Kokoshnik and court dress

[Margarita Markovna]

You MUST post pictures when you are through!

[Romanov_fan]

I've only seen the children all in court dress twice when they were younger. As Marie and Anastasia were not old enough at the time of the 300th celebration events, only Olga and Tatiana it seems had proper court dresses made for the official photographs. According to Nicholas and Alexandra, the girls wore "shimmering white gowns wearing the order of St. Catherine, a scarlet ribbon blazing with diamonds" at the Winter Palace ball of 1913. He specifically mentioned in the sentence above that Alexandra wore a court dress and kokoshnik, but does not specify for the Grand Duchesses. Which versions of their court dresses are you specifically looking for?

How old were female members of the Imperial Family when they first wore court dress? I have always thought they were rather young, as the cute pictures of the young otma in court dress were taken when they were fairly young. Any info would be appreciated.

[Sarushka]

One clue is the photo session of OTMA during Aleksei's christening. In the summer of 1904, the Big Pair were deemed old enough to wear full court dress and participate in the ceremony. Olga was 8 (nearly 9), Tatiana just a few months over 7. The Little Pair, who were 5 and 3 years old, wore only kokoshniki and their traditional white cambric dresses. By 1910, all of OTMA wore full court dress for their formal photos. Anastasia would have been approximately 9 at that time.

So the children of the tsar were perhaps 6 or 7 years old when they began to wear court dress. I have no idea when other court members' children would have worn full court dress. Except for the tsar's own children, I doubt whether any young children would be expected to participate in formal functions at such a young age. I wouldn't be surprised if OT's court dress appearance at Aleksei's christening was something of an exception, seeing as it was in essence a family ceremony.

[tatianolishka_1]

I posted sewing patterns/instructions about making the Court Dresses and the Kokoshnik in the "Has anybody seen a pattern for a russian dress?" in Having Fun if you want them. Remember, these are my wild guesses. THe only thing I've tested is the kokoshnik, and I know that works. Everything else is pure guesswork.

[Romanov_fan]

That seems true, that Alexei's christening may have been an exception. So, they started wearing court dress about age nine? I think that is about the right age, as it must have been hard to make children wear these uncomfortable dresses much younger than that.I don't see there would have been of a need for court dress either for other court member's children. I have never seen any pictures of Irina in court dress, and have always been interested if there are any, but maybe she never had the need to wear it?