Emile Pingat

Pingat & Tea Gowns

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

No sooner did we say that tea gowns didn’t seem to be a thing with Emile Pingat than this amazing circa 1892 example from the National Gallery of Australia came along:  🙂

Emile Pingat, Tea Gown, c. 1892; National Gallery of Australia (NGA 92.1129.A-B)

This design takes the while idea of a “tea gown” and takes the style to the extreme, elevating it to an extremely fashionable garment. Utilizing complementary colors of acid yellow and dark brown, the gown combines a silk satin skirt and bodice and velvet sleeves with a Medici collar. The effect is further enhanced by the same brown velvet running along the skirt hem. Finally, a large belt with a jeweled design and decorative panel running down the gown front completes the gown’s dramatic effect. With the belt, it’s difficult to tell if it’s a princess line or not but in either case, the silhouette is a typical 1890s style. With the Medici collar and jeweled velvet sleeves, this gown reads Renaissance with a nod to aesthetic dress. And here’s the rear view:

Fashion has always been a play between extremes and this tea gown is no exception in that Pingat’s design pushes the boundaries of what a tea gown was intended to be- what was once meant as a casual garment for wear at home has now been transformed far beyond that definition to the point where it bears little difference between it and full-on formal wear. Of course, one could argue that perhaps it’s more a matter of the dress being mislabeled by the museum and we acknowledge that it’s quite possible too although the neo-Renaissance style seems to belie that a bit. In either case, without further documentation, all we can do is speculate but one can’t deny the dramatic style effect either way.


And Something New From Maison Pingat…

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

We don’t normally associate Emile Pingat with more casual designs such as tea gowns and morning dresses but that’s not always the case. Recently, we came across this interesting 1890s era example that was on an auction website:  🙂

Pingat, Tea Gown, c. 1890s; Whitaker Auctions

This dress is constructed from cream-colored wool trimmed with ivory lace at the sleeve cuffs and neck. The dress is also trimmed in a floral pattern constructed from soutache cord appliques mounted on linen running along the hem, neck, and dress front.

This dress has a silhouette that approximates the quintessential 1890s x-silhouette yet the lines are more loose and free-flowing, aided by the princess line style. This dress reads “tea gown” although it would also work for a house or morning dress; in any event, this was probably a bit too casual for going outside of the house and was intended for wear at home. As we’ve commented on other tea gowns, Pingat has taken what was meant to be a simple style and upgraded into more of a couture gown. Here’s some close-up views:

This close-up view from the rear shows the princess line seamwork although there are waist lines on the side pieces- whether these are simply stitch lines or actual seams is hard to determine from the picture but either way, the dress reads princess line. The sleeves are elbow length and have moderate poufs on the sleeve caps- based on the sleeve caps, we’d be willing to estimate that this was garment was made something in the 1893-1894 time frame but this is just an estimate on our part.1Unfortunately, like most auction website listings, the dating is very vague and in this case, it just stated that it was “1890s” which is not very helpful.

The above lace collar extends up the neck and is topped off by a row of tiny silk flowers. Also, the pictures above and below show excellent close-up views of the applique decorative design and in many respects it’s reminiscent of trapunto.

The dress was front opening and concealed by this elaborately worked placket consisting of raised appliques worked in a floral pattern designed to mimic a vine with flowers. It’s a very cleaver design solution and keeps the rest of the dress lines clean, unfettered by the need for an opening.

And here we seen Pingat’s label stamped into the petersham, something that was very common for couture houses to do. The petersham was intended as a way to control the dress and keep it firmly attached at the waist. With this tea gown, we see a design is simple and elegant, embodying the oft-quoted idea of “less is more;” it’s definitely that. With dress’s simple, clean lines acting as a canvas for the restrained decorative scheme, and it all harmonizes together nicely.

 


And For A Little Pingat…

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

This is probably one of the most extraordinary things that’s occurred since we started this blog back in 2013 and it’s all because of a post we did on Emile Pingat, a Parisian couturier who operated at about the same time as Charles Worth.

We have been blessed by an early portrait of Emile Pingat that was kindly sent to us by one of our readers, M. Jacques Noel, who is a descendant of M. Pingat. M. Noel gave us permission to post the picture here and we are very grateful, anything pertaining to one of the foremost couturiers during the late 19th Century.

Emile Pingat

An early portrait of Emile Pingat; Courtesy of Jacques Noel, jacnoel21@gmail.com

Pingat was famous for the sheer luxury of his designs, utilizing the best fabrics to create styles that, in our opinion, surpass those of Worth. Although we have discussed M. Pingat in prior posts, here’s just a sample of his work:

From day dresses…

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Reception Dress, Emile Pingat, c. 1885; Shelburne Museum (2010-75)

Pingat1 1885

Emile Pingat, Dinner Dress, c. 1883 – 1885; Smith College Historic Clothing Collection (1989.1.3ab)

To outerwear…

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Pingat, Evening Jacket, 1893; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.139)

Pingat Opera Cape1

Opera Cape, Emile Pingat, c. 1882; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.60.42.13)

To something more formal…

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The above is just a small sampling of Pingat’s work and we salute him.  🙂


A Cape From Maison Pingat

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Capes were a major fashion during the 1890s and were made both for exclusive haute couture as well as the mass market. Below is one example of a cape made by Maison Pingat sometime circa 1891-1893:

Pingat, Cape, c. 1891-1893; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.60.6.8)

A look at the interior.

Side Profile

This case is constructed out of black silk velvet with fur trim and panels of silver metallic beading running along the collar, front, and back. In many respects, it’s reminiscent of decoration found on church vestments. The use of a wide strip of fur trim on the front is interesting in that it appears to be a fixed panel with two separate arm openings. We would have loved to be able to examine the construction more closely because it certainly seems to be a bit more sophisticated design than what one usually sees with capes.

Rear View

The Label.

Here’s a good look at the silk lining fabric.

Close-up of the bead embroidery.

It would appear that the beading panels were constructed separately and applied as applique panels. This design utilizes a dark black ground to show off the beading which takes center stage, drawing the eye towards the center and neckline. It’s definitely a major showpiece and bears further study. We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look at one of Pingat’s masterpieces.

1897 Design- Pingat

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Emile Pingat’s designs have always been fascinating and especially since he tends to overshadowed by Worth (and Doucet, to a lesser extent). Today, Pingat was mostly noted for his outerwear, but he also designed dresses. Below is an interesting day dress from 1897:

Pingat, Day Dress, 1897; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.2012.95.123a-b)

This dress consists of a multi-gored skirt combined with an under-bodice all of a patterned woven silk fabric. The over-bodice simulates a capelet and along with the sleeves is constructed from a red silk velvet. The same color silk velvet can also be seen in the chevrons running along the skirt and the belt. The gigot sleeves are relatively subdued for an 1897 style; what is especially interesting about the sleeves is that the sleeve caps open up to reveal insets of woven silk fabric that’s similar to the skirt and under-bodice. Here’s a close-up of the left shoulder:

Here’s a close-up of the fabric used in the inset on the sleeves. The intricate floral cord border is an interesting decorative touch:

And here’s the fabric used on the skirt and under-bodice:

When you look at the overall dress, the eye is immediately drawn to the shoulders and the two insets provide some interesting color pops to the red outer-bodice. On the flip side, one could also argue that the dress is too busy from a design perspective and that the somewhat dramatic design elements should have been scaled back: one or to works well but not everything. But nevertheless, Pingat’s design is imaginative and the upper sleeve inserts is something that’s not normally seen in 1890s style. Stay tuned for more in our never-ending quest for the unique and different in late Nineteenth Century style.