great deal of national pride, but when French fashions arrived from across the Channel, they were the first to take them up. The nineteenth century would change this equation, however, as English tailoring became the norm for European and American gentlemen. Nevertheless, the Empire Style in decoration and dress fascinated everyone for the period of its creation (1800 – 1814), and lingered well past those dates. Women’s dress, marked by high waistlines and body-hugging silhouettes, survived into the 1820s. The story of fashion history for this period shows a willingness for bodies—or body outlines—to be revealed. Soon, this love of physical display would go underground for the rest of the century.

The popularity of the Empire Style echoes down the years. Some of its elegance transferred into the Art Deco mode, also affected by popular culture and the cult of personality. What a difference between the lives of the two Josephines: Bonaparte and Baker! But both had the ability to bewitch. Do we have anybody like them today? I wonder…

p.s. Britney and Beyoncé don’t count!!!

When giving lectures for the “Decoration in the Age of Napoleon” exhibition, I often referred to Josephine Bonaparte as the Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy of her age. The comparison is apt, for Josephine epitomized the elegance of her times. She was a graceful dresser, diplomat, and a superb decorator, whose contributions to the Empire Style have been only lately fully acknowledged. An enchanting fictional account of her life was written by Sandra Gulland, and gives a vivid portrait of her joys and woes.

Her lithe, long-limbed figure was suited to the empire-waist gowns of Revolutionary France. In fact, Josephine enjoyed a dubious reputation during that time as the mistress of one of the five Directors, Paul Barras. Josephine and her friends were notorious for dampening their pale muslin gowns and wearing little or no undergarments. Ah, what one would give for an image of that! But in those pre-photography days, not even a salacious print remains to record such deeds. The printmakers of Paris were a timid lot compared to their counterparts in Georgian London.