„Once they were settled in their compartment, the train, shaking off the endless wooden suburbs, pushed into the landscape of late summer.“
The story takes place at the end of the astronomical summer A group of artists gathers on the outskirts of a village, on a garden plot surrounded by fruit trees and bushes. A hexagonal, reddish-brown wooden pavilion has stood in the garden for 20 years. The openwork lattice windows offer a constant view of the greenery outside.
In Madame Bovary (1991), Isabelle Huppert’s Emma waits bored in her garden. She struts along the hedge and stone steps. A short while later, at a ball, she wears flowers in her hair as if they’d been plucked from her garden. Pink roses adorn her flowing light-green silk dress. From her reddish-blonde hairstyle, pink leaves and small white buds curl out in a tendril, as if one of her strands had come loose from her chignon and were now hanging down her neck. Pink blossoms and dark green, fringed leaves are attached to her bodice and skirt.
After getting up, Emma steps outside in her dressing gown with her hair undone. She sits down among the bushes, which bear scattered colorful blossoms, to think. This is how her September passes.
Apple trees and grapevines grow along the street side of the long, narrow garden lot. A flight of stairs leads down from the street into the grass. Down there, next to the pavilion, stand plum and cherry trees. At the far end of the garden, next to a gazebo, grow blackberries, red currants, and raspberries. Standing on the porch of the adjacent house, you can look down on the scene from above. „A number of ladies in summer dresses and gentlemen (…) stood on the lawn or sat upon the benches.“
Historical dresses from the turn of the century frequently feature combinations of sheer peach tones, butter yellow, and grayish blue. Rose-like floral appliqués made of fabric, wax, or paper are another recurring feature. A description from an auction titled “Annual Autumnal Elegance” reads:
„1928 c. Robe de Style wedding ensemble of cream silk satin with attached guipure lace cap and hem flounce, piped and shaped with skirt with front slit backed by accordion pleated crepe chiffon. Lace Juliet cap with orange blossoms of wax.“
The billowing silhouette of the so-called “Robe de Style” was reminiscent of earlier ball gowns, with their characteristic forward-leaning posture and padded bust made of sheer layers with appliqués underneath. To complement this, hair was backcombed and piled high into large, loose, puffy buns. This soft, voluminous hairstyle often resembled a bird’s nest.
The first department stores originally evolved from so-called “Magasins de Nouveautés” (haberdashery and fabric stores) and were initially much more focused on fabrics, haberdashery, lingerie, and fashion accessories than on ready-to-wear clothing. There, for example, people bought appliqués, decorative ribbons, buttons, and trims. There were separate departments for ribbons (Rubans), artificial flowers and feathers (Fleurs et plumes), trimmings, braids, fringes, and tassels (Passementerie), and haberdashery (Mercerie). In this way, the wardrobe came together as a unique ensemble of fabric, silk ribbons, lace, wax flowers, and more.
Published in conjunction with the exhibition “Pavillon” 23.9.26, 35099 Burgwald.