1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: Hello and happy Saturday everybody. If you had not had 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: a chance to check out the podcast Dressed to the 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:09,800 Speaker 1: History of Fashion now is a great time because they 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,880 Speaker 1: have just started season two, so if you have missed it, 5 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: Dressed is another show in our network hosted by April 6 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: Callahan and Cassidy Zachary, and April has been on this 7 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,319 Speaker 1: show a couple of times. To celebrate the start of 8 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,600 Speaker 1: their second season, we have picked a fashion history episode 9 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: out of the archives today. It is Rose Berton, who 10 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,319 Speaker 1: was known as history's first fashion designer and if you 11 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: are hungry for more, rosebrut After this episode, Dressed Tess 12 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,560 Speaker 1: her covered as well. They did that one back in April. 13 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: In that episode, they talked to fashion and textile historian 14 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: Dr Kimberly Chrisman Campbell for her perspective. Welcome to Stuff 15 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: you missed in History Class from how Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, 16 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: and welcome to the pod. Asked, I'm Holly Fry and 17 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy Vie Wilson. We're talking about something I like 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: a lot today. I'm so excited, actually so in my 19 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: sort of zone of pet topics. It's a it's a 20 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: big it's an intersection of several zones, it really is. Uh. 21 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: And the legendary wardrobe of Marie Antoinette, who is not 22 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: exactly who we're talking about, but she does figure prominently 23 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: in the story. Her wardrobe has been criticized, it's been envied, 24 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: it's been discussed to no end by historians and sociologists. Uh. 25 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: But where did all those glorious clothes come from is 26 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: a bigger question. And in large part they were the 27 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:37,680 Speaker 1: work of a woman named Rose Bertent and her staff. 28 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: And Barton was a milliner who found herself basically the 29 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: stylus to the queen, and she enjoyed a level of 30 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: privilege that even royals were not really given at that time. Uh. 31 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: And while there were certainly other people designing clothes long 32 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: before Berton, she was the first to really make this 33 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: sort of transition from an anonymous dressmaker, although we'll talk 34 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: in just a second about that term, uh, to a 35 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: famous dressmaker to like basically a famous designer. Uh. And 36 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: this was all because of the patronage of you know, 37 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: a famous clothes horse. And a note before we get started, UH, 38 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: you'll hear us refer to Rose Bertas throughout the episode 39 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: as a milliner, which in today's parlance would mean that 40 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:21,520 Speaker 1: she was a hat maker, but in this time, someone 41 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: with that title didn't only make hats. A milliner could 42 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: be called upon to make dresses, to add trim and 43 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,679 Speaker 1: detailing to existing gowns. Sometimes, like a gown would be 44 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: brought in to be refreshed and all the trims would 45 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: be taken off and new trims would be put on 46 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: and different um alterations would be made to make it 47 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: look new and different. Other accessories, sometimes even gloves and 48 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: underpinnings were also within the purview of a milliner. Uh. 49 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: I use the terms interchangeably as milliner and dressmaker. Some 50 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: historians get a little bit prickly about that um because 51 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: calling her a dressmaker sort of seems to devalue her 52 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: position a little. It to me, it's a very important 53 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: position to be called a dressmaker. But just so you know, 54 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: like she's technically a milliner, that would be her title. Uh. 55 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: I'm gonna use words interchangeably. I'm okay with that, and 56 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: I won't even talk about We don't go into it, 57 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: although we do mention one person related the millinery trade 58 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: at this time sometimes had some negative associations with it 59 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:26,239 Speaker 1: of women working in it being also applying another trade 60 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:27,920 Speaker 1: at times like it was not known to be the 61 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 1: most virtuous um occupation. Suddenly this makes the Seamstress Guild 62 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: and Terry Pratchett's Discworld books really funny. I mean, it 63 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: was funny already, and now you haven't just told me 64 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: that it is even more funny. Yeah, and we'll mention 65 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: one other person that was kind of tied to the 66 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: millinery trade. That will kind of also make that a 67 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: little bit clearer, and you'll see the association's uh. But 68 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: we're not really going into that whole the ceed side 69 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: of it too much. Shall we get started? Absolutely? So. 70 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: Rose was born at Ammia, and that was a city 71 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: about a hundred and twenty kilometers north of Parents, and 72 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: she was born on July second, seventy seven. Her name 73 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: when she was born was Marie Jeanne Berton. And one 74 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: of the things that's interesting about this time in history 75 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: is that people would change their names pretty frequently, sometimes 76 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: as a move up the latter thing and sometimes not. 77 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: But you will not hear her referred to that with 78 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: that name again. So it just heads up her parents, 79 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: Nicholas and Marie Marguerite Breton. We're not particularly wealthy. Uh, 80 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 1: and in an effort to provide from Marisian and her 81 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: younger brother Jean Luran, her mother worked as a sick 82 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: nurse to supplement the family income. Is what her father 83 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: made didn't really make enough for them to raise and 84 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: educate their children, which was something they really um prioritized. 85 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: There's a story in emil langlades bertim biography that Rose, 86 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: when she was still a child, became just completely obsessed 87 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: with having her palm read by a fortune teller who 88 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: was reported to be extremely insightful and was also imprisoned nearby. 89 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,720 Speaker 1: And so since she had no money, Rose allegedly starved 90 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: starved herself so that she could bring food to the 91 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: fortune teller in exchange for having her palm read. Uh. 92 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: The reading was rendered, and according to the tale, the 93 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: young girl was told that she would quote rise to 94 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: great fortune and one day where a court dress. Yeah, 95 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,840 Speaker 1: it's interesting. Uh. That biography, by the way, which will 96 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:25,600 Speaker 1: reference a few more times and was one of the 97 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: big sources for this, was written in and I Uh. 98 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: He did a lot of digging through records to get 99 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: a lot of stuff, a lot of the details and 100 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: the the data about her existence and some of the 101 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 1: numbers and stuff right, but there is a little bit 102 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: of flourish, so I immediately kind of questioned this story, 103 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: but it's an interesting one to include this idea that 104 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:54,280 Speaker 1: she was kind of obsessive and willing to do what 105 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: she had to do to achieve what she wanted. Rosa's father, Nicholas, 106 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:02,279 Speaker 1: died on January of seventeen fifty four, and that left 107 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: the family to survive as best they could on his 108 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: wife's income. She was still working as a sick nurse 109 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: and the family struggled, but Rose always assisted her mother 110 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 1: whenever possible. She was not a girl that was afraid 111 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: of hard work, so when she was only sixteen, Rose 112 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: decided to move to Paris. She was smart and pretty 113 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: and decided to use her charms to secure a position 114 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:26,919 Speaker 1: as an apprentice at a millinery shop. And the shop 115 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: was called Trade Gallant, which translates to gallant stroke or 116 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: gallant feature. And this shop was run by Mademoiselle Paget, 117 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: and it was already a supplier of accessories to the 118 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: courts of France and Spain, so it was really quite 119 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,720 Speaker 1: a good position to get into. Around this same time, 120 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: a young woman named Jean Bick was also an apprentice 121 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 1: at another millinery shop, which was run by Mademoiselle Labu 122 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,720 Speaker 1: and Jean Biq would later find her way into the 123 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: name Madame Duberry and set her own place in history 124 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: as King Louis fift mistress. Yeah, that's kind of one 125 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 1: of those tie ins of a woman who maybe was 126 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: not super virtuous working in the millinary trade. Still laughing 127 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: about the seamstress skilled. Uh, and Rose had not been 128 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: working for very long for Mademoiselle when she was dispatched 129 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: one evening to make a delivery to the Princess de Conti. 130 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: And while she was at the princess's residence, she made 131 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: small talk with a woman that she believed to be 132 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: a chambermaid. So, of course it turns out that she 133 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: was actually talking to the princess, and Rose was just 134 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: hugely embarrassed at her gaff and she apologized profusely. The princess, 135 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: who had found her to be just quite charming, reassured 136 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: her that no ill had been done, her identity had 137 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: not been made a parent. The princess also promised ongoing 138 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: goodwill towards pretend on her part. Yeah, that was a 139 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: good friend to have made even though it was accidental 140 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: and maybe definitely also in barrassing. Yeah, and the story 141 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: is related in a way that she showed up and 142 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: it was quite late in the evening, and this woman 143 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: was already kind of dressed down. She was definitely not 144 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: in robes that would suggest her position at all. So 145 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: that's why Rose thought, Oh, it's just a mate, just 146 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: chat while we wait for other people to come and 147 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: look at these gowns I've brought. And then it was 148 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: not the case at all, um, and the Princess's fondness 149 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: for this young milliner was almost immediately manifest Soon after 150 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: the two men and this embarrassing but fundamentally beneficial event 151 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 1: took place. A royal marriage between the Duc de Chartre 152 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 1: and Louise Marie led de Bourbon was arranged, and Rose, 153 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: at her new royal friends recommendation, was called upon to 154 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: make the bride's trousseau. She's like a huge get in 155 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 1: terms of that's a big deal. This was a really 156 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: lucrative bridal order, and it not only brought Rose into 157 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: the favor of the royals, who would all need clothing 158 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: and accessories, but it also elevated her position in the 159 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: shop Mademoiselle Pagelle made rosa partner in the in the 160 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: millinery shop, and from this point on Rose's royal patrons 161 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,680 Speaker 1: only grew in number. The Duchess de Chapla became a protectress. She, 162 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: like the Princess de Conti, looked out for Rose and 163 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: really helped along her business interests. Unfortunately, the Duke Duchat 164 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: also took an interest in Rose, and Uh really pursued 165 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 1: her very diligently in the hopes of a romantic relationship, 166 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: but she really was not having that at all. Whether 167 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: this is because she was loyal to her customer, the Duchess, 168 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: or simply because she just was not interested in the 169 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: man is is basically unclear, but either way, she had 170 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: no time for that business. Nay was her response. Uh, 171 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:50,319 Speaker 1: and rumors of a plot that the Duke had concocted 172 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: to kidnap Rose and take her away to a country 173 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: house to sort of force her to become his mistress 174 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: reached the Milliner. She found out about them, but it 175 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: made her const only fearful that you know, at any 176 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: moment someone was going to pop out from around the 177 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: corner and snatch her and take her away to the country. 178 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: It sounds terrible. It really does. Just trying to do 179 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: her work her alone, trying to make your wife's clothes. Police, 180 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,320 Speaker 1: get out of my way. So one day Rose was 181 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: visiting the comtest Duson about an order, and the Duke 182 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,959 Speaker 1: came and also made this appearance. She refused to get 183 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: out of receipt when the Duke entered, and when the 184 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,320 Speaker 1: Countess questioned her about why she was acting this way, 185 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,559 Speaker 1: she was straight up front about it. She explained that 186 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:35,199 Speaker 1: the Duke had clearly forgotten his place in pursuit of her, 187 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: and so she would not honor their societal gap. Yeah, 188 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: She's like, when he remembers his place, I will treat 189 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,679 Speaker 1: him like he belongs in that place. Just kind of 190 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,960 Speaker 1: a wonderfully sassy and just to do it in front 191 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: of one of his you know, social equals was very cool. 192 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: People get mad sometimes when we talk about how much 193 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,199 Speaker 1: we love the people were talking about, but this is 194 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:59,440 Speaker 1: the moment when the switch goes to I love her. Uh. 195 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,839 Speaker 1: And the dude was caught in his game in front 196 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: of this pier and he did not deny it, but 197 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: he did call Rose a little serpent. I saw. It 198 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: was by the same translator of this biography and one 199 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 1: he called her a viper and in one he called 200 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: her a serpent, like two different um translations by the 201 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,679 Speaker 1: same person. So, but the important thing is that he 202 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: left her alone after that, kind of gave up his pursuit. Uh. 203 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: And before we get to the next step in Rose's career, 204 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: do you want to pause for a moment and have 205 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: a word from a sponsor? Yes? Sweet, So back to 206 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,640 Speaker 1: Rose Bertin as her popularity with the royal class group, 207 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:46,400 Speaker 1: she sort of outgrew her position with Mademoiselle Pegette. So 208 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 1: the Duchess was in the habit of assisting young women 209 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 1: in their entrepreneurial efforts, and she had already given Rose 210 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,719 Speaker 1: her favor. So with the Duchess's financial backing, Rose set 211 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,559 Speaker 1: up her shop O Grand Mogul in the Rude Decent Honorey. 212 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 1: And in addition to bankrolling this enterprise, the Duchess de 213 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 1: Chiltloob also used her position to send business Rose's way 214 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,679 Speaker 1: and kind of ant as Rosa's pr agent within the 215 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 1: Royal class. But she had already been doing to some degree. 216 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: But once she had financially set up this business, she 217 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,040 Speaker 1: really wanted it to succeed in seventeen seventy, the Duchess 218 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 1: met with Madame Danielaya and Madame the Misery, and these 219 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 1: were the lady in waiting in first chambermaid who had 220 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: been selected to attend the new Dauphine, who was Marie Antoinette. 221 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 1: The Duchess praised Rosa's skills and personality and suggested that 222 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 1: she be chosen to make the ensemble that the new 223 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 1: princess would change into at Strasburg border crossing as she 224 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: stepped onto French soil and became a woman of France. Yes, so, 225 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: just in case anybody doesn't know that hasn't seen the 226 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 1: movies about Marie Antoinette, etcetera. When she crossed from Austria 227 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: into France, she changed all of her clothes, she changed 228 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: everything so that she would emerge onto French soil as 229 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 1: a French princess and leave Austria behind. And so Rose 230 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,319 Speaker 1: made that outfit that she changed into, which is a 231 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: huge deal because that was also the outfit that most 232 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:11,840 Speaker 1: people would see her in for the first time, sort 233 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: of her arrival ensemble symbolic and also actually important. Yes, 234 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 1: and the lobbying of the Duchessess Chapla along with similar 235 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: please from other royals that Barton had won over as 236 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: clients actually got the young entrepreneur her order and the 237 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: first exposure to her of her work to the new Princess. So, 238 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 1: in addition to it being important because it was a 239 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 1: huge imagery issue for France, it also gave the woman 240 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: who would be queen her first taste of French clothing, 241 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: so it was important on many levels. Yeah, so Bertense 242 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: soon got her first in person introduction to the princess 243 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 1: from Austria. It's entirely likely that the talented but also 244 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: business savvy Milliner was just completely aware of the opportunity 245 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: that was presenting itself to her. If she pleased the 246 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 1: new Dauphine, all of France would be clamoring for her work. 247 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: And thanks again to the high praise that her existing 248 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: clientele gave Bertin, she was awarded a royal order for 249 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: the princess in the amount of two twenty thousand livres, 250 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: which is worth roughly four thousand dollars at the time, 251 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 1: so that's in seventeen seventy two, so that is a 252 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:24,560 Speaker 1: huge fortune. Really, So we should point out that this 253 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 1: rise to the favor of the queen was not like 254 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: an instantaneous process. Marie Antoinette had arrived in France in 255 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy and it was seventeen seventy two when Bertag 256 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: got her first order. There were a lot more to 257 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: come after that, though. The dauphine's clothing allowance in seventy 258 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy two was one hundred and twenty thousand livres annually, 259 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: and that's roughly twenty four thousand dollars, very very roughly, 260 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: but about one quarter of that money. I mean, even 261 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: in today's money, if you just told me you have 262 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: twenty four thousand dollars to spend on clothes here, I'd 263 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: be like, right on high five, I'm laughing. I would 264 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: show up to work in a ball gown every day. Um. 265 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: But about one quarter of that expense was allocated for quote, 266 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 1: ordinary dresses, like the dresses she would just wear in 267 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: her day to day life if there was nothing important 268 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:17,480 Speaker 1: to do. Just highly unlikely when you are a dauphine, 269 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: because then three quarters of that was designated for extraordinary expenses, 270 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 1: i e. Fancy pants, unicorn dresses, like all of the 271 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: big you're going to an event, you're being presented at 272 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: X y or z, you're going to meet another member 273 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 1: of royalty from another country that's here with an envoy, 274 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: any of those types of things. So that already is 275 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 1: a lot of money. In October of seventeen seventy four, 276 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: Marie Ants when it's clothing allowance rose to two hundred 277 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: thousand libra. Yeah. Again, it's almost doubling it from before. 278 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: I mean not quite almost, but almost. It brings it 279 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: to I mean, I'm doing quick math in my head 280 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: and brings it to close to at the time still, 281 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: I mean, it's like a million dollar budget. Now. I 282 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:04,600 Speaker 1: could not find a good comparison of like what that 283 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: would elise. It's really hard to compare dollar amounts well, 284 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: and especially because livra no longer exists as a form 285 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: of currency, so tricky. But once Marie Antoinette became queen, 286 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: she uh in her first year as queen, she accrued 287 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 1: in a debt of three hundred thousand livre in clothing expenses, 288 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: and the King did not actually know she was racking 289 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: up quite that much, but she did it just the same. 290 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 1: So the vast majority of this money was going right 291 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 1: to Rose Berton, and so this sounds incredibly lucrative and 292 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,160 Speaker 1: it is. It was only a small portion of the 293 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: money that she was making through her shop. So that 294 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 1: where the Dauphine and then Queen went for her gowns 295 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 1: and her accessories, that was where everyone wanted to go. Yeah, 296 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: I mean Barton really had kind of become this huge 297 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: um business juggernaut in a way, because you know, and 298 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: we should I shouldn't I mischaracterized when I wrote in 299 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:04,160 Speaker 1: the notes that it's like a small part of her business. 300 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:05,679 Speaker 1: It was a huge part of her business. But she 301 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:07,880 Speaker 1: was getting a lot of business on top of that. 302 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 1: So I mean millions of dollars in the very vague 303 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: equivalent of today's money being spent in this one millinery 304 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: shop on clothes by the royal class. Uh. And we 305 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: talked about Marie Antoinette becoming queen, and we should talk 306 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:29,679 Speaker 1: about her coronation gown because it was quite something and 307 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:35,080 Speaker 1: it was a batime creation. So traditionally, the clothing choices 308 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: for the male royals and attendance at a coronation ceremony 309 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 1: would be in a style which evoked no specific era 310 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:48,360 Speaker 1: or style of dress. Of course, neither Murray Antoinette nor 311 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,360 Speaker 1: Rose Bertant would agree to that idea at all. Yeah. 312 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: And additionally, I mean they kind of had this this 313 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 1: room to argue about it or argue their case. Because 314 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: a royal consort had not been part of a coronation 315 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: since Catherine de Medici in seven, there had been several 316 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: bachelor kings in a row on the French throne. So, uh, 317 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: there was more than a two hundred year long lag 318 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,360 Speaker 1: since the last lady in Marie Antoinette's position, and there 319 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,239 Speaker 1: wasn't a convention to follow based on that, and so 320 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 1: the Dauphine and her designer kind of took advantage of 321 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,280 Speaker 1: that gap in protocol to go, all right, we're making 322 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: a huge gown and it's going to be ridiculous and wonderful. 323 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: The ridiculous and wonderful is right. The gown bertem made 324 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:34,120 Speaker 1: for Marie Antoinette to where it was encrusted with jewels, 325 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: including many many sapphires, and also heavy embroidery has made 326 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:43,840 Speaker 1: the garment enormously heavy. Uh. Dressmaker slash designer tried to 327 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: arrange a special carriage just to take it to the 328 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:48,879 Speaker 1: soon to be clean Yeah. I don't know that she 329 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,439 Speaker 1: was granted that wish. And Marie Antoinette was placed on 330 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: a special stand to view the ceremony. And I don't 331 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:01,520 Speaker 1: know if you know, oad bearing issues were part of that. 332 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,160 Speaker 1: Because of this gown, she couldn't really walk around in it. Yeah, 333 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: gowns of this era were already extremely heavy compared to 334 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:13,479 Speaker 1: what we wear today. This would be extraordinarily heavy on 335 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: top of that already heavy, Yeah, I mean it would 336 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 1: not be. People probably have the image of the big, 337 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 1: wide hipped you know, the penny a U shaped gowns. 338 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: It's not uncommon for those to take twenty yards of fabric, 339 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: just because of the many layers and the the shape 340 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 1: of it is so wide, it's so on top of 341 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: the weight of twenty yards of fabric is the weight 342 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: of Heaven only knows the value of all of those 343 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,239 Speaker 1: jewels and heavy like gold bouton embroidery, which is very 344 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: heavy on its own, and then underpinnings in case that 345 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:54,120 Speaker 1: was not enough. Yes, so it was a significant achievement 346 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: in clothing engineering. I would even say so. As the 347 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: crowd followed Marie Antoinette in style, herten was able to 348 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: develop this rather ingenious way to just keep the money 349 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 1: flowing in. She would take the orders from the rest 350 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,560 Speaker 1: of the royals for gowns that were similar to the 351 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:13,120 Speaker 1: ones of the Queen war And as the Queen saw 352 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: more and more people dressed like her, she would get 353 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:19,120 Speaker 1: tired of that and want something new and different. Yes, 354 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: so brit Town would design new styles for her Majesty. 355 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 1: You know, she also had a hand in in the hairstyle, 356 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,520 Speaker 1: so there was lifting the hair higher, there was shifting 357 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: the drape of a skirt by bustling at all, a polonaise, 358 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: accenting with feathers, et cetera. And with each of these 359 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,920 Speaker 1: changes that kind of updated the style, the masses would 360 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,640 Speaker 1: follow and the Queen would again want something new. So 361 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: she kind of developed this perfect cycle of just continuous 362 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: orders planned obsolescence of royal clothing so smart it was 363 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 1: really an effective business model. Her shops stayed busy with 364 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,720 Speaker 1: an array of clients wanting all the latest styles while 365 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: she simultaneously worked on fashions for the Queen that we're 366 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: going to become the next big style and ring the 367 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 1: same people right back to her for a wardrobe update. 368 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: And in France and particularly the Court of France at 369 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: the time, to be out of date on your style 370 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,280 Speaker 1: was really an embarrassment and could really affect you socially, 371 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,240 Speaker 1: which is ridiculous, but that's how it worked. Uh. And 372 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: Barton normally visited the Queen twice a week and she 373 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: would discuss new designs. She would review sketches and textiles. 374 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: They would talk about the styling and accessorizing that was 375 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: going to accompany individual looks. Uh. And so she really 376 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,679 Speaker 1: became her stylist, and in many regards, even though there 377 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,120 Speaker 1: were other people making clothes for the Queen as well. 378 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,040 Speaker 1: If that can just blow your mind some more hundreds 379 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: of gowns a year um. But this level of access 380 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: to the Queen that Bartag had would normally be absolutely 381 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:47,640 Speaker 1: unheard of for someone outside the royal circle. But Marie 382 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:51,440 Speaker 1: Antoinet's obsession with fashion afforded the millinery these special privileges, 383 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: and it also earned bear Town the nickname Minister of Fashion. 384 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,960 Speaker 1: Among Marie Antoinette's critics, she was really getting land based 385 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:00,879 Speaker 1: in the press a lot as being the source of 386 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 1: waste or one of the purveyors of waste in the 387 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,920 Speaker 1: the royal court. That she they had realized she had 388 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 1: figured out this wonderful way to keep money coming in constantly, 389 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: and that she was purposely kind of putting an expiration 390 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: date on everything by making similar copies of dresses. Uh, 391 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:24,120 Speaker 1: and they they really kind of lampooned her in the press. 392 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,879 Speaker 1: So it's important to remember that while Burton was benefiting 393 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 1: financially from her relationship with the Queen and the Queen's circle, 394 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: the real benefit was this so called protection that she 395 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,480 Speaker 1: had been offered by so many of them. So, for example, 396 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 1: at one point one of Breton's relatives, who was a 397 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 1: widow making her living as a bookseller, was arrested for 398 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:47,680 Speaker 1: selling pamphlets that satirized public officials in seventeen seventy three. 399 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: Her town was able to just call up all of 400 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: her friends among the royalty for help. So first her 401 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: relative was released from the Bestie, but at her sentencing 402 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,399 Speaker 1: she was exiled from Paris for five years as a nishment, 403 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 1: and Barton continued to campaign on behalf of the bookseller 404 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: after this. This sentencing happened, and thanks to pressure from 405 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 1: Marie Antoinette and other ladies of the court, that sentence 406 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: was overturned a month after it was issued. So not 407 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:17,240 Speaker 1: only did this woman wind up being freed, but then 408 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: she was invited to dine with the Queen, and she 409 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,440 Speaker 1: became the court bookseller, which was a position that she 410 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:27,359 Speaker 1: held until the Revolution ousted Louis the sixteenth from his seat. 411 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,199 Speaker 1: And in another instance, during a royal procession through Paris 412 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:42,679 Speaker 1: en route to an event which had many carriages in it, 413 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,560 Speaker 1: the Queen, seeing Barton and her staff on the balcony 414 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: of the shop in rudissent Hore, acknowledged her dressmaker, which 415 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: is a huge honor for you know, a queen to 416 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,439 Speaker 1: point you out and kind of nod to you in 417 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,960 Speaker 1: one of these processions, and this resulted in every carriage 418 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: after that of the King and Queen also having to 419 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:06,160 Speaker 1: acknowledge her. Apparently, Barton spent the day basically curteyed carriages, 420 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: and on at least two equate occasions, the Queen also 421 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: arranged for Barton to be led to a better seat 422 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: at the theater when she was when she realized that 423 00:24:15,359 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: her stylist was sitting in a less than stellar position 424 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: to enjoy the entertainment. So Breton had really achieved an 425 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: unprecedented level, like an unprecedented rise from her beginnings to 426 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: where she ended up once she had the favor of 427 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 1: the Queen, so to be granted these kinds of favor 428 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: favors and especially with this much regularity by those in 429 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,280 Speaker 1: the highest positions of society, was quite an accomplishment for this, 430 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:44,800 Speaker 1: you know girl from I'm Young. So other women such 431 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: as Madame Duberry, who we talked about earlier, had basically 432 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: slept their way to the top of French society. Breton 433 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:54,600 Speaker 1: had used her entrepreneurial skill to get there. Yeah, which 434 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,119 Speaker 1: really says quite a bit about her and supports the 435 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 1: idea of how very smart she was. Uh, and she 436 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,439 Speaker 1: cemented her place as a milliner to the nobility. She 437 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:08,320 Speaker 1: did have a little bit of uh, that thing that 438 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,840 Speaker 1: often happens to people when they get famous really quickly. 439 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 1: She got a little bit of a superior attitude sometimes. Uh. 440 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: There are tales of her telling clients that she was 441 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: going to delay their orders because she and the queen 442 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 1: had decided that a style should not be debuted until later. 443 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,720 Speaker 1: And she would sometimes shrug off customers of lower rank 444 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 1: by selling them fashions that were out of date, even 445 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,400 Speaker 1: though wearing them would be social suicide. Like there's one 446 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 1: tale of a nobleman who is trying to get a 447 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 1: hat for a relative or a friend who is from 448 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:42,920 Speaker 1: the country, and she's like, sell them on the last 449 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 1: month's hats. Yeah. So she really was just kind of 450 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 1: saying like, you're unimportant, I don't really care about you, 451 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:50,399 Speaker 1: which is a terrible way to do business, but she 452 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: had so much she kind of felt like she could 453 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: make these, uh, less than ideal statements to people. She 454 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:04,199 Speaker 1: also said to have responded to criticism from people that 455 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:06,399 Speaker 1: by reminding them that her work was good enough for 456 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:10,440 Speaker 1: the Queen. I personally have no problem with her saying this. Yeah, 457 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: it sounds like she was pretty petulant about it though, 458 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: where someone said, oh, you know this dress, uh, this 459 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:17,879 Speaker 1: bodice isn't quite right, and she'd be like, it's good 460 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,720 Speaker 1: enough with the Queen. Yeah, just kind of a snooty, 461 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:23,560 Speaker 1: petuity way to do it. I can't understand it in 462 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,640 Speaker 1: point of fact, but uh. She would also turn down 463 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: work for the wives of white collar workers, so like 464 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:30,679 Speaker 1: if a lawyer's wife came to her, she'd be like, 465 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 1: I don't really need your business. Uh. This backfired on her, though, 466 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: because one of her employees uh set up shop for 467 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: herself and made a pretty good living catering to the 468 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,119 Speaker 1: customers that Barton cast off, and they became rivals to 469 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 1: some degree, and after an altercation where the furious Barton 470 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,520 Speaker 1: allegedly spat in the face of this former employee, there 471 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 1: was a dramatic legal battle. So her snobbery kind of 472 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,879 Speaker 1: bit her on the tail. So Mademoiselle Pico, who was 473 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:01,879 Speaker 1: the former employee, said that she was so shocked by 474 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:05,280 Speaker 1: Britann's behavior that she passed out. Britang countered that she 475 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:08,679 Speaker 1: had never behaved in such a manner. The initial judgment 476 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: found Bertag guilty, but she appealed, and at this point 477 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:15,400 Speaker 1: the Queen intervened. So not only was the previous judgment overturned, 478 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: but Mademoiselle Pico was also ordered to pay the expenses 479 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,919 Speaker 1: that were associated with the appeal. So yet another example 480 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:23,879 Speaker 1: of where it was really good for Barton to have 481 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 1: all these friends in high places. So because of her 482 00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: close association with the Queen and the Queen's circle, it 483 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 1: is probably no surprise that as the revolution shifted the 484 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: balance of power in France, it also shifted Barton's fortunes. 485 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 1: Even after the royal family was in custody of the 486 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:44,159 Speaker 1: National Assembly, Burtang continued to deliver gowns to the Queen, 487 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,679 Speaker 1: although they were much simpler than what she'd been making before, 488 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: and these deliveries, uh, it's worth pointing out, we're definitely 489 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:53,920 Speaker 1: an act of devotion. So at the time, the Milliner, 490 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: having lost her social standing in large part, was also 491 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,960 Speaker 1: having trouble collecting debts from other clients, and so even 492 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,280 Speaker 1: though her finances were starting to crumble, she still clothed 493 00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:06,960 Speaker 1: the dethroned queen like she was still very appreciative of 494 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 1: their relationship. Once Marie An's, when it was executed, Pretend, 495 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:13,680 Speaker 1: realizing that things were not going to go well for her, 496 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,639 Speaker 1: fled to London. She set up a shop there and 497 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 1: catered to many of her previous patrons from France who 498 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:23,200 Speaker 1: had also fled. She did return to France a couple 499 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:26,840 Speaker 1: of years later, though, in but she had no career 500 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 1: at the level that she had once known to go 501 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 1: back to. Her name was associated still with Louis the 502 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:35,080 Speaker 1: sixteenth the Mariantoinette, and the styles of dresses that she 503 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 1: really excelled at were no longer fashionable. Uh. The fashion 504 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 1: dolls that she had once made as miniature versions of 505 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 1: her fashion designs, which would be sent out sort of 506 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 1: as three D catalogs for people to see like it 507 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:49,640 Speaker 1: was almost like if you picture a fashioned doll today 508 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: in a beautiful gown, and you would go, I want 509 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: that gown. Um. They became popular as collectible, so she 510 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: was still making those, and she was still making a living. 511 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,200 Speaker 1: It wasn't like she was a pariah, but she is 512 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: really never able to return to the level of success 513 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 1: that she had known during Louis the sixteenth reign. Eventually, 514 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,520 Speaker 1: Louie Nicolaubertin, who was Rose's nephew, was set up in 515 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:13,800 Speaker 1: her old shop and he sold linen's and other fancy articles. 516 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 1: Rose still owned the shop, but she was mired in 517 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: ongoing efforts to settle all the old pre revolution debts, 518 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 1: and in the early eighteen hundreds, as she had gotten older, 519 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: Rose would occasionally still sell small orders to royals who 520 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 1: remembered her as a broker of the most elegant styles. 521 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,600 Speaker 1: But these really served to kind of stroke her ego 522 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:37,400 Speaker 1: more than they filled her pocketbook. While she struggled financially, 523 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: Rose also offered her services to old friends as favors. 524 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,800 Speaker 1: She never really pressed them for payment. It's like all 525 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,240 Speaker 1: of her wiles that she had used to make such 526 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: a huge fortune stopped being part of her her operating plan. Yeah. Uh, 527 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,240 Speaker 1: you know, while she was at the height of her career, 528 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:02,160 Speaker 1: really difficult and judgmental by some people's descriptions, she seemed 529 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,560 Speaker 1: to soften a lot after the revolution took the wind 530 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 1: out of her sales, and I think she saw a 531 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 1: sort of camaraderie with these people that were in a 532 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: similar boat, of like, we had this life and now 533 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,960 Speaker 1: everything has changed, and now we're kind of all in 534 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 1: this together, and let's take care of each other with dresses, 535 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 1: with beautiful clothes. Uh. Sadly, Rose died on September eighteen 536 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:27,000 Speaker 1: thirteen in the village of Epinay, where she owned land 537 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: and spent her time away from Paris. She was sixty six, 538 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 1: and while she was certainly no longer famous the way 539 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: she had been in her heyday, her obituary did run 540 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: in numerous papers, and there were many kind remembrances written 541 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 1: about both her style and her generosity, particularly later in life, 542 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: although even before she became famous, people would talk about 543 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,280 Speaker 1: how how sweet she was and how she was very kind. 544 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 1: So it seems like she kind of became a little 545 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:52,960 Speaker 1: bit of a tyrant for a brief period when she 546 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: was super wildly popular, uh, and then that shifted back 547 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: to sort of her her more natural nature. Her two 548 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:03,720 Speaker 1: nephew us Claude Charlemagne and Nicholas, and two nieces discovered 549 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: that there were still many uncollected debts that were owed 550 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 1: to bertin and so after she died they did manage 551 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 1: to recover some of that money for the estate, but 552 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:16,120 Speaker 1: it took several decades. They really had to work quite 553 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,560 Speaker 1: diligently to collect any of that money. In the introduction 554 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:24,560 Speaker 1: to the biography that we referenced earlier by Emil Langelade, 555 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 1: he wrote, the reign of Marie Antoinette was one of 556 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: futility in Chiffon, and if the queen did not create 557 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 1: the office of a minister of fashion, the court of 558 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:38,360 Speaker 1: Versailles was nevertheless always crowded with hair dressers, dressmakers, and 559 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:43,960 Speaker 1: milliners who exercised more influence than the king's counselors. Rosebertown 560 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: was one of their numbers. Yeah, she definitely had a 561 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 1: huge impact on fashion and happenings of the day. I 562 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 1: mean it was more than close. She was making clothes, 563 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,040 Speaker 1: but it was more than clothes, and I just kind 564 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,719 Speaker 1: of love, you know, and he backed worry on fashion 565 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: designers well, and the first portion of the story that 566 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: basically going from nothing to being the primary dressmaker to 567 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 1: the queen reminds me of Don't Laugh the Katy Perry movie, 568 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:18,719 Speaker 1: where we basically we basically learned that all of her 569 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 1: stylists and make up people and people making her dresses, 570 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 1: a lot of them are are people that she knew 571 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,120 Speaker 1: from before she became really famous, and she kind of 572 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: brought them to mak her crazy outlandish clothing. And now 573 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: they have makers and entertainment. Now they have careers in entertainment. 574 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 1: Not not so much. You understand that that that connection, 575 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 1: you know. And I'm also quite fond of the Katy 576 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:42,960 Speaker 1: Perry movie for reasons that are somewhat foreign to me 577 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,640 Speaker 1: as not particularly a fan of Katy Perry. Yeah, I'm 578 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 1: in the same boat. That was a good movie. Tracy 579 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 1: got me to watch it, and it's not historical in 580 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,560 Speaker 1: any way, but well, my friend Alice watched it and 581 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:55,920 Speaker 1: was like, everyone should watch this because you just get 582 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,000 Speaker 1: to see people genuinely love something that they're really excited 583 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 1: about for an hour and a half off And you know, 584 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,920 Speaker 1: I am thankful to Alice every time I think about 585 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 1: Katie Perry. Thank you so much for joining us on 586 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,760 Speaker 1: this Saturday. If you have heard an email address or 587 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,040 Speaker 1: a Facebook you are l or something similar over the 588 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,720 Speaker 1: course of today's episode, since it is from the archive 589 00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:24,440 Speaker 1: that might be out of date now, you can email 590 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,480 Speaker 1: us at History podcast at how stuff Works dot com, 591 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:29,680 Speaker 1: and you can find us all over social media at 592 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,840 Speaker 1: missed in History. And you can subscribe to our show 593 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:36,360 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, the I Heart Radio app, 594 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:43,360 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. For more on 595 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,880 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, is it how stuff 596 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:51,719 Speaker 1: works dot com.