"Avec notre goût, laissez-nous font la guerre sur l'Europe et par la mode conquérir le monde!" With our taste, let us make war on Europe and through fashion conquer the world!
Jean Baptiste Colbert, chief financial advisor to King Louis the XIV, made this emphatic declaration in the seventeenth century. Little did he know how successful his proposition would be, nor how ubiquitous French marketing would become in the New World. Today, the concepts and names associated with French products sold to American women are familiar parts of our everyday lives.
Almost everyone knows that "haute couture" means "high fashion," and most are aware of the names of French designers like Christian Dior, Chanel, and Yves St. Laurent. We buy millions of dollars of cosmetics and perfumes from names such as L'Oreal, Lancôme, and Clinique. Our grocery stores are stocked with items like Yoplait yogurt and Evian water. From clothing to beauty products, chocolate to diamonds, the myth of France has been sold, and we have been eager consumers. The objective of this study is to trace the origins of this cultural hagiography and come to an understanding of why French products continue to be romanticized and marketed to American women who, for the most part, have never been and probably will never go to France.
The presence of French products in the lives of American women is no accident. France has been aggressively "sold" for over one hundred years, deliberately targeting American women through advertising in popular magazines, product availability in drugstores, and the phenomenon of Parisian fashion in department stores. But to understand how this one nation came to hold such power, it is necessary to first examine the reasons why France was in such a unique position to export its sense of superiority, particularly in the realms of fashion and beauty.
The French sensibility for refinement has a history that existed long before they thought of exporting their "bon goût" (good taste) to America. Perhaps one reason why the French ultimately became so successful in marketing to a wide consumer-base in the United States is because of their own national philosophy. The French believed that all people could be fashionable and exhibit bon goût, not just royalty or the elite. Both Marcel Proust and Honoré de Balzac penned descriptions of French society in the nineteenth century depicting both elite women and demi-mondaines (middle class women) as fashion leaders. This shared sensibility can be traced back even further. Elizabeth Wilson, in her superb study Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity, claims that by 1690, there is evidence of a "fashionable peasantry". Other historians offer support for this theory that claims a long relationship between the rich and not-so-rich. For example, umbrellas, carried by Parisian royalty in the seventeenth century, also began popping up over the heads of commoners shortly after their introduction to nobility. But it was the French Revolution that propelled the democracy of taste and fashion to new heights. One woman, Madam Raymond Sée, even declared, "Les droits civiques de l'homme, l'aisance du corps our la femme, voilà les deux grandes conqûetes de la Révolution!". "The rights of man, the comfort of female bodies, these are the two grand conquests of the Revolution!"
Clothing was not the only item to be democratized. The French Revolution also saw workers demanding marchandises de nécessité principale (good of prime necessity) meaning sugar, soap and candles, items which, aside from candles, certainly would have been considered luxuries just a few years earlier. In his study, Consumerism in World History, Peter Stearns argues that the French Revolution was when cosmetics and perfumes began to be used by all women, regardless of class. "The French Revolution also generated its own (female) consumer items," he notes, "in the form of new materials, new clothing, fashions, and special hats". All over France, women were beginning to indulge in corporeal pleasures.
Fashion and luxury items were spreading throughout France, from the courts to the countryside. The French knew how to market and understood something about psychology. In fashion magazines, advertisers began touting "nomination spéciale aux sovereigns de l'Europe," (special appointment to the sovereigns of Europe) giving the common people the sense that they could, in a sense, be royalty. This appeal to "something higher" would prove to be especially successful in America, a country which simultaneously embraced both an "up by your bootstraps" mentality as well as a pretension to greatness. This dichotomy of the American mindset, combined with the strong desire of the French to export their sensibility, are the abstract reasons behind France's ability to make inroads in marketing to women in the United States.
Two important concrete factors helped France gain that foothold: the proliferation of magazines and the growth of international shipping and travel. First, magazines were experiencing an explosion of circulation in America in the late 1800s. French manufacturers recognized this and began buying space in American publications like Godey's Ladies' Book. Godey's, and publications of a similar genre, were available across literally all over the country, "from the mansions of New York to those dwelling in farmsteads on the prairie". Carrying forward the democratization of fashion for "tout le monde," (the whole world) Godey's "began to reproduce French styles in ways that would allow women of more modest means to sew their own copies and become paragons of an up-to-date look in their own right".
It may seem curious that Parisian designers would let their designs be copied and recreated by anyone who could thread a needle. However, the prêt-a-porter (ready-to-wear) market was still a few years off. The impetus for the French at this point was not the sale of the design, but the sale of the materials to create it. To be fashionable, Lori Ann Loeb argues, an American woman "required a wardrobe of beautiful and imported fabrics, one that included les dernières nouveautès from Paris, in the most recherché (latest styles) colors and...purchased from shops with fashionable addresses. Fortunately for American women, the growth of international shipping and travel helped them realize their dreams.
By the late 1800s, American women were so eager for the new French looks that Americans began traveling to France to "buy (or steal) the current trends". These agents even acquired a French moniker, "modistes." In 1888, the Paris fashions were so in demand that Godey's was forced to apologize to its readership for not publishing the fashion plates of the new season "because the modistes had returned from Paris late". If one could not get the latest look from a magazine, there were also fashion dolls imported from France to "stimulate taste". Women bought these dolls by the thousands. Whether from the news rack or the toy shelf, it was France, not England, or Italy, nor any other country that substantially interested American women. France alone captured the imagination.
Related articles to follow.
Paris Envy: Influential Marketing
Paris Envy: Cosmetics and Perfumes
Paris Envy: Department Stores
Paris Envy: Christian Dior
Photo Credits © Hangxing Xie | Dreamstime.com © Patrick Breig | Dreamstime.com
Jean Baptiste Colbert, chief financial advisor to King Louis the XIV, made this emphatic declaration in the seventeenth century. Little did he know how successful his proposition would be, nor how ubiquitous French marketing would become in the New World. Today, the concepts and names associated with French products sold to American women are familiar parts of our everyday lives. Almost everyone knows that "haute couture" means "high fashion," and most are aware of the names of French designers like Christian Dior, Chanel, and Yves St. Laurent. We buy millions of dollars of cosmetics and perfumes from names such as L'Oreal, Lancôme, and Clinique. Our grocery stores are stocked with items like Yoplait yogurt and Evian water. From clothing to beauty products, chocolate to diamonds, the myth of France has been sold, and we have been eager consumers. The objective of this study is to trace the origins of this cultural hagiography and come to an understanding of why French products continue to be romanticized and marketed to American women who, for the most part, have never been and probably will never go to France.
The presence of French products in the lives of American women is no accident. France has been aggressively "sold" for over one hundred years, deliberately targeting American women through advertising in popular magazines, product availability in drugstores, and the phenomenon of Parisian fashion in department stores. But to understand how this one nation came to hold such power, it is necessary to first examine the reasons why France was in such a unique position to export its sense of superiority, particularly in the realms of fashion and beauty.
The French sensibility for refinement has a history that existed long before they thought of exporting their "bon goût" (good taste) to America. Perhaps one reason why the French ultimately became so successful in marketing to a wide consumer-base in the United States is because of their own national philosophy. The French believed that all people could be fashionable and exhibit bon goût, not just royalty or the elite. Both Marcel Proust and Honoré de Balzac penned descriptions of French society in the nineteenth century depicting both elite women and demi-mondaines (middle class women) as fashion leaders. This shared sensibility can be traced back even further. Elizabeth Wilson, in her superb study Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity, claims that by 1690, there is evidence of a "fashionable peasantry". Other historians offer support for this theory that claims a long relationship between the rich and not-so-rich. For example, umbrellas, carried by Parisian royalty in the seventeenth century, also began popping up over the heads of commoners shortly after their introduction to nobility. But it was the French Revolution that propelled the democracy of taste and fashion to new heights. One woman, Madam Raymond Sée, even declared, "Les droits civiques de l'homme, l'aisance du corps our la femme, voilà les deux grandes conqûetes de la Révolution!". "The rights of man, the comfort of female bodies, these are the two grand conquests of the Revolution!"
Clothing was not the only item to be democratized. The French Revolution also saw workers demanding marchandises de nécessité principale (good of prime necessity) meaning sugar, soap and candles, items which, aside from candles, certainly would have been considered luxuries just a few years earlier. In his study, Consumerism in World History, Peter Stearns argues that the French Revolution was when cosmetics and perfumes began to be used by all women, regardless of class. "The French Revolution also generated its own (female) consumer items," he notes, "in the form of new materials, new clothing, fashions, and special hats". All over France, women were beginning to indulge in corporeal pleasures.Fashion and luxury items were spreading throughout France, from the courts to the countryside. The French knew how to market and understood something about psychology. In fashion magazines, advertisers began touting "nomination spéciale aux sovereigns de l'Europe," (special appointment to the sovereigns of Europe) giving the common people the sense that they could, in a sense, be royalty. This appeal to "something higher" would prove to be especially successful in America, a country which simultaneously embraced both an "up by your bootstraps" mentality as well as a pretension to greatness. This dichotomy of the American mindset, combined with the strong desire of the French to export their sensibility, are the abstract reasons behind France's ability to make inroads in marketing to women in the United States.
Two important concrete factors helped France gain that foothold: the proliferation of magazines and the growth of international shipping and travel. First, magazines were experiencing an explosion of circulation in America in the late 1800s. French manufacturers recognized this and began buying space in American publications like Godey's Ladies' Book. Godey's, and publications of a similar genre, were available across literally all over the country, "from the mansions of New York to those dwelling in farmsteads on the prairie". Carrying forward the democratization of fashion for "tout le monde," (the whole world) Godey's "began to reproduce French styles in ways that would allow women of more modest means to sew their own copies and become paragons of an up-to-date look in their own right".
It may seem curious that Parisian designers would let their designs be copied and recreated by anyone who could thread a needle. However, the prêt-a-porter (ready-to-wear) market was still a few years off. The impetus for the French at this point was not the sale of the design, but the sale of the materials to create it. To be fashionable, Lori Ann Loeb argues, an American woman "required a wardrobe of beautiful and imported fabrics, one that included les dernières nouveautès from Paris, in the most recherché (latest styles) colors and...purchased from shops with fashionable addresses. Fortunately for American women, the growth of international shipping and travel helped them realize their dreams.
By the late 1800s, American women were so eager for the new French looks that Americans began traveling to France to "buy (or steal) the current trends". These agents even acquired a French moniker, "modistes." In 1888, the Paris fashions were so in demand that Godey's was forced to apologize to its readership for not publishing the fashion plates of the new season "because the modistes had returned from Paris late". If one could not get the latest look from a magazine, there were also fashion dolls imported from France to "stimulate taste". Women bought these dolls by the thousands. Whether from the news rack or the toy shelf, it was France, not England, or Italy, nor any other country that substantially interested American women. France alone captured the imagination.
Related articles to follow.
Paris Envy: Influential Marketing
Paris Envy: Cosmetics and Perfumes
Paris Envy: Department Stores
Paris Envy: Christian Dior
Photo Credits © Hangxing Xie | Dreamstime.com © Patrick Breig | Dreamstime.com
Jamie Wheeler is the Lead Editor at eNotes.com, a comprehensive educational resource used by millions of teachers and students. You can read more of her book reviews and other commentary at eNotes.
And who could forget the impact Audrey Hepburn and her French "Funny Face" designer Givenchy had on the American public! S'Wonderful!