French maid

Uncommon card · No. 152534

French maid is a term first applied in the Victorian and early 20th-century periods to a lady's maid of French nationality. A lady's maid was a senior servant who reported directly to the lady of the house, and accompanied her mistress on travel. She helped her mistress with her appearance, including make-up, hairdressing, clothing, jewellery, and shoes, and sometimes served as confidante. A French maid was considered likely to be more expert in fashion, and was also able to apply her knowledge of the French language when travelling in Europe. Erotic fantasies revolving around young French women later led to the appearance of French maids as desirable and stereotypical soubrette characters in burlesque dramas and bedroom farces. This stock character was a flirtatious, cheeky, and saucy figure. The term French maid is often applied to an eroticised and strongly modified style of servant's dress that evolved from typical housemaid's black-and-white afternoon uniforms of 19th-century France...

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