This dress belonged to a noble family from southern France, whose daughter, born in 1740, served as a lady-in-waiting to the daughters of King Louis XV, known as “Mesdames de France.”  Such French dresses were often seen at Venetian balls. For European nobility, visiting Venice, especially during its famous 18th-century Carnival, was part of the “Grand Tour,” a cultural and social journey undertaken by young aristocrats. The dress, known as “à la française,” evolved from the “robe volante,” depicted in Jean-Antoine Watteau’s 1721 painting “L’enseigne de Gersaint.” Its distinctive feature is the back with soft pleats flowing from the shoulders to the floor, a style retained throughout the 18th century for courtly attire. The upper part, with “pagoda” sleeves adorned with two flounces, complements a skirt of the same fabric, decorated with voluminous gathers, padded, and trimmed with furbelows. The dress is ornamented with striped ikat patterns and floral garlands.  Collection of the Musée de Bourgoin-Jallieu, France