Queen of Fashion

Weber’s biography of Marie Antoinette offers a unique take on the foreign queen’s story. Using fashion as a tool to explore her life at the tumultuous court of Versailles, Weber craftily paints a vivid picture of her flaws and her role in the tragic end of the monarchy.

Having researched Marie Antoinette for my own books, I felt that Weber’s biography did the best job of transporting me into her world. As a history buff, I was amazed at the importance of the queen’s wardrobe, hair, and accessories. It was also an introduction to her hairdresser and her milliner, two… show more.

This was one of the first studies of Marie Antoinette that aimed to take seriously her style as a critical political tool, one that worked both for the ill-fated French queen and against her. The study of bodily adornment, clothing, and fashion choices are now a key part of how we understand gender politics and the politics of the body both in history and in our own lives. 

Importantly, Weber situates Marie Antoinette’s understanding of the importance of her fashion in the wider context of the culture of display at Versailles, where close examination of bodies in ceremonial, sartorial, and… show more.

This book makes a bold argument: that Queen Marie Antoinette’s clothing choices played a part in determining both her own fate during the French Revolution as well as that of the Old Regime itself. The gripping narrative of the young Austrian princess from the time of her marriage to Louis XVI until her death on the guillotine takes place against the backdrop of her highly political role as a fashion icon. Traditionally, royal mistresses had been trendsetters in France; Weber makes the case that it was highly unusual and dangerous for the queen to show such an interest in dress.… show more.