ANEA COSTUMES

Costumes worn by Prince Carl (later king Haakon of Norway), princess Maud (later queen Maud of Norway) and princess Victoria, photographed by Lafayette on July 2, 1897, and two of the attires worn. The Lafayette photo comes from the Royal Archives at Windsor. 

The occasion was a grand fancy dress ball hosted in London by the Duchess of Devonshire, in honour of queen Victoria's 1897 Jubilee. Whereas the queen herself was not at the ball, many of her closest family members were.

The theme of the ball was allegorical or historical (pre 1815) figures. The Prince of Wales, later king Edward VII, came as grand prior of "The Order of St. John of Jerusalem", while his wife Alexandra came as the French Renaissance queen Marguerite de Valois.

Their daughers were dressed as Renaissance ladies-in-waiting to the "Marguerite de Valois", in similar corseted, slashed and collared dresses, while Danish prince Carl appeared as a Danish Renaissance courtier. I have never been able to find out the colour of princess Victoria's dress. But the garments of her sister and brother in law were predominantely pink, purple and metallic. This we know because their attires are wonderfully preserved!

Princess Maud’s attire was made by French Morin-Blossier. The main fabric is a pink silk satin, appliquéed with sheer silk fabric in a diagonal pattern. The silk has then been embellished with silvery sequins and beads. In addition there's paned sleeves and bodice details with the same sheer silk poking through, and a Recitella-style standing collar and cuffs.

It is not known who made prince Carl’s attire. But it is made of a black silk satin elaborately embroidered with silk and beads. In addition elastic purple hoses of wool and silk, thigh-high black boots, lace collar and cuffs, and a merallic belt with sword. And not to forget the matching tall, plumed hat. To look the part, the prince even wore a fake beard, to get the proper Renaissance look!

Evolution in women’s fashion in Europe, 1770s to 1910s

Miniature portrait as jewellery in 18th century portraits

Queen Maud + pink

Princess Maud of Wales + prince Carl of Denmark: a love story

Juliane Elise Larpent, née Mathiesen, painted by Louis Aumont in 1827.

The portrait of Juliane Elise by top portraitist Aumont was possibly painted when she became of age to marry, or as newly engaged - the way she displays the ring on her left hand makes it a plausible marriage motif. It’s painted two years before she married Isaac Larpent.

The portrait shows her in a black dress with narrow waist, scissor draped bodice front, gigot sleeves and with prominent gold jewellery. The belt buckle is particularly interesting, as it survived until recent years as a family heirloom.

There’s black dresses, and there’s BLACK DRESSES!

Queen Maud + sports

When then Princess Maud of Wales married in 1896, her trousseau (I.E. her new wardrobe) was discussed in detail in the press. Some magazines was surprised by the amount of “sportswear” and the lack of grand robes, especially considering her mother Alexandra being one of the absolute fashion icons of the time, and she was known for a more opulent style.

“The crimson Pisa dress” in all its glory. 

It's a dress from ca. 1560, discovered in a monastery in Pisa, where it was probably used to dress a statue of the Virgin Mary. To enable taking it on and off the bodice back had been removed and the skirt much remodeled. It has since been restored twice. The "Moda a Firenze" photos shows it after the first restorations, with longer proportions and missing the bodice back. This photo, one I took in 2008, shows it after the second restoration, with the long train back in place and a substitute bodice back added. It's a stunner! The velvet is deep red, and the trims couched to create more surface. 

The tailoring of this dress is basically identical to Eleonora di Toledo's funeral dress, which has lead some to conclude it was made by the same tailor, and once worn by either Eleonora herself, or one of her ladies-in-waiting. "Moda a Firenze" suggests the latter, as it cannot be matched to the Medici inventory lists. It is however known the ladies-in-waiting wore crimson dresses made by Eleonora's tailor in a triumphal entry to Siena in 1561. 

The dress is today in the care of the Palazzo Reale in Pisa, along with two other late 16th/early 17th century dresses from the same monastery. 

Silk brocade dress from the 1820s

If looking closer, it becomes clear the hem is a patchwork of scraps, though the flower pattern appears fairly continued. This dress is an example of rich 18th century silk brocades being re-used in a later century and for a new fashion. Although light cotton fabrics are the “typical” look of a Regency dress, a fine silk like this would definitely have been appreciated, and it has been utilized in the best possible manner. 

I suspect the ruffle on the hem and the sleeves is original pieces from the previous garment. But other details, like the skillfully tabbed and puffed sleeves, looks like a brand new detail. 

At work I came across these papercut/aquarelle artworks from 1773-75. 

What I loved about them wasn’t necessarily the depicted muses, or the style of the painting. It was the cutout areas, which had been filled with scraps of fabrics on the reverse. The scraps showed traces of seams, selvages and reverse fabric sides. Looks like re-used garment pieces, or maybe cut-offs. For a dress historian this is HIGHLY interesting! 

The motifs shows Calliope (top), Clio (bottom left) and Euterpe (bottom right). There is also a Melpomene in the collection; the rest of the muses are alas missing. The artist is unknown, but the backside shows a signature AMM, and various months written in English, plus years ranging from 1773-75. So by all accounts English origin. You can see the full motifs here: 

Juliane Elise Larpent (1807-90), documented in portraits

1823: Painted around age 16, by Mme. Isabeau. The way she wears her green scarf is fabulously modern! A lock of her hair is said to be inside the frame, along with a note from her son Sophus Larpent.

1824-26: Drawn around age 18, unknown artist. There is a similar portrait of her younger sister Louise made around the same time, wearing the same type of dress and collar, and an identical necklace.

1827: Painted around age 20, by Aument. This is at the height of Regency fashion, with a large hair comb, and a big metal buckle in the waist. The buckle is still within the family today. She’s showing off a ring at the left hand, it might have been a portrait painted when she got engaged to Isaac Larpent. The couple married in 1830.

1850s: Painted around age 40, by David Monies. She looks so different from her younger portraits; at least the nose seems more exaggerated. However, the dress is absolutely splendid, featuring green silk shot with red, and a lovely fan fold decorated bodice with pagoda sleeves.

1870s: Here she is around 70 years, documented by photographer Wilhelm Cappelen. By now she would have had some 15 grandchildren, 11 of whom she took care of. The plot twist is that two of her daughters were married to the same man - albeit not at the same time - and had 11 children in total. So her son-in-law became a widower for the second time she moved in with him to take care of all the grandchildren. She was a majestic figure, only known as “Grandma Larpent”.

1830s + 1840s + 1850s female portraits by David Monies (1812-94)

“Portrait of a married woman”, 1834 (from an auction site)

“Sophie Marie Bang, née Dahlerup”, 1831-35 (Ribe kunstmuseum)

“Mrs. Eckegreen”, 1830s (from an auction site)

“Caroline Jensine Christensen”, 1840s (from an auction site)

“Karen Wetlesen, née Mathiesen”, 1846 (Linderud gård)

“Helene Hals, née Mathiesen”, 1846 (Linderud gård)

“Cecilie Birgithe Mathiesen, née Boldt”, ca. 1850 (Linderud gård)

“Agnes Hedevig Mathiesen, née Ruwald”, ca. 1850 (Linderud gård)

One of the most typical Romantic era fashion details I know of is the big, quadratic belt buckle women wore to emphasis their waist.

After some decades of a raised waistline and column-like silhouette, narrow waists once again came into fashion, helped by a new hourglass shaped corset that further underlined the shape. And the big buckle was the the finishing detail, the exclamation point. Here’s some examples. 

“Portrait of a Woman”, 1831, by Miklós Barabas (unknown location)

“Portrait of Eleonore Thulstrup”, early 19th century, by Jacob Munch (Oslo Museum, OB.00484)

“Portrait of Christine Kemp Keilhau”, 1835, by Johan Görbitz (Oslo Museum, OB.00258)

Ribbon belt and golden buckle on a pigeon blue dress, 1830s (from Cora Ginsburg auctions)

Golden buckle, 1827 (private collection)

“Portrait of Juliane Elise Larpent”, 1827, by Aument (Linderud gård, Oslo). Here she is wearing the very buckle seen in photo 5.

Golden buckle and belt made of the same fabric as the dress, 1830-34 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, T.168&A-1915)

“Portrait of Henriette Hansen”, 1831, by Richter W. (Oslo Museum, OB.00049)

1840s silk dresses, with focus on fan pleated bodices and shot silk

Blue/golden shot silk day dress, ca. 1849, probably USA. From The Museum at FIT (P86.37.1)

Blue/purple shot silk day dress, ca. 1845, England. From The Kyoto Costume Institute (AC4474.83-11-10)

Golden/beige evening dress, ca. 1845, USA. From The Museum at FIT (P88.25.3)

Portrait of Cecilie Birgitte Mathiesen, née Boldt, 1845-50. Painted by David Monies. From Linderud Manor, Oslo.

Portrait of Agnes Hedevig Mathiesen, née Ruwald, 1845-50. Painted by Friedlander. From Linderud Manor, Oslo.

Portrait of Juliane Elise Larpent, née Mathiesen, 1845-50. Painted by David Monies. From Linderud Manor, Oslo.

Rust/blue shot silk afternoon dress, ca. 1845, USA. From The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.933)

Green/brown day dress, 1840s. From The Shippensburg University Fashion Archives and Museum (SUFAM).

Matching coat and dress, of coral silk with brown velvet piping, 1909.

The coat looks inspired by 18th century riding habits and military coats. The dress, on the other hand, looks more inspired by late Medieval and/or early Renaissance style. An eclectic style in total, and interestingly also a bit modern looking, some 110 years later.