MY VANITY AFFAIR

Finally, I got a vanity! Lolo surprised me with one from the shop that I had been eyeing for quite awhile. I have been asking for my own space to get ready since we moved into our little cottage. 

French Louis XVI Vanity. Circa 1890's

At Home With A Few of My Favorite Things

I wanted somewhere to sit...a place for my perfume, jewelry, trinkets and make-up, of course. There's nothing more feminine than sitting at your vanity, powder puff in hand, contemplating what perfume or jewelry you might wear before going out for the evening. 

Le Bonheur du jour; ou, Les Graces à la mode, George Barbier, 1924.

Fine furnishings and accessories designed to use while primping and preparing to dress have been created throughout the centuries, but few pieces of furniture have revealed more about leisure pursuits, popular taste and changing social customs than the dressing table, or vanity. Metropolitan Vanities: The History of the Dressing Table, a decorative arts exhibit that opened December 17th at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, focuses on the history of the dressing table. The exhibition provides an overview of the origins and development of the dressing table from antiquity to the present day with some 50 related objects, paintings and drawings selected mainly from the Metropolitan’s collection.

Cosmetic Box of the Cupbearer Kemeni
Egyptian, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, Reign of Amenemhat IV, Ca. 1814–1805 B.C.
Cedar, With Ebony and Ivory Veneer and Silver Mounting
Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926

The history of the vanity begins with a box, but the form of the vanity as we know it today began to develop in the late 17th century in Europe when European high society began commissioning luxurious specialized furniture from craftsmen and furniture makers. The poudreuse in France, and the low boy, Beau Brummel and shaving table in England served as models for the dressing table. Jean-Henri Riesener’s Mechanical Table (1780–81) is one of the finest examples of this period in the exhibition. This table, in which the top slides back as the drawer slides forward to reveal a toilette mirror flanked by two compartments, was delivered by the cabinetmaker to Queen Marie Antoinette at Versailles in January 1781.

Mechanical table, 1778
Jean-Henri Riesener (French, 1734–1806)
Oak Veneered with Bois Satiné (Bloodwood), Holly, Black Stained Holly, Amaranth, Berberis,
Stained Sycamore and Green Lacquered Wood, Gilt-Bronze Mounts;
H. 31 x W. 44 1/2 x D. 27 in. (78.7 x 113 x 68.6 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1933 (33.12)

There are many very elaborate vanities and accessories on view, reminders of a time when the very act of getting dressed was perhaps the main event of a woman’s day. 

Tiffany & Co. (American, 1837–Present) Comb Ca. 1910
Tortoiseshell, Platinum, Diamonds
Gift of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1941
 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (41.84.16)

 While beauty rituals may change, most of us don't use Tiffany & Co., platinum and diamond combs daily, some things never change. Every girl needs a vanity. What's on your dressing table?

The exhibition is on display through April 13, 2014 and is featured on the museum's website.

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi