France Weddings Fashion Gold Jewellery 86

 France Weddings Fashion Gold Jewelry.

By Aamir Mannan.

Fashionable lady of the era: portrait by Giovanni Boldini (1845–1931) showing Elizabeth Wharton Drexel in 1905.

The outfits worn by the fashionable women of the 'Belle Époque' ( Belle Époque was one of the French eras ) these were strikingly similar to those worn in the heyday of the fashion pioneer Charles Worth. By the end of the 19th-century, the horizons of the fashion industry had generally 'broadened', partly due to the more stable and independent lifestyle many well-off women were beginning to adopt and the practical clothes they demanded. However, the fashions of the La Belle Époque still retained the elaborate, upholstered style of the 19th century. The changing of fashion was unthinkable so,the use of different trimmings was all that distinguished one season from the other.

Conspicuous waste and conspicuous consumption defined the fashions of the decade and the outfits of the couturiers of the time were incredibly 

extravagant,ornate, and painstakingly made. The curvaceous S-Bend silhouette dominated fashion up until around 1908. The S~Bend corset was very tightly laced at the waist which forced the hips back and the drooping mono bosom was thrust forward in a pouter pigeon effect creating an S shape. Toward the end of the decade the fashionable silhouette gradually became somewhat more straight and slim, partly due to Paul Poiret's high-waisted, shorter-skirted Directoire line of clothes.

The Maison Redfern was the first fashion house to offer women a tailored suit based directly on its male counterpart and the extremely practical and soberly elegant garment soon became an indispensable part of the wardrobe of any well-dressed woman.