EXPERT
Provençal fabrics reflect the colours and natural beauty of the sunny south of France
the ‘queen of lace’ and many a portrait features kings, queens and nobles ‘decorated’ with this beautiful (and costly) embellishment. With its mesh ground and raised outlines set around patterned motifs, it’s perfect for adorning a wedding or ball dress – especially one made from Lyonnais silk. Around Calais, a similar
industry emerged in the 19th century when English lace-makers smuggled a new- fangled loom into France to set up shop at nearby St-Pierre. It remains an important centre for machine lace production, much sought after by designers such as Valentino, Lacroix and Calvin Klein for wedding dresses and lingerie. The Lyonnais continued to
develop their clothmaking industry. Today automatic looms and new weaving techniques are used to create fabric with other fibres, while its highly skilled specialists work in the restoration of historic fabrics and supplying haute couture designers. Speaking of which, it’s said
that haute couture in France began in the 17th century when Rose Bertin, fashion designer for Marie Antoinette, was
credited for bringing fashion to French culture when she ran up a number or three for the queen to parade around Versailles and le Petit Trianon.
ALL IN THE DETAIL By the mid-19th century, Paris became the centre of a growing industry focused upon making outfits from expensive, high- quality, often unusual, fabric sewn with extreme attention to detail. Visitors brought back clothing to be copied ‘back home’ by local dressmakers. French fitters and dressmakers were considered the best and real Parisian garments to be better than local imitations. As travel became easier with
the advent of steamships and railways, wealthy women, such as the ‘dollar princesses’ bringing money to prop up impoverished aristocrats’ estates, travelled to Paris to shop for their trousseau, clothing and accessories. Here enters Englishman
Charles Frederick Worth, considered the father of haute couture. He revolutionised how dressmaking had been perceived by turning design into an art form. In Paris he not only created bespoke designs for his wealthy, probably titled, clients but also prepared a portfolio of designs that were
“The French king stepped in to create a local clothmaking industry and reduce the court’s dependence upon costly foreign imports”
€130,800
BRETON STRIPES IN BERRIEN This pretty cottage in Finistère is surrounded by delightful gardens and offers spacious family accommodation, a charming kitchen and sitting room, and three double bedrooms upstairs. The stone garage has a mezzanine with potential, and there are further outbuildings. There’s coast to the north and south, the naval city of Brest to the west and the ferry port of Roscoff is just 50km away.
€785,000
LAVENDER LUXURY IN PROVENCE Provençal charm abounds throughout this delightful stone home close to the medieval walled hill village of Simiane-la-Rotonde. Three living rooms and a great kitchen await your next culinary creation, there are three spacious bedrooms, large terraces and a lovely garden from which to soak in the mountain views. Stone walls, exposed beams and wooden floors plus added modern comforts make this a fantastic home in an idyllic location set within the lavender fields of Provence.
shown on live models (the first was his wife) at the House of Worth. Customers could choose the garment, specify colour and fabric, and have it tailor-made in his workshop. Names with which to conjure
Lyon is France’s silk capital – this year’s ‘Silk in Lyon Festival’ will be held on 16-19 November at the city’s Palais De La Bourse
who followed in his footsteps include Patou, Poiret, Lanvin, Chanel, of course, Balenciaga, Dior and Schiaparelli, who was responsible for introducing shocking pink to the colour spectrum inspiring many a future Barbie – back in 1937 the colour was known as Schiaparelli Pink. My favourite though has to be Hubert de
Givenchy who dressed Audrey Hepburn so memorably for a great many years . Fashion today is far more
casual, jeans being, of course, de rigueur. Made of denim, how they were so named is a story in itself. Back in the day, clothing and fabric were often named after where they were made or manufactured. In the 16th and 17th centuries, bales of robust linen and cotton made in Genoa were known as ‘cloth from Jeane’. So hardwearing was this jeane, it was exported in huge quantities to England to make farmers’ overalls and
FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: September/October 2023 49
© SHUTTERSTOCK
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