#c344 $2500
Doucet couture silk/lace cape, c.1890-1900
The House of Doucet is the oldest of the Paris couture houses, having begun as a silk merchant around 1820. The Doucet family maintained an innovative approach to business through successive generations and was quick to respond to the advent of couture. After Jacques Doucet joined the business in 1870, the firm focused primarily on custom-made women's apparel.
Jacques Doucet excelled at producing delicate unstructured toilettes. As a collector and connoisseur of 18th century art, he was much taken by the role of romance and flirtation in 18th century art. He reinterpreted the world of liaisons dangereuses with his abundant use of lace and filmy fabrics.
This elegant little cape is a superb example of his style. In this design, Doucet has transformed the typical heavy black mourning garment of the period into a seductive and alluring work of art.
As one deeply familiar with European culture and art, Doucet undoubtedly knew Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Choderlos de Laclos' 1782 novel of intrigue, seduction, and malice. Like Doucet, you too will want to truly savor the spirit of the ancien régime when you acquire this magnificent cape.
The cape is fashioned from a combination of black silk taffeta, delicate black lace, and sheer silk chiffon textured with multiple rows of narrow hand-stitched tucks. The cape is lined with black silk satin.
This style of label from Doucet—see the bottom picture—is featured on page 148 of The Opulent Era/Fashions of Worth, Doucet and Pingat by Elizabeth Ann Coleman.
The condition is excellent and all original.
It measures: 22" from the shoulder to the front hem, 27" long front ties, and 46" chest circumference.
