What's a Bas Bleu?

"Bas Bleu" translates as "bluestocking," and refers to learned mid-eighteenth-century women (and men) who gathered in the great salons of London for intellectual conversation and witty banter. This literary salon "enjoyed society in undress"-- that is, in their more practical country clothing, most notably their blue worsted stockings in place of formal silk stockings. The bluestockings enlarged boundaries of what women could think, write, and do. Our company name was carefully chosen by our founder, Eleanor Edmondson: "The term 'bluestocking' often has negative connotations, having to do with bookish, pedantic, unpleasant, unfeminine women. But the more I read their actual writings, the more I liked them. They reminded me of contemporary women in book clubs." In their writings, the bluestockings often referred to themselves as "we bas bleus," the French translation of the term. Because our customers are avid readers, have a sense of humor, and are eternally curious, the name "Bas Bleu" fits perfectly!