The Queen of Fashion. The Untold Story of Marie Antoinette

Spoiled aristocrat who, according to legend, advised her subjects to eat cake if there was no bread? Or perhaps a rebel who went against the norms of the French monarchy and, despite everything, became a style icon? Or a tragic figure, a hostage of circumstances and an innocent victim of the French Revolution? Fashion journalist Sylvie Le Bris-Chauveau has recreated in detail the character, emotions, daily life, and, of course, the wardrobe of Marie Antoinette, as it was her clothing that defined her image, which remains in history. The little archduchess, the young willful dauphine, the newly crowned queen of France, still unaccustomed to her title, a loving mother – her appearance changed with each new role. In this captivating biography, you will learn how an Austrian princess changed French fashion, what the secret of her unwavering popularity is today, and discover what it means to be a queen.
«At first, she was joyfully welcomed in Tuileries by Parisian women begging for flowers and ribbons from her hat, while Parisians admired her dignity, simplicity, and care for children. Then she was booed, trampled in the mud, stripped of her humanity – this continued until the very last act of the tragedy, where her death was turned into a spectacle, immortalizing her image in pink and black tones… Since the “little history” of Marie Antoinette's dresses is closely connected to her personality and inseparable from the “great history” of France, I invite you to follow her journey from Vienna to the guillotine, tracing the changes in her wardrobe» (Sylvie Le Bris-Chauveau).