All this talk of Elizabethan ruffs, it seemed like the right time to share some of my photos from a behind the scenes tour of the La Comedie Francaise in Paris.
La Comedie Francaise is a state theatre that was founded when two Parisian acting troupes merged under the decree of by Louis XIV on August 24, 1680. At that time, the repertoire consisted of the plays of Moliere, Racine and others. During the French Revolution, La Comedie Francaise was shut down by order of public safety on September 3, 1783 and the actors were imprisoned. It reopened on May 31, 1799 and been in operation ever since.
When I toured the wardrobe department last spring, I marveled at the incredible knowledge and passion of the staff as well as the exquisite craftsmanship of the costumes and accessories created there.
Elizabethan Ruff in the Ironing Department of Le Comedie Francaise
copyright of Ingrid Mida 2009
The Hat Department of Le Comedie Francaise
Copyright of Ingrid Mida 2009
A Men's 18th Century Costume from Le Comedie Francaise
Copyright of Ingrid Mida 2009
The Wardrobe Inventory Book from Le Comedie Francaise
Copyright of Ingrid Mida 2009
To attend a performance of La Comedie Francaise, visit their website here.
6 comments:
In my world, all roads lead to ruffs! (I wish.) That first photo is gorgeous.
Catherine
I never knew they gave tours! However did I miss that?!
I made a few ruffs back in my costuming days. They are NOT easy to do. I used to cuss a lot. And you have to sew a lot of it by hand which I just hate to do LOL.
If the U.S. dollar EVER EVER EVER returns to being worth something, I'm going to take that tour on my very next trip!
Fascinating - I also did not know they gave tours. That ruff is gorgeous and I'm trying to get my head around ironing it. I'm assuming that a "curling" type iron is used?
Sue:)
All of these photos are just divine! The ruff is especially exquisite... I'd love to do that in paper and make an installation of ruff-goodness :) You made me smile with your description of it being in the 'ironing dept'... can you imagine ironing it?! Loving the blue background btw - much easier on my aging eyesight! ;) K
Aren't they incredible? You must have thought you were in heaven Ingrid when you did this tour. Think we will see these again in fashion? Have a wonderful Sunday (watching the US-Canada game I hope). XO
The details in the ruffles are incredible... I think that the costume log must be an incredible treasure trove of details - just to get an idea of what a costumer for a theater would be creating in the 1780's!
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