The after-death inventory of the Duchesse de Villars, who was one of Marie-Antoinette's dames d'atours, preserved in the Versailles notary's minute book, contains a hitherto unknown document: "Suivent les objets des garde-robes de feue Sa Majesté la reine [Marie Leszczynska, wife of Louis XV] et de Madame...
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The after-death inventory of the Duchesse de Villars, who was one of Marie-Antoinette's dames d'atours, preserved in the Versailles notary's minute book, contains a hitherto unknown document: "Suivent les objets des garde-robes de feue Sa Majesté la reine [Marie Leszczynska, wife of Louis XV] et de Madame la dauphine [Marie-Antoinette] qui dépendent de ladite succession, dans les différents endroits dépendant de la garde-robe de Madame la dauphine".
The inventory is the pretext for following in Marie-Antoinette's footsteps, not as "queen of fashion", but as dauphine, who, more than a victim of fashion, was still only a victim of etiquette.
We follow her from her arrival as Archduchess in 1770 to her accession as Queen of France in 1774, focusing in particular on her "Maison", the workings of her wardrobe and her dress, while questioning her alleged frivolity which, contrary to the attacks made on her as early as 1771, was much more apparent when she ascended the throne.
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