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1-Page Summary of Queen of Fashion

Overview

To get the full experience, listen to this book. You might know that Marie Antoinette was a queen of France and was famous for her indifference towards her people. She lived in a society where there were extreme divisions between social classes, and she had great wealth and power. She died at the hands of revolutionary forces because she’d helped cause unrest in her country by being indifferent to the plight of its people.

But Marie Antoinette was more than that. In this biography, we’ll look at her through another lens: style.

Marie Antoinette was the Queen of France and a fashion icon. Her extravagant style has inspired many designers in their creations ever since.

Marie Antoinette was born on November 2, 1755. She was the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Habsburg Empire stretched from Italy to Ukraine. It had millions of people who spoke a variety of languages including German, Ukrainian, Czech and Polish.

Marie Antoinette was born into a royal family that ruled the Austrian Empire. Her parents were Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I. She was the youngest of his children, which made her an Archduchess of Austria with some power and prestige.

She was born in a wealthy family and had to study dance, etiquette, and the harpsichord. She loved playing with dolls.

Marie Antoinette’s childhood was very privileged in comparison to most people living in the French empire. Her mother decided it was time for her daughter to get married, but she had no say on whom she’d marry because it would be a political marriage.

Throughout history, the Habsburg Empire had a long feud with France. They fought each other for centuries but things changed during the eighteenth century when Great Britain and Prussia started to threaten their wealth and power.

To fight back against the new rivals, France and Austria decided to bury their differences and work together. They did this by getting married.

Marie Antoinette was chosen to be Louis-Auguste’s bride. She would marry him and become the Dauphine of France.

Before Marie Antoinette could live in France, she needed to learn how the French court worked. She was taught by a ballet dancer on how to walk gracefully and perform the Versailles glide. It wasn’t easy but after many hours of practice, she became quite good at it.

The young bride needed to learn how to walk properly because she was used to walking in a certain way. Her mother also had her update her fashion sense, which meant raiding the imperial treasury for all the latest French styles.

This was a very expensive shopping trip. The empress would have spent millions of dollars on her daughter’s clothing. However, it was worth it because the princess looked and acted like a French princess.

In April 1770, Marie Antoinette married Louis-Auguste. The wedding was a bit strange because the groom wasn’t present; however, it didn’t seem to matter.

Two days after the wedding, Marie Antoinette left Austria to meet her new husband – a man she had never seen in person. She went to France, where she visited for the first time. She wore a formal dress because it was considered formal dress at Versailles. It was made of luxurious fabric and decorated with ribbons and lace.

Huge crowds of Viennese citizens gathered to see Marie Antoinette off. They were there not only to wave goodbye, but also to witness the spectacle. She was the center of attention and would need to get used to it.

Marie Antoinette’s new family, the Bourbons, spent most of their time at Versailles. This palace was a quarter-mile long with 226 grand apartments and 500 smaller rooms that were still pretty magnificent. It was surrounded by world-famous gardens with beautiful fountains and statues everywhere.