Dress (robe retroussée dans les poches) c. 1780 French White and red pekin-striped silk faille with moiré effect; decoration of self-fabric and fly fringe at hem; matching petticoat (jupe). Inv. AC5316 86-8-4AB Though the robe à la française was worn for formal occasions during the rococo period, women’s fashion tended toward a simpler style for informal settings. The costumes of upper-class women adopted elements from the functional jackets and skirts of ordinary people. A practical short jacket called casaquin or caraco illustrates this influence, as does the gradual simplification of women’s robes. At the end of the eighteenth century, the increase in popularity of “Anglomania,” or a fascination with things English, spurred on acceptance of a simpler style. When the English custom of walking in the countryside and enjoying the open air became popular among the French, the robe retroussèe dans les poches appeared as a fashionable gown. The robe’s skirt was pulled out from side slits in the dress and draped over the back in a practical arrangement originally worn by working-class women on the job and in town. The robe à la polonaise, a style where the back of the skirt was held up by strings and divided into three draping parts, also became popular. Photo by Tohru Kogure