Representation Of Women During The French Revolution

This paper examines representations of women in the French fashion press during the final two years of the Directory period of the French Revolution, from 1797, the foundation of the first French fashion periodical published after 1793, to the coup d’état of Napoleon in November 1799. During the Revolution, dress became a highly contested issue. Certain women wore masculine Revolutionary symbols, like the cockade and Phrygian cap, to facilitate their participation in Revolutionary processes. Many saw the actions of these women as threats to masculine citizenship and there were reports of people violently removing such symbols from the bodies of the women who wore them. In 1793, the increased controversy surrounding the issue of dress forced

the National Convention to declare freedom of dress for all citizens and citizenesses. Some historians, such as Aileen Ribeiro and Jennifer M. Jones, have argued that Revolutionary legislators granted women freedom in fashion largely as a substitute for genuine political power in the emerging public sphere. This paper contends that although Revolutionary processes granted women freedom of fashion, the male-controlled fashion press attempted to undermine women’s authority and assert masculine control in an area in which women possessed legitimate power.

This paper analyzes two major fashion periodicals of the Directory period, the Journal des dames et des modes and the Tableau général du goût, des modes et costumes de Paris, which later changed its title twice to La Correspondence des dames and L’Arlequin, and le Mois, a literary journal which included a fashion section in most of its issues. The editors of these periodicals claimed to adore women and used their adoration to argue that women should allow them to dictate their dress. Common themes found in these periodicals include men’s veneration of women and their talents in the realm of fashion, the employment of nature to argue against styles popular among women, and the criticism of women’s fashions and behaviors that the editors did not approve of.