Chemise worn by Louis XVII, Louis Charles de France, Duke of Normandy, (1785–1795).

• Circa 1790–1792
• White linen, cross-stitch embroidery, red silk thread, wooden buttons covered with white passementerie.
• GAL 2003.64.1
• Acquired by the City of Paris
• Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris

Until the age of five, girls and boys both wore garments resembling women’s chemises. Then the boys were allowed to wear two men's garments: the chemise and the culotte, or knee-breeches. This chemise belonging to the Duke of Normandy is the male model: a round open neck with ruffles, cut straight rather than flared through the body, with side slits at the bottom and long sleeves, in this case buttoned. The fabric is fine, excellent quality linen and the especially meticulous seams are similar to those on a bodice said to have belonged to the queen, Marie-Antoinette, which is also part of the Galliera collection. On one side of the chemise is a small crown, cross-stitch embroidered with red silk thread.

This garment is both a historical item and an extremely rare example of a piece of children's wear. 

Auteur de la notice : Pascale Gorguet-Ballesteros