Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. This week’s Femme Fatale Friday blog post is a look at the Court of Marie Antoinette and how Le Petit Trianon can give us both style inspiration and lifestyle inspiration as we go into Spring. The energy of Le Petit Trianon is both very rural and slow (like Cottagecore before that term ever existed) and very Faery. So, yes, we can be inspired by Marie Antoinette in the Faery Lifestyle in a very interesting way!
I thought that this would be the ideal way to finish off February and look into the coming March, as Spring is beginning to start, or at least will be starting in March. Now, I did do a video on this a few weeks ago, but this post is going to be less a reminiscence of Marie Antoinette in media and history and more about the way Marie Antoinette and her friends revered nature during the time spent at Le Petit Trianon.
I want to begin by stating that I know that it is ironic that Marie Antoinette and her ladies liked to garden and play with farm animals and do other labor that the peasants had to do in order to survive. Many have said that she enjoyed playing peasant when the real peasants starved, and that is tragic and horrible, but Marie Antoinette was not truly the one to blame for the financial ruin of France. Louis XV died having made many poor financial decisions, and he had never truly taught his grandson how to handle the Crown’s coffers, which he himself did not really know how to do. Therefore, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette came into their reign with a lot of issues, and their advisors did not always give the best advice. I think the Sofia Coppola film captures this beautifully, with a scene of Louis XVI asking his advisors if it was a good idea (and if they could afford) to aid America in the Revolution, as he did not like the idea of encouraging people to break with their monarch as America was seeking to do and he did not want more debt. Louis XVI’s advisors stated that it would send a message to England (to support the Revolutionaries) and that the cost would not be an issue with taxes only being raised a small amount! That small scene has always really stuck with me because I think it gives a lot of nuance to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s situation. I added this information in for perspective, to show that although Marie Antoinette may have enjoyed spending money to have fun with her Ladies, she was far from the sole cause of any unrest.
Now that I have given that context, let’s get back to Marie Antoinette and Le Petit Trianon and the Faery Lifestyle. As stated above, Marie Antoinette used her time in Le Petit Trianon to frolic in fields, garden herself, tend to farm animals, and do other tasks that would normally be done for her. This was her oasis away from the strict rules at Court, and she had an entire new wardrobe created to be more comfortable for her time spent at her haven! She and her ladies wore White Muslin dresses with little to no corsetry and no silks and panniers (all the things needed to look presentable at Court). The dresses were lovely and, in a way, timeless, as who would not adore wearing simple White Dresses in a breathable material adorned with ribbons? I think the fashion choices from Marie Antoinette’s time spent at Le Petit Trianon are the best way to be inspired by her fashion in the modern day that will not look like a Cosplay or Costume due to the timeless simplicity of hyper-feminine White Muslin dresses!
So, yes, the fashion sported at Le Petit Trianon is very much in line with being at one with Nature, and so is the way they lived at Le Petit Trianon, with so much time spent around the Flora and Fauna in their home. Every time I see artwork of Marie Antoinette in her Le Petit Trianon fashions, watch scenes in films depicting this time, or read about the way that Marie Antoinette and her Ladies conducted themselves at Le Petit Trianon, that is the aspect of her life that I feel most drawn to! While I have always had a deep love of Royal History and a deep empathy for Doomed Queens, the way Marie Antoinette lived at Le Petit Trianon is something we can aspire to do today, on a much smaller scale. We, too, can tend gardens, have farm animals (or other beloved pets) to care for, read in the open air amid trees, and appreciate the slower and softer pace of life!
In fact, slowing down and softening how we live is an ideal way to connect more deeply with the inherent Feminine and intuitive side that everyone has (regardless of gender). This slowing down of pace and softer energy is also so deeply connected to Faery energy, as when you cease to rush yourself or put unnecessary pressures on yourself, you can more easily listen to Nature, listen to Spirit, and listen to the energy of the Fae! We each can be served by taking some time to enjoy the beauty of blooming plants and flourishing trees around us as Spring is on the horizon. We can be served by taking the time to smell the flowers, to forage for plants, to tend a garden, and to care for animals. We can definitely be served by letting children spend time in Nature, exploring and enjoying plants and animals (as Marie Antoinette did with her daughter at Le Petit Trianon). Not to mention, if you love to read as much as I do, you can also be served to read in the open air!
I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of how you can be inspired by Marie Antoinette’s Le Petit Trianon while living the Faery Lifestyle. What is your favorite thing about Marie Antoinette’s Le Petit Trianon? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the classic painting of the Duchesse de Polignac, Marie Antoinette’s best friend, painted in her Le Petit Trianon fashions! I found the artwork on https://www.amazon.com/Poster-16-53inch×11-69inch-Japan】＜fine-Art-Print＞Print/dp/B0B5GXC5S7.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries
Further Reading/Watching
- Queen of Fashion by Caroline Weber
- https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon/petit-trianon
- Marie Antoinette (2006)