Vintage View: Feminine Pleasures

WOMEN have long had to depend on their looks and inner resources to get by.

In centuries past, even in grand families, the hours and years could weigh heavily on a woman’s mind, and most especially her face. In antique and vintage furniture, there are two pieces we most closely associate with women.

The Bonheur du Jour, or ‘daytime delight’, is a highly feminine genre of furniture, developed in the second half of the 18th century, in Paris. Leggy, graceful, light on its feet and versatile as its user, it was the personal laptop of its day.