1750

Middle of the century marked what is perhaps the highest point of rococo style. The stiffness of the earlier years had been abandoned, and the extravagances of the ’seventies and the neo-classical negligence of the 'nineties were alike unthought of. The most typical characteristics of the century were at their most charming stage. The wig was neat and becoming. The three-cornered hat was of medium sixe—it had been ridiculously large in Marlborough's time, and became ridiculously small in 1790 ; coats and waistcoats were both digniEed and graceful, the cut was good and the embroidery elegant. There was a tasteful moderation in the use of lace.

Women’s dress was marked by a peculiarly charming form of the side pcmicfy and was made of bright stuffs not too rich and heavy, for one result of the large panitr had been to lead to the introduction of lighter and more flexible materials for dresses. In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries very heavy stuffs had been worn, as these lent themselves to the somewhat rigid silhouettes of fashionable costume. The fcminiac frame, while capable of much in deference to fashion, cannot support an unlimited quantity of heavy brocade interwoven with metal strands. Some women managed to support damask, which is a heavy material, but looked well, with its bold patterns, when stretched over hoops; but for the majority the result of the new modes was the introduction of lawn, muslin, and dimity, of simple texture but lively pattern, little bouquets or scattered flow'ers being the most frequent. The universal crinoline of a century later was to have a very similar effect.