By Bourgine

This week's report - July 6, 2025

We won't be talking about the Paris-melting heatwave. Instead we’ll present you with a photo of this cool baby:
 
This week was a special one as Diane, our pattern maker, gave birth to Aldo on Tuesday evening. Congrats to him on picking great individuals for parents.
Almost as cool, this cat: 
 
As for us non-indolent creatures, the shop routine went like clockwork: Justine cut so many pieces she developed calluses, Evelyn + Anna + Madame Chau sewed said pieces, Romane wrote stuff and coded things, Caroline ran the show. Each of us in our own Bourgine uniforms, which made me think of a topic to discuss with you: everyday dress in the 19th century.



Some historical perspective: until the industrial revolution, most people’s wardrobes were extremely limited. They owned few clothing, tailor or home-made, and wore the same pieces on a daily basis, with the exception of Sunday dress.

 

Everyday dress varied according to social rank, profession and regional origin but certain trends were to be found across the country, sketching out typical silhouettes.

For example, the "biaude", a kind of tunic often amde of linen or hemp fabric, was a staple fo men's workwear:

 

Our interpretation in the collection:
  Vareuse ou biaude, denim
Vareuse ou biaude, denim
€325.00
Vareuse ou biaude, carreaux
Vareuse ou biaude, carreaux
€325.00

Peasants and workers wore simple clothes in sober colors, designed for their sturdiness and practicality. The most common fabric was the thick and affordable "droguet" (drugget), a mix of wool and linen woven in each province.
Another ubiquitous shape was the "culotte": 
 
Our interpretation:
  Culotte bleue
Culotte bleue
€255.00
Culotte rose
 Culotte rose
€245.00
 

Women wore long dresses overlaid with shawls and aprons with pockets to hold tools for busy days in the fields or at home.

 

Our interpretation:
  Robe Dabantière, rouge
Robe Dabantière, rouge
€295.00
Robe Dabantière, bleue
Robe Dabantière, bleue
€275.00
 
A far cry from the ornements of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy, who picked refined materials like silk and velvet and distinguished themselves with made-to-measure pieces - just like at Bourgine.
 

Talk next Sunday,



As a post-scriptum, Aldo's complete uniform:

 

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