WICKED POWERS

a gifset an episode of hbo's girls

MARIE ANTOINETTE (2006) + Bath dir. Sofia Coppola Marie Antoinette's bathtub would be rolled into her bathroom by her servants and filled, bucket by bucket, with hot water. Once the linen-lined bathtub was full, the queen would add perfumes to the water. Marie Antoinette apparently used either a special herbal mixture that included salt, thyme and marjoram, or perfumed sachets of sweet almonds, pine nuts, and lily bulbs which had been designed especially for her baths by her perfumer. Like everything else in her life, bathing was not a private occasion. The queen would have an audience of servants and her closest ladies-in-waiting, all ready to jump to attendance. Because of this, Marie Antoinette wore a full-length gown of white English linen in her bath for modesty. If the queen chose to take her bath in the morning, she would often call for her breakfast and eat it there. Once she emerged from the bath, her First Lady of the Bedchamber would provide her with a sheet, holding it up to shield her while she removed her now-soaking linen gown. The sheet would be used to dry her. The queen would dress in an open chemise, then her robe and slippers. She would then travel back up to her rooms to be dressed. In her earlier years at Versailles, this would mean a full public dressing ceremony in front of those ladies with ‘rights of entry, though Marie Antoinette abolished the ceremony in her later reigning years. She would have her hair dressed publicly, then curtsey to her audience and retire to her private rooms to dress.

The whole summer was inside of us.

Tell you what… the truth is… sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it.