A New Gown to Obsess Over

The internet is a dangerous place. We all know this, of course. The other day, there was post over at Munich Rococo about the Fantaisie Palace in Bayreuth. There was a painting of Elisabeth Friederike Sophie in the post. And I was in love.

Look at this dress!

How gorgeous is that??? Look at the wonderful detail on the front, and all that metallic trim! It's a shame that we can't see the rest of the gown, so I've been digging around, trying to find other examples of gowns like this.
I believe this may be an example of what the Marquise calls a Robe a l'allemande. I'm not sure. I have a hard time distinguishing it from other styles of gowns, especially in the later half of the century. I did find this portrait in the Marquise's list of Allemande gown examples, which seems to bear a striking resemblance to the duchess's gown above.

They both have the same wide, round neckline with the lace trim, and the same stomacher detailing. Other Robe a l'allemande examples that I've seen with the split skirt like these gowns have a simple petticoat, no ruffles or trimmings, with a simple line of trim down the opening in the gown skirt, so that's what I'll be sticking with for my gown.

I want to start on this gown NOW, but I'm going to be good and work on the Burton gown first. And maybe even the purple gown I dug out of the stash. Still, I'll be starting on this soon.