Fashion History Blog

Birdy tells you you need a lovely embroidered silk taffeta over hoops or crinoline.  Let us make you a custom, fitted Civil War Era ensemble that is absolutely historically correct.. and we promise to find your waist again.

..daughter of Stephanie de Beauharnais, the ward of Napoleon I.  Marie and her siblings parented most of today’s European royalty.

Note her changing late Regency fashions as they become the crinolines of the Victorian era and into the early bustle fashion of 1870. Marie Amelie was the daughter of Stephanie deBeauharnais.  Stephanie was the ward of Napoleon I whom he married off in a political tie which resulted in populating …

… daughter of Stephanie de Beauharnais

.. Stephanie was the adopted daughter of Napoleon 1st.  The lines of these girls ties the royalty of today to the French of the early 1800’s (portrait: Emilie Luise)  

.. his wife Stephanie, adopted daughter of Napoleon I, remained a widow the rest of her life.  She converted their estate into a salon for artists and intellectuals, and enjoyed that community until her death at age 71 in 1860. (portrait: Stephanie’s youngest daughter Marie Amelie in the 1860’s.  Note …

.. are: Princess Luise Amelie Stephanie of Baden: married Gustav Prince of Vasa Unnamed son died at birth Princess Josephine of Baden: married Karl Anton Furts of Hohenzullern-Sigmaringen (note connection here between Napoleon’s other relatives in Hohenzullern) Prince Alexander of Maden Princess Maria Amelie of Baden: married the 11th Duke …

… descendants are former kinds of Romania and Yugoslavia.  Her family are PRESENTLY King of Belgians, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. (portrait: can you believe this fashionable yet crabby looking woman is responsible for this very minute’s rulers of 3 countries?)

.. to have 4, maybe 5 children.  The 2nd child died at birth, and stories of his being illegitimate persist to this day in forms of books, tales, and movies. (portrait: a mature Stephanie of the 1820’s.. note the early Victorian fashion elements sneaking in to her late Regency gown.  …