Inspired by...

The child queen. The only woman vain enough to shop her country to its knees.

Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen.

Or commonly, Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.

I've been meaning to do a post on her for a while, seeing as one of my dearest friends ( knitty kat) is head over heels for her. That and she is the patron saint of my religion: Rampant Hedonism.

Its difficult to pull off a Marie Antoinette inspired look in real life, no matter how tempting. This is because everything that made her look unique is incredibly dated and costumey (velvet face patch, huge powdered white hair, white makeup, overloaded blush).

However, you can come somewhat lose to the look (if you're feeling conservative and don't have the balls to go all out) if you imitate her colors and some little details.

I enjoy the movie version of Marie Antoinette's costume scheme, and I think that's best to start with.

1. Her Hair:

The real Marie Antoinette had glorious giant wigs to wear that would be difficult to replicate. Of course you're not gonna find wigs that are like hers that do not cost a bagillion dollars. But what you should do is replicate her hair color, which was a rich matte white. Add some corkscrew curls, volume and height and you're practically there.

2. Makeup:

Unfortunately youtube had little to offer in the way of makeup tutorials in this department. I can however suggest using a foundation 2 colors lighter than the one you normally use and the setting it with a light dusting of white powder. It was also in style for women to wear a lot of blush applied in a circular pattern across the apples of the cheeks (instead of at an angle for contouring as we are used to). I suggest pink colours in place of reds to soften the look. keep the lips natural.

3. Color

In keeping with her girlish image and the fashion of the time, Marie wore many light colors. "feminine"colors if you will. Light yellow, Powder blue, Wasabi green, powder pink and egg shell white. It would be good to stick within those limits. Or you might run the risk of looking too harsh.

4. Finishings and trimmings:

Cameos, Lace, Ruffles, cream colored/white lace trimmed thigh high stockings, cloth covered buttons, pearls, bows (large and small), masks, and of course, large fluffy feathers.

5. Shoes:

Marie Antoinette wore kitten heels, as was the fashion, but they were highly decorated with lace and jewels and embroidery. You'd think these would be hard to find, but thanks to etsy, they are painfully available.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/shulasmarche?section_id=7106082

http://www.etsy.com/shop/OxfordHeaven

between those two you'll find everything you need.

Here's a lovely video for you kids.

Enjoy!

Love,

Kayla