A portrait of Rose Bertin, creator of the “flea color”
For a certain period of time, at the palace of Versailles , Marie Antoinette dictated the law in terms of fashion.
In practice, everything the queen wore was duly imitated by the ladies of the court.
For a long time Marie Antoinette was a follower of Rose Bertin , famous French milliner who dealt with hairstyles and dresses:twice a week the woman went to the palace and showed the sovereign all the latest news.
Once Rose Bertin, who in fact did not lack inspiration and imagination, created a fabric of a particular shade, a kind of brownish tending to reddish, which Louis XVI defined "flea color".
A few days later and Versailles was literally flooded with clothes and accessories in this new nuance.
The original flea color was soon declined in many variations, from the "old flea" to the "young" one, from the "belly" to the "flea leg" ...
In short, the important thing was to show off something, whatever garment or accessory, that reminded you of the cute little animal.