How much would you reveal if your gowns were damp? Josephine and her pals had an idea!

I work on my new series, the first of which is LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI, out in March. It is 1802 and we are in the Tuileries in Josephine's court. What do those ladies wear?

Short, short hair.

Damp muslin. DAMP. NO petticoats.

A few things do show! See these to tickle your fancy!

1. 

   La Blouillotte , 1804.

   A Drawing room scene with a few bright things with certain calling cards

   

   Titus, 1802.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   

   Titus, curly, 1803.
   
   
   
   

   
   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   Theresa Tallien, by Jean Bernard Duvivier. Brooklyn Museum.

Teresa Tallien was a notorious lady who had many husbands and many lovers. A friend of Josephine's who had been in Carmes prison with her, she was known as a leader of Parisian Directory society. She loved her jewels and wore them in her hair, on her fingers and her toes. She is said to have gone to the Paris Opera one evening in a white silk gown so transparent that even sanguine Talleyrand commented on her revelations. You see, she wore no undergarments.