“Not Pleasing the New Fashion for Better, but for New” and Foreign: Female Fashion Dressing in Murcian Ambit (1759-1808)

Abstract

During the reigns of Carlos III and Carlos IV dissertations on luxury, fashion and appearances were attached to the imprint of foreign, mainly French and English trends. To which the idea of relating the change of fashion with feminine nature, considered fickle and frivolous were brought together. In this context it is discussed how women dressed in the Murcia environment using as a main source notarial documents, literature and the press, noting that Murcian women wore dressing that was close to the exogenous patterns and the different fashions that followed, transforming designs fabrics and ornamentation. Here, as in other cities such as Madrid or Barcelona, the rise of foreign clothes must be linked to the establishment of the Bourbon dynasty, economic and trade enhancement, increased sociability areas and more feminine presence in them.