Marie Antoinette Dresses|Marie Antoinette Costume|Historical Clothing

Marie Antoinette

- the Queen of  France and Navarre of 1774-1792. At the 18th century, Marie-Antoinette led

Rococo Fashion

with huge, poufy hairstyles, enormous pannier skirts and all manner of decorative frills, feathers and bows. The Austrian-born royal was thrust into the heart of Versailles from a young age, and quickly learned how to dress to impress as the country’s new Queen. Often portrayed throughout history as a naive party-girl, Marie’s obsession with clothing was also a powerful form of self-expression, exposing to the world her determined, if reckless, streak of independence. Towards the end of the period, Marie Antoinette became the leader of

French Fashion

, as did her dressmaker Rose Bertin. Extreme extravagance was her trademark, which ended up majorly fanning the flames of the French Revolution.