Décolletage

Décolletage of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France ca. 1775

Décolletage (or décolleté, its adjectival form, in current French) is the upper part of a woman's torso, between her waist and neck, comprising her neck, shoulders, back and chest, that is exposed by the style of her clothing. However, the term is most commonly applied to a neckline which reveals or emphasizes cleavage. Low-cut necklines are a feature of ball gowns, evening gowns, leotards and swimsuits, among other fashions. Although décolletage does not itself prescribe the extent of exposure of a woman's upper chest, the design of a décolleté garment takes into account current fashions, aesthetics, social norms and the social occasion when a garment will be worn, and exposing of nipples or areolae is almost always considered toplessness or partial nudity, and not considered socially acceptable in most modern cultures, though that has not always been the case.

Décolletage is a French word which is derived from decolleter, meaning to reveal the neck or, more literally, "without a collar".^[1] The term was first used in English literature sometime before 1831.^[2] In strict usage, décolletage is the neckline extending about two handbreadths from the base of the neck down, recto and verso.^[3]

History

Gowns which exposed a woman's neck and top of her chest were very common and non-controversial in Europe from at least the 11th century. This fashion continued through the Victorian period in the 19th century. Ball or evening gowns especially featured décolletage designed to display and emphasize cleavage.^[4][5] The wearing of low-cut dresses which exposed breasts were considered more acceptable than they are today; with a woman's bared legs, ankles, or shoulders being considered to be more risqué than exposed breasts.^[6]

However, in 15th century Agnès Sorel, mistress to Charles VII of France, is credited with starting a fashion when she wore décolleté gowns which fully bared her breasts in the French court. In the 16th century, women's fashions featuring fully exposed breasts were common throughout society,for women of all social statuses.^[7]

Décolleté styles were popular in England in the 17th century and even Queen Mary II and Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I of England, were depicted with fully bared breasts; and architect Inigo Jones designed a masque costume for Henrietta Maria that fully revealed both of her breasts.^[7][8]

In aristocratic and upper-class circles the display of breasts was at times regarded as a status symbol, as a sign of beauty, wealth or social position.^[9] From the Renaissance onwards, the bared breast even invoked associations with nude sculptures of classical Greece that were exerting an influence on art, sculpture, and architecture of the period.^[8]

After the French Revolution the décolletage become larger in the front and smaller in the back.^[10] During the fashions of the period 1795-1820, many women wore dresses which bared the bosom and shoulders. Towards the end of the Victorian period (end 19th century) the full collar was the fashion, though some décolleté dresses were worn on formal occasions. (See 1880s in fashion.)

From the Victorian period onward, however, social attitudes shifted to demand a woman's breasts to be covered in public. For ordinary wear, high collars were the norm for many years.

When it became fashionable, around 1913, for dresses to be worn with a modest round or V-shaped neckline, clergymen all over the world became deeply shocked. In the German Empire, all of the Roman Catholic bishops joined in issuing a pastoral letter attacking modern fashions.^[11] Fashions became more restrained in terms of décolletage, while exposure of the leg became more permitted in Western societies, during World War I and remained so for nearly half a century.^[12]

Lingerie has long been low-cut and designed to emphasize cleavage.

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  Anne of Kiev (1024-1089)

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  Christine de Pizan, 1407.

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  Mona Lisa, 1506

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  Marguerite d'Angoulême, c. 1530.

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  Marie Joséphine of Savoy, c. 1775.

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  Renoir, Portrait of Madame Henrio, 1876.

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  Love Letter, by Auguste Toulmouche, 1893.

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  Mata Hari, 1906.

Contemporary styles

See also: Cleavage

A dress neckline and consequently décolletage is an aspect of woman's fashions. As such, popular necklines change over time and vary depending on the social and cultural context. Modern Western fashions favour open neck and low-cut neckline styles. Women's swimsuits and bikinis commonly have very low necklines, as do evening gowns. Décolletage produced by such necklines is often considered a sign of elegance and sophistication on many formal social occasions. However, some people disapprove of such styles, which they regard as immodest and as reflecting negatively on the woman wearer . From the 1960s onward, changing social mores led to the popularity of open neck and lower necklines and a greater display of cleavage in films, on television, and in everyday life, even for casual wear. During a short period in 1964, "topless" dress designs appeared at fashion shows, but those who wore the dresses in public found themselves arrested on indecency charges.^[13] However, fully exposed breasts has come to feature in contemporary haute couture fashion shows.^{[citation needed]}

Low necklines usually result in increased décolletage. In Western and some other societies, there are differences of opinion as to how much body, and especially breast, exposure is acceptable in public.^[14] In contemporary Western society, the extent to which a woman may expose her body depends on the social and cultural context. Showing the nipples or areolae is almost always considered toplessness or partial nudity. Though exposure of most of a woman's torso can be permissible in some settings, any exposure of breasts and much of the upper body may be prohibited by dress codes in settings such as workplaces, churches and schools, where any exposure of female breasts may be considered inappropriate.

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  Gina Lollobrigida, in her famous décolleté dress, 1960.

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  Bette Midler, 1979.

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  Brandi Hawbaker, 2007.

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  Popular dress style, 2008.

See also

• Backless dress
• Cleavage
• Halterneck
• Modesty
• Neckline

Notes

1. ^ The Free Dictionary
2. ^ Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology by Robert K. Barnhart. ISBN 978-0062700841.
3. ^ Bernard Rudofsky, The Unfashionable Human Body‎, p. 62, Doubleday, 1971. ISBN 978-0442276362.
4. ^ Gernsheim, pp. 25-26, 43, 53, 63.
5. ^ Desmond Morris. The Naked Woman. A Study of the Female Body, p. 156. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2004. ISBN 0-312-33853-8.
6. ^ C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington, The History of Underclothes. London: Faber & Faber, 1981. ISBN 978-0-486-27124-8.
7. ^ ^{a b} "Historian Reveals Janet Jackson's 'Accidental' Exposing of Her Breast was the Height of Fashion in the 1600s". University of Warwick. May 5, 2004. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/ne1000000086551/. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Lucy Gent and Nigel Llewellyn, eds., Renaissance Bodies: The Human Figure in English Culture c. 1540–1660. London: Reaktion Books, 1990.
9. ^ "French Caricature". University of Virginia Health System. http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/artifacts/caricatures/fr6-wetnursing.cfm. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 
10. ^ S. Devadas Pillai. Indian sociology through Ghurye, a dictionary, p. 68, Popular Prakashan, 1997, ISBN 8171548075.
11. ^ Gernsheim, 94.
12. ^ Kim K. P. Johnson, Susan J. Torntore, and Joanne Bubolz Eicher. Fashion foundations, p. 716, Berg Publishers, 2003, ISBN 185973619X.
13. ^ "Sixties City – Bringing on back the good times". http://www.sixtiescity.com/Fashion/Fashion.shtm. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
14. ^ Salmansohn, Karen. "The Power of Cleavage". The Huffington Post, October 29, 2007.

References

• Alison Gernsheim. Victorian and Edwardian Fashion. A Photographic Survey. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, Inc., 1981. Reprint of 1963 edition. ISBN 0-486-24205-6
• Desmond Morris. Manwatching. A Field Guide to Human Behavior. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1977. ISBN 0-8109-1310-0
• Desmond Morris. The Naked Woman. A Study of the Female Body. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2004. ISBN 0-312-33853-8

External links

• "Sargent's Portraits", an article including a mention of the scandal caused by the portrayal of cleavage in John Singer Sargent's "Portrait of Madame X".