Many of us have seen this delightful painting with an 18th-c. gent wearing leopard-print breeches and waistcoat. It’s the generically named “An Interior with Elegant Company” by Venceslao Verlin (d. 1780). While I can’t find much about this specific painting, there are other images from around 18th-c. Europe of men and a few women wearing bits of leopard-print. See my Pinterest board of examples.
Sure, in the 20th and 21st centuries, I find leopard-print (or any animal-print) clothes hideous, but put it back a couple hundred years, and suddenly it’s hilariously charming! Go figure. That’s why I fixated on making something like this for my cross-dressing 18th-c. alter ego, Leonard. And finally returning to Venetian Carnevale in 2020 was the perfect excuse. Especially when there was one ball themed around “royal favourites,” which, naturellement, Leonard was a favourite of Marie-Antoinette, whether or not he wore leopard pants!
I hunted around forever to find leopard-print silk that wasn’t thin charmeuse or stretchy lycra and had to settle for something much lighter-weight than I’d prefer for breeches. Not only did I line them in linen, but I had to interface the fabric itself just to stabilize it. Plus the fabric had been rather pricey and I couldn’t afford much, oh, it was narrow too, and while my sewing super power is usually eeking out the most from the smallest yardage, there was no pattern matching possible and some piecing required in the back. The waistcoat was easier because it’s so simple, but the fabric was still a pain.
The coat was my umpteenth version of the same Reconstructing History frock coat, a pattern that I truly hate, but am somehow unable to stop using. Luckily, black silk and loads of trim hide multitudes of sins.
My mom helped with the trim, adding tiny black sequins and beads that can barely be seen but add sparkle. Costumer true confession: I bought all these big black buttons on AliExpress! They’re not silk, but they’re the right size and the right look. Saved oodles of time, super cheap, but shipping takes 40-60 days.
The wig is one I’d long ago bought from Kendra and I restyled it for a more Macaroni look and powdered extensively (especially since my own hair was now dyed purple where it peeks out at the sides).
I wore the finished outfit briefly at Cafe Florian on Piazza San Marco and then to the Royal Favourites Ball at Venetian Carnevale in 2020.
