The main plot is a love story, concerning Dorlis, an émigré aristocrat who has just returned from enforced military service in Italy, and Illyrine, his ex-wife.

[1] It opened at Daly's Theatre, London, under the management of George Edwardes, on 27 October 1906, with a cast that included Evie Greene, Denise Orme and Robert Evett in the leading roles,[2] and ran for 196 performances.

A feeble comedy, it makes good material for a comic opera; and by that honourable title the piece produced at Daly's on Saturday may justly be called."

It was "a well-made, well-mounted comic opera, empty of wit but full of movement and fun, with a bright plot that runs right through without a break, and plenty of amusing and extravagant people."

"[5] The Play Pictorial noted that the name of the show had created some difficulty: "'The Women Dandies' scarcely expresses it, and so it was decided eventually to let the French name stand."