Tea at Trianon: This Amazing Gown...

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, June 11, 2011

This Amazing Gown...

...Was worn by Queen Elizabeth II during a trip to Paris. Melanie has the details and more photos, HERE.

Gabriela Delworth - Instructional Designer said...: Hello,

Ohhh, how fabulous...so much detail!

~ Gabriela ~; June 11, 2011 at 9:13:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Isn't it sumptuous?!; June 11, 2011 at 9:53:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...: I just wanted to say that I just found your blog, and I think it's very nice. Beautiful posts. I have a blog of my own, a work in progress. If you want the link, let me know.; June 11, 2011 at 11:31:00 AM EDT
The North Coast said...: WOW,but that is one very intricately embellished dress. As one whose best friend is a designer of exotic and expensive evening gowns, I can tell that this dress took prodigious work, all by hand, to make. The fabric looks like the beautiful, stiff, heavy duchess satin my friend has used in a number of wedding gowns, which is very expensive; and the beading is incredible.; June 11, 2011 at 7:27:00 PM EDT
LC Douglass said...: Lovely, lovely dress! Nice blog, I enjoy your posts.; June 11, 2011 at 8:31:00 PM EDT
Julygirl said...: Proff that once upon a time she wore eye popping clothes.; June 11, 2011 at 8:52:00 PM EDT