Musing on Marie, Antoinette That Is...

It's a gorgeous morning here in our mountain HOME!!! :)))

We've been making some plans for the future of things we've wanted to do

here for a while, but haven't felt we could. The first big thing on the long list of

home remodeling to get done is going to be....

Drum Roll Please...

FRENCH DOORS!!!

Yes, I have coveted & longed for French Doors here forever & finally I will have One!

Now, since my house is no bigger then a cracker box, my door will not be as

magnificent as those seen here at the Palace of Versailles, but I will love

them just the same!!!

So...in honor of the occasion, I am watching Sofia Coppola's amazing 2006 vision of

Maria Antoinette!

For the past 6 years, I think there has been no doubt that this movie has some of the BEST
costuming & set design in movie history. Milena Canonero won an Academy Award for his
inspired designs & the magical world he creates for our beautiful young Queen.
Simply Scrumptious!!! 

This movie production was the first time ever that any film crew was allowed

to film a movie in it's entirety, at the Palace of Versailles...how cool is that!!

I haven't been to France yet, but it is at the top of my To Do List!!

Watching this movie gives you such a wonderful glimpse into the Palace

of Versailles & the glory & the decadence of the period...it's divine!

So, what are some of my musings as I watch this fabulous movie & dream

about the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette?? 

Is it possible that Marie, could have been any where near as stunningly,

beautiful as Kirsten Dunst is in every single scene of the movie??

Who's shoes were actually more exquisite...

Those that belonged to a Queen...

or the Manolo Blahnik's that were designed & created especially

for Sophia Coppola's film??

I think it's a toss up for me!!!

Were Maria Antoinette's gown's as opulent & extravagant &

over the top as history implies??

Looking at this portrait of Marie in her coronation gown & at the exquisite

fabric & style of gown below, I'd have to give that thought a BIG, YES!!!

Do you think Maria ever made wreaths of flowers for her & all her maids to wear...

because...

I just LOVE the idea of that!

Do you really think that Marie, during a period of time when her country was starving,

when they didn't even have bread, said in such a pompous, cruel & uncaring way...

"Let them eat cake!"???

It appears now, after a few hundred years, that there is absolutely no evidence

of her ever having said this. It was included in a book that was written by Rousseau 

in 1767 & refers to a 'great princess' saying...

'Qu'ils mangent de la brioche'.

The common opinion is that, "he invented it altogether."

From all accounts, historical & imagined, Marie Antoinette was a doting mother who

adored her children. It took her seven years to become pregnant, she had at least

two miscarriage & when her eldest son, the Dauphin of France died at the age of

seven, she was inconsolable. At the time when the French Revolution began to

truly escalate, Marie was in deep mourning over the loss of her son.

Marie changed many of the customs of the court, much to the dismay of the older generation.

She abandoned the use of heavy makeup & the wide hoops of the day that were so

popular, for a softer, simpler look using lighter, plainer fabrics like muslin.

During the American Revolution, the French were our allies & if it had not

been for their help, I wonder how it could have been possible for a colonial

state to fight & win a war against the most powerful nation on earth.

France was incurring debt partially from the resources that it used to help in

America's independence & who was responsible for this union between our

fledgling nation & a supreme power like France??

King Louis XVI & his Queen, Antoinette.

{Benjamin Franklin being received in the court of Louis XVI & Marie}

So, in the course of my musings, I've come to realize how much I have to be grateful

for to the court of Louis & Marie. I want to remember our sweet Marie Antoinette

as she was in some of the opening scenes of the movie, full of joy & innocence.

Because to think of her any other way is just too tragic.

{Marie at the age of thirteen}

She was the naive, young Princess of Austria when she first arrived in Paris.

She was all of fifteen when she married the future King of France.

She could never have known where this new life would take her.

She is forever fascinating & forever young.

Oh, & by the way, I know the music is a bit crazy,

but I LOVE this movie!!!  ;)

XOXO

vintagesusie