His buildings lend themselves to the surrounding landscape in their arrangement around a small lake, giving the illusion of a perfect and functioning village. The barn, occasionally used as a ballroom, and the Preparation Dairy, were amongst the most damaged constructions of the hamlet after it was neglected during the French Revolution. Napoleon I decided to demolish these two buildings while he had the rest of the hamlet renovated between 1810 and 1812. Life at the Queen’s Hamlet Courtiers at the Palace of Versailles constantly surrounded Marie Antoinette, leaving her in need of a refuge. She escaped the responsibilities and structure of court life to her private estate. The image of Marie Antoinette dressing up as a shepherdess or peasant at the hamlet is a deeply-entrenched and inaccurate myth. There is no contemporary evidence for Marie Antoinette or her entourage pretending to be peasants, shepherdesses or farmers. Marie Antoinette and her entourage would use the hamlet as a place to take private walks and host small gatherings or suppers. Marie Antoinette also managed the estate by overseeing various works, correcting or approving plans, and talking with the head farmer and laborers. In addition to the head farmer Valy Bussard, Marie Antoinette hired a team of gardeners, a rat-catcher, a mole-catcher, two herds-men, and various servants to work on the estate. In spite of its idyllic appearance, the hamlet was a real farm, fully managed by a farmer appointed by the Queen, with its vineyards, fields, orchards and vegetable gardens producing fruit and vegetables consumed at the royal table. Animals from Switzerland, according to the instructions of the Queen, were raised on the farm. For this reason the place was often called "the Swiss hamlet". She preferred to wear simple clothing uncharacteristic to the frivolous fashion of the French Court while at the , and often dressed in a sun hat and informal muslin dress, a Polonaise gown, or a . The , worn without panniers and with a high waistline, was first worn by women in warmer climates in the colonies and was popularised amongst the aristocracy through Marie Antoinette. The simplicity and high waistline of the garment would lay the foundations for Regency/Empire fashion in the later decades during and after the Revolution. The Queen would often wear a straw Bergère hat and a fichu alongside a Polonaise gown; the term Polonaise referring to the dress of Polish shepherdesses