Dress of the Week: Court Dress

It is Friday night and I'm all dressed up and nowhere to go. And nothing says 'party' quite like an early-Victorian silk court dress.

Court dress, 1828, Germany. Source: Met Museum

Court dress, back, 1828, Germany. Source: Met Museum

Court dress,  bodice detail, 1828, Germany. Source: Met Museum 

Court dress, skirt detail, 1828, Germany. Source: Met Museum 

Date: 1828
Culture: German (probably)
Medium: silk, metal
Dimensions: Length at CB: 52 in. (132.1 cm) 

As Regency fashion for antiquity-inspired simple white garments began to wane, the early-Victorians developed a taste for lower waists, more bell-shaped skirts and much poofier sleeves, which ultimately resulted in leg o'mutton sleeve fashion, which I am sure people in the early 20th century regarded with as much horror as we do our own '90s.

While I do not much care for early-Victorian style (I think those huge sleeves make one's head look disproportionately tiny), I adore the metal embroidery on the skirt, sleeves and bodice. It makes me think of a dress of a fairy tale princess. It would be great fun to cosplay as Snow White in this lovely gown.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art