What’s the Real Meaning of the Word Boudoir?
Recently I was working with a digital marketing expert who told me I should be using the phrase “boudoir photography” on my website because “boudoir” by itself is “just the French word for bedroom.”
While I don’t speak French myself, as a boudoir photographer, I’ve done a lot of research on the genre — and I can tell you that boudoir is not the French word for bedroom! That would be chambre à coucher, by the way.
It’s true, the word boudoir does come from a French word, and it refers to a certain room in an aristocratic home. But not the bedroom.
The boudoir was often described as a woman’s private sitting room or private dressing room — a retreat that was hers alone. The important word here is “private.”
Woman enjoying a private moment of solitude, free from the etiquette of aristocratic life and the male presence. Painting by French artist Delphin Enjolras (1857-1945).
The Boudoir: A Woman’s Private Space
To understand the idea of a boudoir, you have to go back a few centuries.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, European homes evolved from single large spaces into separate, specialized rooms. This architectural shift reshaped how people thought about privacy.
For the first time, individuals could have rooms designated for specific purposes — studies, libraries, salons, and eventually, private chambers.
The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne wrote in the late 1500s that “a man should reserve a room all his own, entirely free, in which to establish his real liberty and his principal retreat and solitude.”
In other words, even then, men of status often had their own private space — a study, a library, or a cabinet — where they could think, write, or simply be left alone.
It was not until two centuries later, that women of similar social standing began to claim a private space of their own: the boudoir.
By the 18th century, boudoirs had become a staple of aristocratic and upper-class homes across Europe. It was often adjacent to the bedchamber, sometimes used for dressing, writing, or receiving guests.
One famous example is Marie Antoinette’s boudoir at the Château de Fontainebleau — lavishly decorated with pale silks, ornate mirrors, and gilded details. Her boudoir wasn’t a bedroom; it was a retreat — an embodiment of privacy, comfort, and personal expression.
Vintage postcard of Marie Antoinette’s boudoir at the Château de Fontainebleau. Photo is in the Public Domain.
From ‘Sulk Room’ to Sanctuary
The word boudoir itself is derived from the French verb bouder, meaning “to sulk or pout” or adjective boudeur (“sulking”). The original sense was almost tongue-in-cheek — supposedly a place where a lady would go to “pout in private.” The implication was playful, even a bit sexist, coined by men amused at the idea of women needing a special room to sulk.
But the word took on new meaning as women began to use these rooms as a refuge from social expectations. In her boudoir, a woman could read, write letters, embroider, daydream, host small gatherings with close friends, and even “talk politics”.
It was the one place in the house not governed by etiquette or male presence — where she could let her guard down.
This theme — of needing a private, personal space to think and create — would echo centuries later in Virginia Woolf’s famous 1929 essay A Room of One’s Own. Woolf argued that creative and intellectual freedom requires physical and emotional privacy.
“In solitude, we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us… There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
The boudoir, in its earliest sense, was a place of autonomy, freedom, and empowerment — essentially what today we might call a “babe cave”.
Where Privacy Meets Sensuality
Of course, the boudoir wasn’t just a retreat for reading or embroidery. As a private, intimate space, it also carried connotations of sensuality — both real and imagined.
The boudoir was where a woman could “loosen the corset,” figuratively and literally.
Painters of the late 19th century, like Delphin Enjolras, often depicted women in their boudoirs bathed in warm lamplight, arranging their hair, writing letters, or simply gazing into a mirror. These works romanticized the boudoir — though usually through the male gaze — portraying it as elegant, mysterious, and erotic.
Artwork by French painter Delphin Enjolras. Left: “In the Boudoir”. Right: “In Front of the Mirror”
Literature, too, picked up on this association. In 18th-century novels like Choderlos de Laclos’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1782), the boudoir often served as a backdrop for secret liaisons and whispered seductions.
Whether or not those scenes reflected real life, the idea stuck: the boudoir became shorthand for private intimacy, emotional complexity, and sensual allure.
Women in Art and Photography
Fast forward to the late 1800s — a time when the image of women in art and photography was being redefined.
During the Art Nouveau period (roughly 1890–1910), artists depicted women as symbols of beauty, nature, and sensuality — flowing lines, soft light, and dreamlike poses. Photography, still relatively new, began to borrow these aesthetics.
Early photographers like Félix-Jacques-Antoine Moulin (active in the 1850s) were among the first to create artistic nude photographs, though they faced controversy and censorship. Moulin’s work — while scandalous in its day — helped establish the idea that photography could be used not just to document, but to interpret and idealize the human form.
By the early 20th century, photographers like Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, and Gertrude Käsebier led the Pictorialist movement, pushing to have photography recognized as a fine art. They used soft focus, atmospheric lighting, and painterly compositions — visual language that would later influence the look of modern boudoir photography.
Around the same time, commercial studios began advertising “boudoir portraits” — tasteful, softly lit images of women, often in fine clothing or the lingerie of the time. These weren’t meant for public display; they were personal keepsakes or gifts for loved ones.
By World War II, the concept had evolved again with the rise of pin-up photography — glamorous, playful images designed to boost morale among soldiers. While stylized and often idealized, pin-up photography made sensual imagery mainstream, paving the way for boudoir’s acceptance in popular culture.
The Rise of Modern Boudoir Photography
Modern boudoir photography — as a service offered to everyday women — really took off in the 1970s and 1980s. Wedding photographers began offering “for his eyes only” sessions, where brides could surprise their partners with intimate portraits.
Bride posing in a “for his eyes only” photo session. Photo by the author.
At the same time, lingerie itself was changing. Brands like Victoria’s Secret (founded in 1977) transformed lingerie from something purely functional into something designed to be seen — fashionable, confident, and unapologetically sexy.
Culturally, this era also coincided with the feminist movement and the early waves of body positivity. Women were starting to reclaim the narrative around sensuality, reframing it not as something for men’s approval, but as an expression of self-confidence and ownership of one’s body.
By the 1990s and early 2000s, boudoir photography had become its own genre. It wasn’t just about seduction — it was about identity, art, and empowerment.
And in the 2010s, social media gave it new life. Instagram, launched in 2010, gave photographers a global platform to showcase their work and for women to celebrate themselves publicly.
Boudoir became more diverse, inclusive, and creative than ever before. Today, it’s an art form that blends aesthetics, psychology, and storytelling — equally influenced by the past and the present.
What This History Means for My Photography Today
Knowing the history of the boudoir — as both a domestic space and an idea — shapes how I approach the art.
When I photograph someone, I don’t just think about poses or outfits. I think about what the original boudoir represents — a place where a woman could exist on her own terms, away from judgment, expectation, or performance. That’s exactly what I want my boudoir sessions to feel like.
A client lost in a moment of reflection during a boudoir session. Photo by the author captured in the Elkridge studio.
In a boudoir session, I approach every photo as the creation of a work of art, not a pin-up or imitation of something seen online. I aim for authenticity — natural light, real emotion, and posing that feels organic, not staged. You won’t see me doing “legs up the wall” or “heels hooked in the panties” shots. They might get attention, but they don’t feel real.
The studios I shoot in also reflect this authenticity. Both are styled like real homes — intimate, lived-in, and comfortable. The Baltimore studio feels like a chic downtown apartment: rich colors, artful decor, and cozy textures. My Elkridge studio is more classic — with an antique claw-foot tub that’s a client favorite, and soft natural light that flatters every skin tone.
Our Baltimore studio is styled like a trendy downtown apartment. Photo by the author.
Each location echoes the original idea of a boudoir — a private, personal sanctuary where someone can simply be themselves. For me, boudoir photography isn’t about imitation or spectacle. It’s about capturing what’s genuine — that private side that’s usually hidden from the world.
So, no, boudoir is not the French word for bedroom. It’s something far more interesting — and far more personal.
