Directoire

[dee-rek-twar]

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to the style of French furnishings and decoration of the mid-1790s, characterized by an increasing use of Greco-Roman forms along with an introduction, toward the end, of Egyptian motifs: usually includes the Consulate period.

2. (of costume) in the style of the period of the French Directory.

noun

1. French History.,  directory.

Directoire

/ dirɛktwar /

noun

1. history the French Directory See Directory

adjective

1. of, in, or relating to a decorative style of the end of the 18th century in France; a form of neoclassicism

2. characteristic of women's dress during the French Directory, typically an almost transparent dress with the waistline under the bust

Word History and Origins

Origin of Directoire¹

From French; directory

Example Sentences

McVicar returned to the opera’s origins, and thought about how its tensions and turmoil — “the sheer chaos that Medea is capable of unleashing,” he said — fits with its time, coming out of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, as well as Directoire style.

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That gave the production its look, with costumes “from the Directoire period, roughly speaking, and a real sense of gothic decay,” McVicar said.

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Louis XVI, Directoire and Empire are always go-tos in lighting and furniture.

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The bones of Mabille’s apartment allude to that so-called Directoire style.

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"As a member of The Directoire, it will ultimately be the Publicis Groupe Supervisory Board's duty to further evaluate his standing."

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