Lifestyles of the Rich and Royal

I recently acquired a charming fashion print from June 1816’s La Belle Assemblee (that’s it at right—“The Coburg Walking Dress” and wound up with an unexpected bonus along with it—accounts of part of Princess Charlotte of Wales’ wedding trousseau (remember poor Princess Charlotte and her short marriage?), and a detailed account of the Drawing Room, or royal reception, hosted by Queen Charlotte in honor of her grand-daughter’s wedding to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg...and when I say detailed, I mean detailed. It includes a list of the presentations made (how exciting for a young lady to have been presented to society on this occasion!) the nobility in attendance (from royal dukes and duchesses down to garden-variety misses), and most fascinating of all, accounts of the dresses worn by many of the royal and noble ladies. It reads like a who’s who of Regency society. I thought you might find a few extracts of interest...if only they included pictures of some of the dresses!

"DRESSES OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE

As we have been gratified with a sight of the wedding dresses of this amiable and illustrious female, a particular yet concise account of them cannot but be acceptable to our fair readers.

The Royal Bride, happy in obtaining him whom her heart had selected, and whom consenting friends approved, wore on her countenance that tranquil and chastened joy which a female so situated could not fail to experience. Her fine fair hair, elegantly yet simply arranged, owed more to its natural beautiful wave than to the art of the friseur; it was crowned with a most superb wreath of brilliants, forming rosebuds with their leaves.

Her dress was silver lama [lamé] on net, over a silver tissue slip, embroidered at the bottom with silver lama in shells and flower. Body and sleeves to correspond, elegantly trimmed with point Brussels lace. The manteau was of silver tissue lined with white satin, with a border of embroidery to answer that on the dress, and fastened in front with a splendid diamond ornament."

Charlotte’s dress budget was evidently a generous one. Among the ten other dresses described is "A superb Brussels point lace dress, trimmed with point lace over a slip of white satin. This dress alone cost eight hundred Guineas."

And as for the Drawing Room...

"A copious account of the splendid Drawing-Room held by her Majesty to receive the congratulations on the marriage of her Royal Grand-daughter with Prince Leopold, cannot fail of being interesting to our illustrious and numerous subscribers....

"A guard of honour marched into the court-yard, preceded by the band of the third regiment of Guards. The crowd collected around the Palace by eleven o’clock, and soon after twelve it was so great that the Palace was scarcely accessible, till a numerous assemblage of police officers arrived under the direction of Sir N. Conant, as well as the marshalmen, the porters, &c.....The distinguished characters who came to Court were kept in their carriages an uncommon time in the regular ranks; the carriages frequently reached to Oxford-street, and some who resided in St. James’s-square had to go as far as Oxford-street before they could get into the rank [line].... The grand object of attraction, the Princess Charlotte and the Prince of Saxe-Cobourg, arrived at a quarter before two in state; their carriage being preceded by three others in state....The Prince Regent, the Duke and Duchess of York, the Duke of Gloucester, accompanied by his Royal Sister, came in state with their full suites...The Duke of Sussex came with his full suite.

"A few minutes after two o’clock her Majesty, with her usual punctuality, entered the Drawing-Room with her numerous and illustrious family, all looking in extreme good health...."

There follows three and a half pages of text listing who was presented...and then an astounding six further pages of descriptions of dresses worn by the Queen and Royal Princesses and about a hundred of the other aristocratic ladies present. It makes for slightly tedious reading now (just in case you’re wondering, “rich white satin” appears in almost every description, and at least every other dress appeared to be in lilac) but can’t you just picture a young lady, perhaps not quite old enough to be Presented herself, reading such dress descriptions as this: "Peach satin petticoat, with silver lama draperies, drawn in festoons, and fastened with silver bullion and tassels; garniture of tissue and satin; rouleau of peach satin, trimmed with a superb border of silver lace; headdress, feathers, and diamonds", and dreaming about what her own presentation dress might look like some day? Or a provincial dressmaker consulting the article in order to be able to create “the latest London fashions” for her clients in York or Leeds? And don't forget--Queen Charlotte still favored the large hoopskirted dresses of her youth for appearances at Court. It must have been an amazing sight. No wonder there were crowds and even "several trees filled with persons, and the whole Park filled with people and carriages"!

Court Dresses and Tea Cozies

It's May, and we're in the height of the Season...or we would have been, two hundred years ago. And in addition to husband-hunting, the Season meant something else important: being presented at court. We've discussed the ins and outs of being presented in previous posts...today, due to a delightful recent purchase, I'd like to talk about what exactly our young ladies wore to court--namely, court dresses.

Court dress--what one wore when being presented to the Queen--had throughout the 18th century been very specifically prescribed by royal decree: large skirts (which were the fashion for most of the century), along with a train, lappets (streamers of lace suspended from the back of the head), and a headdress of feathers, often arranged in the Prince of Wales style (three feathers with the center one slightly taller--see above left). The dress of course was supposed to be of particularly splendid design and fabric, because after all, why else did one go to court but to show off (and go through doors sideways, as anyone wearing this dress would have had to)?

But starting in the 1790s, fashion changed. The enormous hooped skirts fell from favor until by 1800, a very different silhouette was in style--the classically inspired, high-waisted and narrow-skirted shape now known as the Empire style, which you've seen plenty of in my Fashion Forecasts over the last few months.

However, fashion did not necessarily rule at court. King George III and his wife Queen Charlotte were conservative in taste, prefering Handel to newfangled Mozart...and the powdered hair and old hooped skirts of their youth. Which meant that what was required at court presentations in 1808 wasn't all that different from what was required in 1788: enormous skirts and feathers. But modern fashion couldn't entirely be shut out...which is where tea cozies come in.

Doesn't this poor lady, who visited court in 1808 on the occasion of the King's birthday, look like something popped over a teapot to keep it warm? This La Belle Assemblee (yes, this is the recent purchase that has so tickled me) print shows what happened: bodices followed the prevailing high-waisted style, while skirts continued to follow court regulation. It made for several years of hilarious and ungainly drawing-rooms, I'm sure, and most people thought the dresses ridiculous...but Queen Charlotte remained steadfastly attached to hoopskirts until her death in 1818.

It wasn't until her son, the Prince Regent, became king two years later that hoopskirts were banished as court attire and presentation dresses could reflect everyday fashion more closely. What a relief that must have been for young ladies who didn't want to adopt the tea cozy look! A train, lace lappets, and feathers (quite a few feathers, in this case!) remained regulation attire as you can see in this Ackermann's Repository print from July 1820, but that seems like a reasonable bargain.

So let me guess...when would you have preferred to be presented? 1808, or 1820?

Presenting...the Winner!

Not that everyone who commented isn't a cherished reader...but the name I pulled out of my Red Sox World Champions cap is...

ANDY!

Andy, please stop by the contact form on my website (http://www.marissadoyle.com/) and send me your mailing address so I can send a copy of Bewitching Season to you as quickly as possible.

And thank you, all, for stopping by and commenting. Regina did a fabulous job with the interview questions and quiz, and I'm looking forward to returning the favor in the not too distant future.

In the meanwhile, speaking of "Presenting..."

May was the height of "the season", that London social whirl (and marriage market) that coincided with the sitting of Parliament just after Easter. An important part of a girl's first season was being "presented" to the king/queen/another royal filling in for the monarch, at either an afternoon "drawing room" (where young girls usually first made their debuts) or an evening "levee". Being presented meant that the monarch recognized you socially--which meant you were eligible to attend court events. Not everyone could be presented: for example, the wives and daughters of clergy, military and naval officers, barristers, and physicians could be presented...but those of merchants and businessmen, solicitors, and general practitioners could not. Girls were presented when they first came out in society, then again when they married...assuming their husbands were of acceptable rank or profession, of course!

The act of being presented to the monarch was quite an event...think of high school graduation, but way more formal and solemn. For example, there were rules about what you could wear, especially later on in Victoria's reign...these dictated everything from the neckline of your gown (you needed a note from a doctor if you wanted to wear a high-necked gown!) to the height and number of feathers you wore in your hair to what you carried (a bouquet was standard, or at least a beautiful fan) to the length of your train (and yes, you had to have one--a minimum and maximum length were given). The guys had rules about what they wore too, depending on who they were (military or civilian, for example), time of day, and so on.

Then you had to go through the acrobatic act of the presentation itself (I discussed this back in October) with walking backward while curtseying and having your train tossed to you...but then the real fun began: the parties!

Look for future posts about how the nineteenth century teen partied till she dropped.

P.S. There are some very cool books on this topic that you can probably find in your local library if you want to learn more. I recommend The Party That Lasted 100 Days by Hilary and Mary Evans, Splendour at Court by Nigel Arch and Joanna Marschner, Gilded Butterflies by Philippa Pullar, and To Marry an English Lord by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace