FOYER POUR MIDINETTES SIGN, PARIS Painted metal, rectangular shape, inscribed "Ruche Parisienne - Foyer pour jeunes filles - Midinettes - chambre meublées". Second half of the 19th century. Height. 60 cm; Width. 45 cm. Slight wear and oxidation. In the 19th century, the term "midinettes" was used to describe young workers or saleswomen in Parisian dressmaking establishments, who had to make do with a very basic midday meal or "dinette". "It's midday. From all the fashion houses and couture houses in the neighborhood, the midinettes take flight. And it's a most "Parisian" sight to see them go off in pairs or groups down the rue des Petits-Champs and the neighboring streets. The Parisian language has the secret of pretty and expressive words. The name Midinettes, tinkling and clear, where one immediately finds Midi and dinette, designates the workers of the fashion and sewing houses who, unable to return home at midday, take their lunch around the quartier de la Paix. There's a lot of talk about them at the moment, as there's talk of creating a mutual aid society for them: l'OEuvre des Midinettes". Fémina, October 1, 1902.