Jeanne Margaine-Lacroix caused more than a few head-snapping whiplashes at the Prix du Prince de Galles, Longchamp on May 10,1908. It was the premiere event at the famed racetrack in Paris, France – the epicenter of the fashion world.
Everyone who was anyone attended. Influencers showcased their latest red-carpet styles. (Yes, trendsetters were powerful long before Social Media was a glimmer in anyone’s eye.) In the midst of the stylish crowd, three gorgeous women strode onto the grounds. They wearing shockingly body-hugging Sylphide dresses designed by the Margaine-Lacroix fashion house to show the shape of the body beneath the fabric, not the shape of the corset.
By today’s standards, the tsunami of attention the gowns attracted seems laughable. But Margaine-Lacroix’s innovations were significant steps on the path to expanding female freedoms in the 20th century.
Despite this, Jeanne Margaine-Lacroix has been largely overlooked in fashion history.
Following are a few titillating details from her scandalously streamlined silhouette for the 20th century woman.
American Press Noted That Even Parisians Were Shocked
Press across Europe, America and even South America wrote about the three “mannequins” in their startlingly sleek look, designed to show the curves of the woman beneath the dress instead of her hard-wired corset.
On Sunday May 31, 1908 the Pittsburgh Post published an article titled “Directoire Gowns Amaze Paris Race Track Crowds.”
The article referenced the three “professional beauties” boldly strutting their Directoire gowns. While there are always many mannequins at Longchamp, graceful, distinguished and utterly chic, these three were in a class apart.
“They were clad in a way that made even Parisians stare.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 10, 1908)
Their “Directoire” dresses were described as:
“…extremely clinging and supple, in white, dark blue and Havana brown, and still in the Directoire style, the long, close-fitting skirts were slit up the side to the height of the knees.”
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 10, 1908)
The dresses were nothing shy of scandalous.
Editors of the Pittsburgh Post, among many critics, fashionistas and members of the general public predicted that the new “sheath dresses” would flop.
Still, The Revolutionary Dresses Turned Heads
Historian Susie Ralph curated an exhibition of Margaine-Lacroix in July of 2013 for the Kensington and Chelsea Libraries. Ralph writes that “directoire mania” caused several incidents, reported in the press.
“Amongst them was a riding accident on London’s fashionable Rotten Row. According to The New York Times’ London correspondent, this was caused by: “a vaudeville artiste …. dressed in a Directoire riding costume of cream broadcloth, cut tight to the figure and slashed on the left side to the knee, showing a long, white riding boot.”
Her sensational appearance caused a rider, turning around in the saddle to survey her, to come into violent collision with Winston Churchill’s horse.” (Kensington and Chelsea Libraries)
Female Fashion Evolved Through The Victorian Era
In all fairness, change had been in the air from the mid-1800s to the dawn of the 20th century. In France, it was the Belle Epoque (the Beautiful Era) from 1871 to 1914. Globally, women were demanding more streamlined clothing for biking, swimming, tennis and other sports. The struggle for the right to wear pants continued.
According to the Fashion Dictionary MAMe, the turn of the century had been an important moment of revolution in women’s underwear. Between changing aesthetics, new female freedoms and advances in manufacturing, the rigid structures of the corset were under attack.
“Indeed, there was a desire to achieve greater naturalness and flexibility. Silk fabrics with a high level of flexibility were used to better show the shape of the body under clothing, rather than showing the artificial shape of the corset.“ (MAMe)
This emerging aesthetic is abundantly evident in paintings by artists including Joaquin Sorolla, Giovanni Boldini and many more. Perhaps the clearest reflection of changing times can be found in the posters of Jules Chéret who documented the dawn of female emancipation with the beautiful, boldly sensual women at the center of his lithographs.
The Trailblazing Designer Behind The New Line Of 1908
Her name was Jeanne Margaine-Lacroix (1868-1930). She developed Maison Margaine-Lacroix. She inherited the Parisian fashion house from her mother Armandine Fresnais-Margaine (1835-1899) who founded it in1889. Her shop remains famous for its innovative corsets and its Sylphides and Tanagréennes dresses. Both were light, body-clinging designs to be worn without a heavy corset. They remain popular today.
Arguably, Margraine-Lacroix’s most famous creation was the Corset-Sylphide, made with a stretchy material and minimal bones.
“But what made her famous was the Mantle-Sylphide, made with a stretchy material and minimal bones. The first mention of the dress was made in 1899 on L’art et la Mode…” (MAMe)
It was the year she inherited the tailoring business from her mother.
“It was highlighted as a “corsetless” or “corset abolition” dress, in an article highlighting the importance of the invention. (MAMe)
The Ingenious Design That Launched Sleek Lines
The Sylphide did away with traditional corsets, which it replaced with an ingenious combination of lining.
The Alexadre Vassiliev Foundation writes that Margaine-Lacroix attached a petticoat to elastic silk jersey underwear.
“The stockings are attached to the inside of the petticoat, eliminating the need for garters and holding the petticoat in place. Knitted in tight mesh, this bust-to-knee swimsuit serves as a substitute corset. The dress itself with its reinforced bodice also acts as a corset.” (Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation)
The dress itself also acted as a corset with its reinforced bodice . Sylphide corsets, bras and sheaths were based on the same design.
The Sylphide bra is in silk canvas and the Sylphide sheath in kidskin. Margaine-Lacroix also developed the Sylphide sheath, in a silk knit, which Figaro-Modes indicated in 1904 that “this sort of ideal swimsuit” gloves the shapes with a soft firmness and removes all traces of the corset to the eye.” (Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation)
This was one of many patents held by Margaine-Lacroix.
She Won Kudos At The Paris Universal Exhibitions
Margaine-Lacroix’s new sleek lines were not entirely new in 1908 when her models wore them to the Longchamp Racecourse.
The fashion house won a gold medal for its creations in the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition. Margraine-Lacroix received honorable mention for her design, particularly her florals.
Margaine-Lacroix also presented models in the Salon des Lumières of the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris.
“The three models presented at the 1900 Universal Exhibition reproduced in the exhibition catalog are three Sylphides dresses, one in green charmeuse, the second in pink swanskin and the third in white lambskin.” (Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation)
Other Prominent Designers Were Credited For Changing Corsets
Margaine-Lacroix contributed significantly to the end of bulky corsets for women entering a new era. But Alexandre Vassiliev Foundations writes that the transformation of the silhouette in the Belle Époque is traditionally attributed to the influence of Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet.
Despite this, Margraine-Lacroix’s unique unflinching aesthetic and her ground-breaking patents for intricate, nearly undetectable undergarments sewn into dresses win her place in the history of the revolutionary sleek line of the new century.
Despite predictions that the new look would be quickly forgotten, “Directorie Mania” was taking the world of fashion by storm by the end of the Parisian Social Season of 1908.
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