Historical story

“Culottes”:what they were, how they were made and when they were fashionable

A French noble of the 1700s wearing culottes

A item of clothing typical of eighteenth-century men's fashion close to the French Revolution were the culottes, as already written in this post https://www.pilloledistoria.it/8234/storia-moderna/come-vestiva-un-nobile-francese-del-700.

But how exactly were the culottes made and how did they wear them?

They were elegant shorts, that closed just above the knee with a row of precious buttons.

The underlying silk stockings shiny and precious (as well as expensive), they remained totally visible.

To complete the mise they could not miss the pretty pointed shoes, equipped with heel and large buckle (often a real jewel).

This was the typical way of dressing for more conservative gentlemen, faithful to the dictates of fashion in force since the time of Louis XIV.

Shortly thereafter, however, the revolutionary fury would have upset and radically changed not only the political and social condition of the country, but also the daily habits of citizens, including the way of dressing.

It is no coincidence that one of the most extremist and violent fringes of the rebels proudly called itself sanculottes, or “without culottes” , precisely due to the fact of not wearing, with ostentatious pride, a garment considered typical of the aristocrats.