Celebrating Nineteenteen’s Fifth Birthday: Let’s Have a Ball!

It’s hard for Regina and me to believe that we’re celebrating Nineteenteen’s fifth birthday this week. That’s over 500 posts, averaging between 5500 and 7500 pageviews per month, on hundreds of topics (I tried to count our post tags, and was over a hundred by the time I hit the Bs). So you know what? We're in a party mood…and what better way for us to party than with a birthday ball?

First things first—we must decide what we’re going to wear! I've combed through my fashion print collection to find a selection of the prettiest dresses.

Feeling early 19th century? There's this slinky number from 1809:
Or this one from 1810:There's this very girly dress from 1816: Or this very demure one from 1817: From the next decade, there's this pretty number from 1823: And this one from 1825: In the 1830s, we get into some extreme ballgowns, like this (or perhaps it's just the hair that's extreme): But also some charmingly frou-frou ones, like these (the one on the left is for a costume ball): Or this:
We'll need dancing slipper, often made with ribbons to lace about the ankles, rather like today's ballet slippers: And a fan, to cool down after a lively set (and, of course, flirt with!):
Gloves are a must--perhaps with ruffles at the edge: As is a quizzing glass, to check out what everone else is wearing and speculate on which mantua-maker created it: And if we're going in an 1830s dress, a dance card is definitely in order now that most dances are done in pairs...like, of course, the waltz: There! Are we ready to go? Then let the ball begin!