Madame Pompadour (not lovingly nicknamed “Poissonade” or “Little Fish”), was a mistress of several men of nobility, but most notably, King Louis XV. She was later his best friend & advisor.
Visitors can to this day see the lovely little apartments Louis kept for her, as it was the one place the king could go to escape the stresses of being a king. She loaned money to the King at times, yet was criticized for her own lavish lifestyle.
The huge pannier dress styles with extreme ornamentation can be attributed to Madame Pompadour. (Her contributions will be discussed in detail when we write about the Colonial eras of the 1770’s in a later blog)
(portraits: feature and below: artists & the fashionable loved the sensuality they thought just oozed out of Madame. Known for extreme hairstyles, ornamentation, decoration, & accessorization, she set fashion extremes in the 18th century that no one has been able to replicate except in the performing arts today. She was technically – a performer in her own right)
