Image 1. Silk ball gown in a pale yellow. The neckline is broad and low, sweeping shoulder to shoulder in a shallow curve. The gown is sleeveless. The bodice is v-shaped, with a narrow waist. There is a pleated section of fabric over the bust, fringed with dark gold trim and pale yellow feathery details. The skirt is enormous - extending very wide to the sides and rear. It is also fringed with dark gold at the hem. An interesting detail is two pennants (I have no other word for it), that hang from each hip down the front left and right of the skirt. They extend from a point at the hip to finish in a foot-wide curve, fringed with dark gold tassels.
Image 2. View from the right rear of the same dress in image 1. Shows the scale of the skirt - extending about 4 foot to the rear. The rear of the skirt has three of the pennant details, in the middle, left and right.
Ball gown, Emile Pingat, Paris, 1864
Another #Pingat, and this one is something else.
Would you be able to sit down, go to the loo or do handstands? No.
Would you look better than everyone else in the room? Yes.
Love it.
#fashionsky #fashionhistory #dresshistory #TheMet
