Oh I do blame them. They claimed to want whimsy, gave Cressida a Golden Age vibe with flower pots as sleeves and tribbles in her hair, but they denied us THIS? They are cowards and I DO blame them, SO MUCH XD I demand my puffy, imperial wasted monstruosities!! XD
My 5 year old nephew waked in while you were getting dressed. He asked if you were dressing like a princess, and when you finished dressing, he said you were a real princess now. High praise indeed.
I was just about to comment this! It's like when my mom made me a barbie "the cake is my full skirt" cake and used my Ariel doll which was shorter than a normal barbie lmao
it would have added to them being Nouveau rich, embracing what the queen wanted, and unintentionally setting themselves even further apart from the old money
Honestly bright greens and yellow wouldn't have been THAT out of place in a regency courtroom. They couldn't quite reach neon levels due to the lack of artificial dyes, but coquelicot (poppy red-orange), jonquil (daffodil yellow) and pea green were all popular court colors at various points during the era. Queen Charlotte seems to have been fond of bright orange (judging by the number of times she wore it) and at various times paired it with purple satin or black velvet. The past was a lot more colorful than a lot of people realize, (and not always tastefully so lol).
We need some kind of parade with these dresses, where each person's dress is themed and decorated like some kind of float, and/or bird dances are performed by squashing and expanding the hoops.
Okay, the dress is hilarious and you deserve massive recognition for powering through that, but my favorite part was seeing you interacting with others at the ball! They're all "Oooh, tea and crumpets, Regency cosplay!" and you were straight up coming to the ball after being presented to the Queen at court! Like many of your followers, I appreciate historical accuracy and actually seeing one of these dresses on an actual human was amazing!
I agree. If you're doing a period piece then I want to see at least relatively accurate period clothing and that includes the good, the bad, and the ugly.
@iprobablyforgotsomething I've seen it used, and crosses didn't work unless they were true silver or over 18 carat gold, those being ""holy" metals or something , so your cheap nickel plated cross necklace wouldn't do jack lol. Was a decent read, nothing memorable
@@iprobablyforgotsomething I can’t remember which book it was in, but it’s been used before, I just thought it was an interesting bit of “lore” on why vampires couldn’t show up in mirrors/cameras in the past but could now.
@@rachel_sj Lol it's like they shoved the Barbie in too deep then couldn't fix it cause, well, her bodice is covered in icing now so.... it's just the style of the dress now!
I can almost guarantee that early 19th century dressmakers were losing their minds trying to balance royal demands and the demands of their clients to be trendy. "How the hell are we supposed to combine hoops with a high waisted bodice? It will look ridiculous!" "I don't know, just try adding more lace and sparkly bits. Maybe they won't notice how stupid they look if we blind them with shiny things."
I just love the fact that I'm not the only one who gets into a project, gets overwhelmed, and just gives up and puts a project away for years! I have one of these hanging out in my closet right now!
There is something so ridiculously hilarious about a silhouette so large moving so swiftly. I can’t stop laughing at the walking and dancing like you don’t take the space of a whole 3 seater sofa 😂😂
Kind of ironic because Penelope asks the modiste for a dress that was popular in Paris during episode 1 of Season 3… basically what they are seen wearing since the start has been French-inspired 😅
You're perfectly within fashion with the black lace draperies! It wasn't as common as white or blonde, but it was definitely worn. Especially to the Queen's Birthday which was celebrated in January (despite the fact she was born in May) where darker colors and jewel tones (scarlet, purples, blues, etc.) were more common than for the Drawing Room (usually in Spring) and the King's Birthday (in June) where white and pastels (lilac and yellow were especially popular) were the most prominent colors. The pocket holes were quite the prominent fashion feature and often very creatively embellished. In addition to lace they could be trimmed with diamonds, pearls, bows, flowers, tassels, and on one occasion Queen Charlotte had hers ornamented with "plumes of ostrich feathers and wheat ears". The embellishment of court gowns could get even more ridiculous than shown in fashion plates. Metallic embroidery, along with colored metal foil and sequins were especially popular in certain periods. And I've come across records of everything from embroidered seaweed, to rhinestone pineapples, to a petticoat featuring a rainbow split by a gold sequined bolt of lightning.
@@tereasia I know! The rainbow/lightning dress is probably my favorite court dress I've ever come across. Largely due to the fact that it was its wearer's (the Duchess of Rutland) first time appearing out of mourning after the death of her husband. I'm sure the intended symbolism was a wholesome "light emerging after the darkness" theme, but I can't help but get heavy "I'm single, grieving my husband's death, and ready to mingle" vibes. She was only 30 at the time of his death, was a noted beauty and society hostess, and he wasn't getting any deader.
Her dress and hair in the last episode: AHHHMAZING. I've loved the creativity even if it's not historically accurate. SHE is amazing - wish there was more of her in this season.
As illustrations, I thought these dresses were a little weird but not that bad. I was wrong. I was so wrong! It looks like those cakes with dolls stuck in them.
@@tishie42Exactly what I was going to say. I babysat for a lady who had a pink one with a cheap blonde Barbie knock off, on the back of her toilet. Often, while I sat there, I would worry about what I was supposed to do with the thing if I ran out of toilet paper!
Amazingly, I can relate to this. For Halloween one year, I came as a literal table. I used a large piece of cardboard which I cut a hole into to sort of slide into and to keep it up, attached some straps that ran down the inside of a vest to make sure it stayed up. Covered the whole thing with a tablecloth and other table decor. You dancing around in that dress is exactly what I did all night to the laughter of all my friends. There is nothing as ridiculous as trying to drop it low in a 5 foot table costume, or ascending down a grand staircase with your battery operated candles, or running down a hallway, tablecloth flying behind you. At least that insane dress had hoops that could compress. I didn't really factor getting through a doorway, so there was a lot of me walking sideways which, was of course, met with more laughter. I cannot believe this was any type of real style. The elimination of the waist is just a disaster. Anything where you can't see or put your arms down is just too far.
When I was younger, some people used to make tacky dolls with huge wide skirts that were crocheted and made to hide a spare roll of toilet paper. These dresses remind me of these dolls.
I think the fact that none of these dresses remain proves that they were loathed by the women who wore them. There are massive 18th century British court dresses surviving in museums, but no regency court dresses? I'm betting the court ladies had them dismantled with great glee as soon as they could.
@@rayaqueen9657 If they have them, I guess they aren't photographed in their database. I would love to see a surviving example of one of these monstrosities, I can't find a single photo online.
This is one of my favorite ugly fashion trends, so I really appreciate your going for it. When you collapsed the hoops to use the revolving door, I was *dead*. Such a satisfying moment.
Honestly I would LOVE a drama set in the 1800-1820 English court with accurate court wear. It would bring me so much joy. The contrast between regular fashion and court fashion would be incredible.
@@adedow1333 I've always wonder how their dresses would look in real life in order to get that kind of shape and bounce. They have mega bustles or something.
I absolutely love that Queen Charlotte could not let go of the old and incorporated it with the new. The quirkiness of these gowns just make me smile, and I’d love to also make one, one day. I think you looked amazing, and where you went to showcase it was perfect.
Hi Karolina! I know a Regency romance novel that includes this gown! In Georgette Heyer's "A Civil Contract" the female main character is short and not slender. As she is contemplating her court presentation, she makes a comment about how broad she is going to look in hoops. I remember being confused at first because "what? hoops?" So hurray for Georgette Heyer, a romance novels with keen historical precision. In the said novel, the Napoleonic wars are a major plot element.
I was thinking of that scene while watching this! Poor Jenny. Not sure if you've read April Lady as well but the £300 bill for a court dress is an important plot point and I find it so funny and tragic that the heroine goes through so much angst because of the extreme expense of a ridiculous dress she can never wear anywhere else.
@@sophiarose703 I believe I have read it, but I forgot that part. Makes so much sense why we don't have extant British court dresses. Georgette Heyer is the BOMB. A historian who wrote romance.
Georgette Heyer was the first thing I thought of too! I think there's another book where a character is complaining about having to wear hoops to be presented at court and how bad they look with the style of the day. Heyer was known for her fantastic historical research.
I think there is another Georgette Heyer where the daughters collapse with laughter at the mother’s court dress, which they then cut up to make something less ugly
@@kresstech That's Arabella, but it's not a regency court dress they're laughing at - it's just the fancy wardrobe of 18th century clothes that belonged to their mother. It's a fun exercise in Heyer imagining how a bunch of teenage girls in 1817 who've never known anything but empire line dresses to be fashionable would find 1780s or 90s clothing absurdly old fashioned. They think it's stiff and laugh at the hoops, but the waistlines are lower (which they also find strange!).
140 inches would be like as tall as 2 people (it’s around 11 ft). 140 cm is like 4 ft 5” which is shorter that the average woman in the US (assuming most women are 5’ something inches). Sorry I’m too lazy to convert all that to cm at the moment lol
1830s fashion looks entirely sensible and well proportioned compared with these! (Though I am designing a production set in 1836 in October, and I am so stoked to make a bunch of peak 1830s nonsense! The sleeves don’t really collapse down into the graceful 1840s shape until 1837!)
"I felt like a fridge" fresh new halloween costume idea honestly, though, I kind of love it? It's so absurd. At some point I heard the goal of the "Kawaii" dress silhouette is to look as close to a cupcake as possible - with THIS silhouette you can look like the whole cake! and honestly, I'm kind of obsessed.
There is an esaki anime about a guy reincarnated as a vending machine. So he'd be a fun one if you wanted to be a box at a con. I've genuinely thought about doing it lol.
"Kawaii" just means "cute". (Hi, I'm a Lolita.) Many styles of Japanese street fashion are "kawaii" including fairy-kei with its tiny skirts, and gyaru style, which has never been very cupcake-y. "Cupcake" was how early English speaking Lolitas described the shape of the old-school Lolita style skirt. Generally, and especially back then, though, Lolita waistlines were at or just barely above the natural waist. Empire waistlines and swishier skirts exist in Lolita but were not really common before the 2010s. We still don't do dropped waistlines, in part probably because the skirt shape would be super ridiculous. We have definitely picked up a lot of Rococo influences throughout the 2000s but I don't think this silhouette will ever go over in Lolita. For one thing, Lolita clothing is actually supposed to be at least somewhat comfortable (even when it doesn't look like it is!)
Getting into the contraption is one thing. I just wonder how it would be if you had to travel in it. That would be interesting because you probably couldn't drive with that thing on and you would probably take up the whole backseat in whatever car you were being chauffeured in.
As you were explaining the parts, I thought…oh my goodness, this is the (condensed) inspiration behind the ugly stepsisters in Disney’s Cinderella! (And of course-they were going to court!) ***Thank you*** for explaining the function of the lace panels on the “hips” of the hoop; that always mystified me.
I believe Bridgerton had missed opportunity when they presented the Featheringtons wearing Napoleon court gowns instead of Regency court gowns because it would give a hilarious compare and contrast between the old money and new money houses, and I would love to see the high fashion world take on this silhouette.
Imagine all the scenes where they're whispering but they have to smoosh their dresses together unsubtly to do it!! The sight gag!! 😂 Imagine the boorish man of the season attempting to get too close and everyone turning to look when his advance is extremely obvious due to the hoops fending him off!! Imagine!!
@@michellebyrom6551 I mean hoops did come in go. Seems like there were periods in the 1700s to early 1800s when panniers were in style. Then you had hoopskirts in the 1850s and 1860s, while turned into bustles. Basically shifted from being all about the hips, to a uniform round shape, to being all about the backside.
I shit on some Fashion History eras hard, I do- but the Regency Era court dress tops it- when I complain that Regency Era doesn’t have enough to it THIS IS NOT WHAT I’M ASKING FOR, CHARLOTTE.
Oh well done! My Master's thesis (MFA) was in this era of Court Dress in England & France. Comparing the two was very informative and such a contrast. There were a lot of *shared assets* among deb sisters/cousins in families (familial embroidered trains, tiaras, jewels, pomades, hoops, the best feathers and even fans). A little like familial upkeep of court regalia (capes, etc). The trains were often embroidered white on white/gold wire/silver wire with familial crests, insignia, and meaningful symbols (A lot like the wedding dress of Sarah Ferguson, which had the same kind of embroidery work on her train, mixed with his insignia and naval icons). But the dresses, especially on debs, were new & conspicuous consumption. Non-debs in court dress went through fads of "Indian prints" (very high quality overdyed Indian cotton) and turbans, exotic silk flowers, and strange adaptations of Chinese & Japanese fashions, silks, embroidery.
That silhouette just becomes more and more comical as I re-watch! The fact that the skirt is all width and then you turn and the depth is just a fraction in comparison. Or during the getting dressed section where there is just soooo much skirt, and then (comparatively) just this tiny little bodice that is also attached to the massive train. It's so ridiculously extra XD
That's why Spanish infantegarde, a 17th century wide hoopskirt, is called so. Some people also believe that 19th century crinolines were the women's attempt to declare their power in taking space physically when they couldn't do it in other ways. Such an interesting phenomenon
*sees an absurd dress silhouette* "This better not awaken anything in me" But for real, excellent video, thank you so much for all the work you put into these
As a Texas Debutante, I had to learn that specific curtsy they mentioned in the book. Texas debs are the only debs in the country that still perform it. My goodness, it took me 6 months to master it without holding onto anything.
In german aristocracy we still curtsy- at least until the age of 18, after that only for royalty. But being used to curtsy from when you can walk is immensely practical. (Also the grown ups love it, of course). In my time we obviously changed the classical curtsy to a modern one, but were able to do both…. Even now, decades after I am not obligated to curtsy anymore I am still able to it, it’s crazy how you don’t forget the training from childhood…. I curtsied for 19 years of my life. (Because it’s very difficult to stop, when you’re trained to, so you start stopping at 18… but it just happens automatically). The basic curtsy helps you with all the different types. And I must admit my heart melts seeing little girls curtsy…. 🥰
100% this was designed to smuggle things. Hams for midnight snacks, important documents and espionage stuff, shy lovers... hideous but so utilitarian. Plus lace. 😉
I have been WAITING, HOPING, PRAYYYYYINNNNNGGG that someone would finally recreate this look. That it was Karolina that did it is just the most serendipidous thing. You have blessed me this day.
Those court dresses remind me of the toilet paper holder dolls from 50-60 years ago. Barbie doll torso, wearing a crotched dress which was put over a roll of toilet paper. The roll filled out the skirt of the dress (where the hoops would be on a human)
They still exist. My family used to white elephant one around the family each Christmas and the “winning” part of the family got to show it off in their bathroom until the next year.
I have appreciated your videos for a while now, but I have a new appreciation and admiration for your commitment to the craft in making this hideous dress. Thank you.
The red lips, earrings, and nails look stunning on you. This video was a lot of fun and you had me giggling when you pushed the hoops in to get through the revolving door. Great work!
Thank you for making and wearing this so we don’t have to! Rebecca is currently making a regency court dress on her TH-cam channel Lady Rebecca Fashions and has encountered similar issues about weight on the shoulders. Brilliant video as always, great research.
Very high waists on dresses always remind me of little children wearing dresses! I used to have a Cinderella costume with a hoop skirt that could be turned inside out to change between the brown and blue dresses. It was amazing, but it had a similar silhouette to this because of the hoop skirt and high waist!
I love your dedication to re-creating this fashion as authentically as is realistic. I can't imagine having to wear it for real. Thanks for your video!
I so deeply appreciate your comment to explaining why it was like that and how it was constructed. You bring the human experience in with humor. You are inspiring
I saw this dress in an encyclopedia as a kid ..... I loved it. Intensely and fully. For YEARS I exclusively drew ladies in this dress... With bows, jewels,and soooo many frills.
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Speaking of the 1920s, I wonder if you're going to review the robe de style? Basically, the flapper dress, but with drop waist hoopskirts.
What's your lipstick? It's really pretty
Girl, the silhouette is hilarious and so are you. You had me laughing through the whole thing. You are a national treasure.
I was upset by June's outfit. Those knickerbockers are ugly and wrong for that period.
Especially with that hat!
Local time traveller secretly roasts her old wardrobe
Moving from England to Poland was intended to hide Karolina's secret history when people started to suspect something wasn't right.
😂😂😂😂
the way she shades her queen 😁
We all have style choices we made, that we now cringe at lolol
@@mishynaofficialsorry but Karolina was clearly living in the Austrian Empire (occupied South Poland) during the Regency Period.
Definitely the most deranged dress silhouette ever. The feeties sticking out from the bottom kills me lmaooo
Yes! The paintings don’t do it justice. Huge skirt and tiny feeties tip-tapping along
it's on 1830s level of cringe
@@mishynaofficial 1830s dress doesn't even come close in cringe imo
I think the 80s and some of the current atrocities we see, can measure up to that particular style of court dresses 😂
Yes, that is odd especially given you couldn't even wear fabulous shoes to match your dress! A lost opportunity there.
I'm usually for historical accuracy, but I can't blame them for not putting the actresses on that
No way, they should have gone hard. Keep it accurate, so we can all laugh together.
It would have made those scenes 300% more slapstick.
I know that's not what 95% of the audience is looking for; but I personally live for historically accurate absurdity.
Oh I do blame them. They claimed to want whimsy, gave Cressida a Golden Age vibe with flower pots as sleeves and tribbles in her hair, but they denied us THIS? They are cowards and I DO blame them, SO MUCH XD I demand my puffy, imperial wasted monstruosities!! XD
@@aurorajude4674 ikr it started out as comedy, but now they're taking themselves too seriously with all the glow up talk n shit
My 5 year old nephew waked in while you were getting dressed. He asked if you were dressing like a princess, and when you finished dressing, he said you were a real princess now. High praise indeed.
How cute!
That’s absolutely adorable
So this is where the little bo leep
OMG. You aren't kidding. The high, empire waist with a full hoop skirt looks LUDICROUS.
The late 18th Century English court dress still lives on in the form of that little dolly that covers the spare toilet roll at your grandma’s house.
😁😁😍😍
😂😂😂😂
Too true! 😂😂
Yessss! That was my first thought!
No lies detected
These dresses are giving ~dome shaped birthday cake with a barbie jammed in the centre of it~
Omg yes! I knew these reminded me of something!!
I was just about to comment this! It's like when my mom made me a barbie "the cake is my full skirt" cake and used my Ariel doll which was shorter than a normal barbie lmao
Or toilet paper holder dolls
That's it exactly
@@ExistentialTouristFr, but the big question; knit or crochet? How many rolls is she hiding? Or is it a mega-pannier folded tissue pack?
It is such a lost opportunity to not have the Featherington sisters in them.. Imagine these in those neon greens and yellows 😅
Oh my gosh yes!!!😂 That would have been perfect!
Truly!
it would have added to them being Nouveau rich, embracing what the queen wanted, and unintentionally setting themselves even further apart from the old money
Honestly bright greens and yellow wouldn't have been THAT out of place in a regency courtroom. They couldn't quite reach neon levels due to the lack of artificial dyes, but coquelicot (poppy red-orange), jonquil (daffodil yellow) and pea green were all popular court colors at various points during the era. Queen Charlotte seems to have been fond of bright orange (judging by the number of times she wore it) and at various times paired it with purple satin or black velvet. The past was a lot more colorful than a lot of people realize, (and not always tastefully so lol).
😂😂😂 oh my gosh that would have been rich!
We need some kind of parade with these dresses, where each person's dress is themed and decorated like some kind of float, and/or bird dances are performed by squashing and expanding the hoops.
If you look at some examples of panniers that are shown on the Wikipedia page for it, some of them could 100% be human floats.
Look up the 20th century "Barbie doll cake" and they look identical!
Omg I love your idea so much
Okay, the dress is hilarious and you deserve massive recognition for powering through that, but my favorite part was seeing you interacting with others at the ball! They're all "Oooh, tea and crumpets, Regency cosplay!" and you were straight up coming to the ball after being presented to the Queen at court! Like many of your followers, I appreciate historical accuracy and actually seeing one of these dresses on an actual human was amazing!
Justice for the British Regency court dress! It's so wonderfully ridiculous.
I agree. If you're doing a period piece then I want to see at least relatively accurate period clothing and that includes the good, the bad, and the ugly.
@@Xzagobag Gentleman Jack did this so well. Another time period with crazy hairdo's and fashions and we got to enjoy all the ridiculous sleeves!
@@AngelavengerL I'm a sucker for ridiculous sleeves. I blame Josephine from Dragon Age for starting that.
It looks like someone considered fashionable was trying to hide a scandalous pregnancy. 😂
@@racheeerach that happened in mid 17th century spain with the guardainfanta style gowns i think lmaoo
'I "still" can't get over it' makes you sound like a vampire who lived through that period lmao
Don't let her know we're on to her!
And the only reason she now shows up in mirrors and cameras is because they no longer use silver as the backing/material for them 😂😂
@elenalizabeth -- Now *that* there is a story-inspiring idea! I hope it gets used in fiction, some day.
@iprobablyforgotsomething I've seen it used, and crosses didn't work unless they were true silver or over 18 carat gold, those being ""holy" metals or something , so your cheap nickel plated cross necklace wouldn't do jack lol. Was a decent read, nothing memorable
@@iprobablyforgotsomething I can’t remember which book it was in, but it’s been used before, I just thought it was an interesting bit of “lore” on why vampires couldn’t show up in mirrors/cameras in the past but could now.
There's such a huge difference between an illustration and seeing it on an actual person. Crazy comparison.
Wonder how much the total outfit would literally WEIGH, if created of period materials?
She made it look totally acceptable 😮
@@SnoriSnorison and the embroidery that adds weight to the fabric too 💀
"I really want to put my hands in the hoops and look like a plasma TV" had me cracking up so bad 🤣🤣🤣
Court guard:
"Looks like young miss Fawkes has taken after her ancestors and is smuggling 2 barrels of gunpowder under that dress!"
its giving lord farquaad's miniature being pushed into a giant cake
Or those Barbie or Barbie knock off doll cakes…only there’s less waist and more cake coming up to the bust
@@rachel_sj Lol it's like they shoved the Barbie in too deep then couldn't fix it cause, well, her bodice is covered in icing now so.... it's just the style of the dress now!
Oh my god the caaaaaake-
The opening scene of season 2 where Eloise is self conscious about her court appearance would have been hilarious if she were wearing one of these
she'd be bristling to wear one like that😂
I can almost guarantee that early 19th century dressmakers were losing their minds trying to balance royal demands and the demands of their clients to be trendy. "How the hell are we supposed to combine hoops with a high waisted bodice? It will look ridiculous!" "I don't know, just try adding more lace and sparkly bits. Maybe they won't notice how stupid they look if we blind them with shiny things."
Do you know Andrea from Andrea’s fashion galaxy? 😂 She would agree with your hypothesis for sure
This. But I want this as a 6 season period fashion drama. Devil Wears Prada but make it Regency.
@@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195let's do it! 💃
I now kind of want to write this
🤗Shiiiiny!!
I just love the fact that I'm not the only one who gets into a project, gets overwhelmed, and just gives up and puts a project away for years! I have one of these hanging out in my closet right now!
This is a perfect replica of what my childhood princess dress drawings looked like
I mean, wearing your own snack table is a wild fashion development, lol.
I'd add cup holders 😎
@@happytofu5 Brilliant!
If only one didn't have to pull their wine and cheese out of their armpits...
I've always wondered what kind of weight these type of pannier dress could hold to be honest. How much food could it hold up?
@@Xzagobag Oh my gosh, YES! I want to test this! lol
There is something so ridiculously hilarious about a silhouette so large moving so swiftly. I can’t stop laughing at the walking and dancing like you don’t take the space of a whole 3 seater sofa 😂😂
Now I want to see how see would have looked trying to fit inside a car or something like that wearing this dress. 😂
It's the perfect dress for stealing a medium sized painting
@@Rumade Or smuggling in some weapons. I've seen Fairgard on TikTok do videos of that.
Kind of ironic because Penelope asks the modiste for a dress that was popular in Paris during episode 1 of Season 3… basically what they are seen wearing since the start has been French-inspired 😅
This silhouette is by far the silliest thing I have ever seen. I need to make one IMMEDIATELY.
This reminds me of the way I would draw princess dresses as a kid in the best way
You're perfectly within fashion with the black lace draperies! It wasn't as common as white or blonde, but it was definitely worn. Especially to the Queen's Birthday which was celebrated in January (despite the fact she was born in May) where darker colors and jewel tones (scarlet, purples, blues, etc.) were more common than for the Drawing Room (usually in Spring) and the King's Birthday (in June) where white and pastels (lilac and yellow were especially popular) were the most prominent colors.
The pocket holes were quite the prominent fashion feature and often very creatively embellished. In addition to lace they could be trimmed with diamonds, pearls, bows, flowers, tassels, and on one occasion Queen Charlotte had hers ornamented with "plumes of ostrich feathers and wheat ears".
The embellishment of court gowns could get even more ridiculous than shown in fashion plates. Metallic embroidery, along with colored metal foil and sequins were especially popular in certain periods. And I've come across records of everything from embroidered seaweed, to rhinestone pineapples, to a petticoat featuring a rainbow split by a gold sequined bolt of lightning.
That’s kind of badass 😂
@@tereasia I know! The rainbow/lightning dress is probably my favorite court dress I've ever come across. Largely due to the fact that it was its wearer's (the Duchess of Rutland) first time appearing out of mourning after the death of her husband. I'm sure the intended symbolism was a wholesome "light emerging after the darkness" theme, but I can't help but get heavy "I'm single, grieving my husband's death, and ready to mingle" vibes. She was only 30 at the time of his death, was a noted beauty and society hostess, and he wasn't getting any deader.
Seaweed! Embellished seaweed!
So gloriously unhinged!
@@WhazdatI’ve heard this before, like wheat sheafs , it shimmered.
I like to think that Queen Charlotte knew exactly what she was doing and just kept it up for the gag 😂
I mean her husband was losing his mind. She needed to do something to get a good laugh in one in a while.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I agree! Especially if she was at all like the Queen Charlotte portrayed in Bridgerton!!❤😂
Tbh I don't blame her sticking to the fashion of her day.
Her dress and hair in the last episode: AHHHMAZING. I've loved the creativity even if it's not historically accurate. SHE is amazing - wish there was more of her in this season.
As illustrations, I thought these dresses were a little weird but not that bad. I was wrong. I was so wrong! It looks like those cakes with dolls stuck in them.
Yes! Exactly like those doll cakes
Or the little crochet toilet paper Barbies that everyone's great grandma had. 😂😂
@@tishie42Exactly what I was going to say. I babysat for a lady who had a pink one with a cheap blonde Barbie knock off, on the back of her toilet. Often, while I sat there, I would worry about what I was supposed to do with the thing if I ran out of toilet paper!
Amazingly, I can relate to this. For Halloween one year, I came as a literal table. I used a large piece of cardboard which I cut a hole into to sort of slide into and to keep it up, attached some straps that ran down the inside of a vest to make sure it stayed up. Covered the whole thing with a tablecloth and other table decor. You dancing around in that dress is exactly what I did all night to the laughter of all my friends. There is nothing as ridiculous as trying to drop it low in a 5 foot table costume, or ascending down a grand staircase with your battery operated candles, or running down a hallway, tablecloth flying behind you. At least that insane dress had hoops that could compress. I didn't really factor getting through a doorway, so there was a lot of me walking sideways which, was of course, met with more laughter. I cannot believe this was any type of real style. The elimination of the waist is just a disaster. Anything where you can't see or put your arms down is just too far.
When I was younger, some people used to make tacky dolls with huge wide skirts that were crocheted and made to hide a spare roll of toilet paper. These dresses remind me of these dolls.
I think the fact that none of these dresses remain proves that they were loathed by the women who wore them. There are massive 18th century British court dresses surviving in museums, but no regency court dresses? I'm betting the court ladies had them dismantled with great glee as soon as they could.
Imagine the number of normal dresses they could have got out of the petticoat
They probably could have used the skirt fabric to upholster a suite of furniture.
I'm thinking some became Victorian 3 piece skirt, day bodice and night bodice sets, gods know there was enough cloth!
Don't know why she said that. The v&a has several.
Also this was the biggest pocket hand ever known. Bring them back I say ;-)
@@rayaqueen9657 If they have them, I guess they aren't photographed in their database. I would love to see a surviving example of one of these monstrosities, I can't find a single photo online.
This is one of my favorite ugly fashion trends, so I really appreciate your going for it. When you collapsed the hoops to use the revolving door, I was *dead*. Such a satisfying moment.
Honestly I would LOVE a drama set in the 1800-1820 English court with accurate court wear. It would bring me so much joy. The contrast between regular fashion and court fashion would be incredible.
It’s so over the top, I need to see it
Fr
I'm obsessed with the way it bounced when she did the little jump-dance
I’m cracking up at just HIGH up the hoops are actually sitting, this is WILD
Idk why I laughed so hard at the squishing of the hoops to get through the door 🤣🤣🤣
I legit cackled and then came to see if anyone else did, I’m glad it wasn’t just me🤣🤣
I imagined a "boop" sound effect when she did it.
That was great!
Saaaaaame
My favourite part 😂
Looking like the very literal bell of the ball. BING BONG
This got a real out-loud snort laugh lmao. BING BONG.
ngl the final dress reveal looks like a Disney princess costume, maybe like what Cinderella's step sisters would wear 😂😂
But there isn't any bounce from the bustles in the back!😂
If it ain't got that bustle bounce, it ain't worth wearing! My bustle bounce brings AAAALLLL the eligible bachelors to my parlor! 😂
I mean cindrella was french and the story took place in 1850s
@@adedow1333 I've always wonder how their dresses would look in real life in order to get that kind of shape and bounce. They have mega bustles or something.
@@XzagobagI think they’ve actually got dump trucks under there 😂
I absolutely love that Queen Charlotte could not let go of the old and incorporated it with the new. The quirkiness of these gowns just make me smile, and I’d love to also make one, one day. I think you looked amazing, and where you went to showcase it was perfect.
Oh 😂 wow. The comedy aspect of putting the Featherington sisters into that style of dress. Imagine trying to get through a door or into a carriage.
Hi Karolina! I know a Regency romance novel that includes this gown! In Georgette Heyer's "A Civil Contract" the female main character is short and not slender. As she is contemplating her court presentation, she makes a comment about how broad she is going to look in hoops. I remember being confused at first because "what? hoops?" So hurray for Georgette Heyer, a romance novels with keen historical precision. In the said novel, the Napoleonic wars are a major plot element.
I was thinking of that scene while watching this! Poor Jenny. Not sure if you've read April Lady as well but the £300 bill for a court dress is an important plot point and I find it so funny and tragic that the heroine goes through so much angst because of the extreme expense of a ridiculous dress she can never wear anywhere else.
@@sophiarose703 I believe I have read it, but I forgot that part. Makes so much sense why we don't have extant British court dresses. Georgette Heyer is the BOMB. A historian who wrote romance.
Georgette Heyer was the first thing I thought of too! I think there's another book where a character is complaining about having to wear hoops to be presented at court and how bad they look with the style of the day. Heyer was known for her fantastic historical research.
I think there is another Georgette Heyer where the daughters collapse with laughter at the mother’s court dress, which they then cut up to make something less ugly
@@kresstech That's Arabella, but it's not a regency court dress they're laughing at - it's just the fancy wardrobe of 18th century clothes that belonged to their mother. It's a fun exercise in Heyer imagining how a bunch of teenage girls in 1817 who've never known anything but empire line dresses to be fashionable would find 1780s or 90s clothing absurdly old fashioned. They think it's stiff and laugh at the hoops, but the waistlines are lower (which they also find strange!).
"This is centimetres, by the way - I'm not insane."
~ Every person outside of the US.
You're not wrong 😅
140 inches would be like as tall as 2 people (it’s around 11 ft). 140 cm is like 4 ft 5” which is shorter that the average woman in the US (assuming most women are 5’ something inches). Sorry I’m too lazy to convert all that to cm at the moment lol
@@elizabethatthecraftingcorners you just typed in absolute gibberish.
@@AlexDincht i read it carefully and it makes sense to me, maybe you got confused because the sentence structure is a bit weird?
140 inches would be 355 cm which, I think we can all agree, would be an insane length for a skirt. (140 cm is 55 in.)
Ridiculous regency court dresses walked so that 1830s fashion could run
1830s fashion looks entirely sensible and well proportioned compared with these!
(Though I am designing a production set in 1836 in October, and I am so stoked to make a bunch of peak 1830s nonsense! The sleeves don’t really collapse down into the graceful 1840s shape until 1837!)
exactly my thoughts! it's the most ridiculous fashion competition between those two
@@thebadpoetinteresting, I always thought it started around 1835.
I saw you in this dress first in Bernadette Banner’s video and thought, “Wow! Karolina is going to have a great video explaining that dress choice”.
Watching you put this on is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. That silhouette looks like it belongs in Alice and Wonderland.
"I felt like a fridge" fresh new halloween costume idea
honestly, though, I kind of love it? It's so absurd. At some point I heard the goal of the "Kawaii" dress silhouette is to look as close to a cupcake as possible - with THIS silhouette you can look like the whole cake! and honestly, I'm kind of obsessed.
21:20 She nailed the cupcake look here. Lower half is the cake and upper half is the icing.
There is an esaki anime about a guy reincarnated as a vending machine. So he'd be a fun one if you wanted to be a box at a con. I've genuinely thought about doing it lol.
Maybe THIS is what Taylor Swift meant when she sang "wearing a gown shaped like a pastry" in Speak Now
"Kawaii" just means "cute". (Hi, I'm a Lolita.) Many styles of Japanese street fashion are "kawaii" including fairy-kei with its tiny skirts, and gyaru style, which has never been very cupcake-y.
"Cupcake" was how early English speaking Lolitas described the shape of the old-school Lolita style skirt. Generally, and especially back then, though, Lolita waistlines were at or just barely above the natural waist.
Empire waistlines and swishier skirts exist in Lolita but were not really common before the 2010s. We still don't do dropped waistlines, in part probably because the skirt shape would be super ridiculous. We have definitely picked up a lot of Rococo influences throughout the 2000s but I don't think this silhouette will ever go over in Lolita. For one thing, Lolita clothing is actually supposed to be at least somewhat comfortable (even when it doesn't look like it is!)
The hoop skirt just kept me playing Hips Don't Lie on loop in my brain
I think 20:09 prove that they do lie. 😂
😂😂😂
the hoops dont lie
Looking at the plates, I couldn't help but think "Barbie doll in a Bundt cake"😂
18:50 I love how your living room looks! That dining table! The decor!
Putting that on by yourself was most impressive!
Getting into the contraption is one thing. I just wonder how it would be if you had to travel in it. That would be interesting because you probably couldn't drive with that thing on and you would probably take up the whole backseat in whatever car you were being chauffeured in.
those strawberries are ADORABLE
If I hadn't found this comment, I would have written it 😄
Yes! I was thinking the same thing this whole video 🥰🍓🍓
I was just thinking about it too 🍓🍓
“I want to put my hands in my pockets so I can look like a plasma tv..” 😂😂😂
These gowns really are fashion history shitposts and I’ve been obsessed with them for a while thank you for spotlighting them in a video 🙏
As you were explaining the parts, I thought…oh my goodness, this is the (condensed) inspiration behind the ugly stepsisters in Disney’s Cinderella! (And of course-they were going to court!) ***Thank you*** for explaining the function of the lace panels on the “hips” of the hoop; that always mystified me.
I believe Bridgerton had missed opportunity when they presented the Featheringtons wearing Napoleon court gowns instead of Regency court gowns because it would give a hilarious compare and contrast between the old money and new money houses, and I would love to see the high fashion world take on this silhouette.
Imagine all the scenes where they're whispering but they have to smoosh their dresses together unsubtly to do it!! The sight gag!! 😂 Imagine the boorish man of the season attempting to get too close and everyone turning to look when his advance is extremely obvious due to the hoops fending him off!! Imagine!!
Honestly, this kind of slightly realistic comedy could work in a more 'serious' period piece.
I would swish the skirt from side to side, and kinda twirl. Am I being cute, or being obnoxious? Is this a please keep talking to me or begone loosa!
THE POSSIBILITIES
Maybe this was the real reason for retaining the hoops, guaranteed good behaviour from all involved.
@@michellebyrom6551 I mean hoops did come in go. Seems like there were periods in the 1700s to early 1800s when panniers were in style. Then you had hoopskirts in the 1850s and 1860s, while turned into bustles. Basically shifted from being all about the hips, to a uniform round shape, to being all about the backside.
Man if they had flat screen TV's back then those dresses would have been perfect for smuggling the royal television out of the palace lol
I shit on some Fashion History eras hard, I do- but the Regency Era court dress tops it- when I complain that Regency Era doesn’t have enough to it THIS IS NOT WHAT I’M ASKING FOR, CHARLOTTE.
Vulgarity is no substitute for wit.
Oh well done!
My Master's thesis (MFA) was in this era of Court Dress in England & France.
Comparing the two was very informative and such a contrast.
There were a lot of *shared assets* among deb sisters/cousins in families (familial embroidered trains, tiaras, jewels, pomades, hoops, the best feathers and even fans).
A little like familial upkeep of court regalia (capes, etc).
The trains were often embroidered white on white/gold wire/silver wire with familial crests, insignia, and meaningful symbols (A lot like the wedding dress of Sarah Ferguson, which had the same kind of embroidery work on her train, mixed with his insignia and naval icons).
But the dresses, especially on debs, were new & conspicuous consumption.
Non-debs in court dress went through fads of "Indian prints" (very high quality overdyed Indian cotton) and turbans, exotic silk flowers, and strange adaptations of Chinese & Japanese fashions, silks, embroidery.
That silhouette just becomes more and more comical as I re-watch! The fact that the skirt is all width and then you turn and the depth is just a fraction in comparison. Or during the getting dressed section where there is just soooo much skirt, and then (comparatively) just this tiny little bodice that is also attached to the massive train. It's so ridiculously extra XD
"If you ever plan on doing that, keep that in mind"
Me with absolutely no plans to do this: 📝
When the historical inaccuracies are a step UP. What a time to be alive.
A dress like this would have been so handy right now, people keeping their distance would be made so much easier
This is basically womenspreading, taking away public space with their ridiculously wide dresses.
With an update to French vaccine hair style (pouf à l’inoculation) on top
Reminds me of the New York Post article I saw during the pandemic called: "I wore a ridiculous hoop skirt for stylish social distancing."
That's why Spanish infantegarde, a 17th century wide hoopskirt, is called so. Some people also believe that 19th century crinolines were the women's attempt to declare their power in taking space physically when they couldn't do it in other ways. Such an interesting phenomenon
@@iamnotafraid1674 I say we bring it back, maybe not with yards and yards of fabric, but framing, that we could do
*sees an absurd dress silhouette*
"This better not awaken anything in me"
But for real, excellent video, thank you so much for all the work you put into these
I’ve noticed that Queen Charlotte’s wardrobe is always very different from the ton’s…much more like you’re showing in these reference photos!
If they used these dresses in the show, it could still be called Bridgerton, because the dresses look like a bridge and weigh a ton.
😂😂😂
🤣
😂
Real expansion bridges held on the shoulders.
😂😂😂😂
When you look at the ridiculousness of the met gala, this dress makes total sense. 😂😂😂
The MET gala was the first thing that came into my mind as modern equivalent.
Honestly, the final product looked nowhere near as ridiculous as the fashion plates. You rocked this! 💙
Really puts meaning to "belle" of the ball.
As a Texas Debutante, I had to learn that specific curtsy they mentioned in the book. Texas debs are the only debs in the country that still perform it. My goodness, it took me 6 months to master it without holding onto anything.
In german aristocracy we still curtsy- at least until the age of 18, after that only for royalty. But being used to curtsy from when you can walk is immensely practical. (Also the grown ups love it, of course). In my time we obviously changed the classical curtsy to a modern one, but were able to do both…. Even now, decades after I am not obligated to curtsy anymore I am still able to it, it’s crazy how you don’t forget the training from childhood…. I curtsied for 19 years of my life. (Because it’s very difficult to stop, when you’re trained to, so you start stopping at 18… but it just happens automatically). The basic curtsy helps you with all the different types. And I must admit my heart melts seeing little girls curtsy…. 🥰
Historic accuracy on crack
You were the best dressed lampshade at that ball! These dresses are super weird, but you did a great job!
100% this was designed to smuggle things. Hams for midnight snacks, important documents and espionage stuff, shy lovers... hideous but so utilitarian. Plus lace. 😉
Shy lovers XD
The slightly above floor-length fashion was probably to prevent lover smuggling.
@@myladycasagrande863 lollllll
There's some videos I've seen on TikTok by fairgard where she showed how you can smuggle arms under a hoopskirt.
@@Xzagobag I can picture someone fishing a shotgun or two out of her "pockets"
I have been WAITING, HOPING, PRAYYYYYINNNNNGGG that someone would finally recreate this look. That it was Karolina that did it is just the most serendipidous thing. You have blessed me this day.
I love the little 'watch me whip, watch me nae nae' while she was getting dressed 😂
'I want to acces my pockets so I can look like a plasma tv" sjfhgdhjgh
this got me ROLLING
Reminds me of The nutcracker 1993 😂😂 The lady with all the children coming out of the dress!
Wish I had a friend like you to make these & then go to the balls!
Those court dresses remind me of the toilet paper holder dolls from 50-60 years ago. Barbie doll torso, wearing a crotched dress which was put over a roll of toilet paper. The roll filled out the skirt of the dress (where the hoops would be on a human)
Yes!
My grannie still has one of those 😭😭😭
My aunt used to make them as cheap Christmas gifts. I think my mother "lost" every one she received. Thank heaven.
They still exist. My family used to white elephant one around the family each Christmas and the “winning” part of the family got to show it off in their bathroom until the next year.
Considering that extremely silly silhouette, the dress you made was genuinely gorgeous and you actually pulled it off.
I have appreciated your videos for a while now, but I have a new appreciation and admiration for your commitment to the craft in making this hideous dress. Thank you.
09:03 - Kudos to you for maintaining your solemn visage when you said "access points."
The squish hoop in the door is material for a meme.
I had rewind a couple time just to laugth at it.
Polyester is a lot heavier than silk. I imagine it would have been much lighter in the shoulders of made from period textiles.
It’s not as ugly as I expected! Fun to watch the process, thank you for the video!
The red lips, earrings, and nails look stunning on you. This video was a lot of fun and you had me giggling when you pushed the hoops in to get through the revolving door. Great work!
Omg it's the fashion equivalent of an upscale fusion restaurant where you set your expectations high only to get served a mexican sushi burger!
this dress makes you look like you are stealing something . like a birdcage. no my hoops are not chirping youre imagining things
What a look! But Karolina makes it work anyway XD I love watching the clip of going into the roundabout-door. such an amazing moment.
Thank you for making and wearing this so we don’t have to! Rebecca is currently making a regency court dress on her TH-cam channel Lady Rebecca Fashions and has encountered similar issues about weight on the shoulders.
Brilliant video as always, great research.
I love these court dresses so much. They’re just so audacious. They’re glorious
I LOVE the chaos that is regency court dress and I’m so happy that you actually MADE on of those gowns!
This is what I, as a short waisted person, imagine I would look like in 18th century ballgowns
Very high waists on dresses always remind me of little children wearing dresses! I used to have a Cinderella costume with a hoop skirt that could be turned inside out to change between the brown and blue dresses. It was amazing, but it had a similar silhouette to this because of the hoop skirt and high waist!
That costume sounds incredible
I love your dedication to re-creating this fashion as authentically as is realistic. I can't imagine having to wear it for real. Thanks for your video!
I so deeply appreciate your comment to explaining why it was like that and how it was constructed. You bring the human experience in with humor. You are inspiring
I saw this dress in an encyclopedia as a kid ..... I loved it. Intensely and fully. For YEARS I exclusively drew ladies in this dress... With bows, jewels,and soooo many frills.
Now I know why heroines in regency romance novels never get laid after they get presented at court. It's like, sideways pregnant
Vulgarity is no substitute for wit.
@@tessdurberville711 But it's quite fun.
You don't need to be upset by my dumb comment, I'm doing it mainly to help the algorithm.
@@tessdurberville711loosen up a lil and laugh at a joke jeez
@@tessdurberville711 I recognize the quote from the Dowager Countess (Violet Crowley).
@@tessdurberville711Not everything in life is about wit
In miniature it could be Grandma's toaster cover!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. OMG I'm dying. Like those crocheted barbie doll toilet paper roll covers. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
To quote Tim Gun, “that’s a lot of ‘look’!”