Paris has shaped how faces are dressed for four centuries. The court of Versailles spread the fashion for rouge and the black silk beauty patches called mouches. Paris opticians popularised the pince-nez and the lorgnette, and the city's couture houses later lent their names to frames and makeup. Each autumn the SILMO fair brings the eyewear trade to the city.

Rouge and mouches

At the French court of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, both men and women whitened their faces, painted bright rouge on the cheeks and wore mouches, small patches of black silk or velvet. Where a patch sat was said to send a message: near the eye for passion, at the corner of the mouth for playfulness. The Revolution swept away much court makeup, but the beauty mark survived as a fashion.

Opticians and couture

In the nineteenth century, Paris opticians made fine pince-nez and lorgnettes, carried at the opera as accessories. In the twentieth century couture houses began licensing their names for sunglasses and frames, and Paris makeup artists shaped film and magazine looks. SILMO, the international optics and eyewear fair, is held at Paris Nord Villepinte each autumn and draws makers from around the world.