Russian and European Court Dresses

[pushkina]

It says that their kokoshniks were pink  

the photos pf the gowns in the hermitage look more white or even cream colored.  does that mena that the dresses were of a pinkish color if the kokoshniki were pink?

[Lanie]

No, the gowns were cream/ivory like in the Hermitage photo; those were the original dresses.  I think the velet kokoshniks were pink to match the pink velvet that went down the front of the costume with the little  buttons.

[Angie_H]

If anyone has seen the movie "Anastasia" with Ingrid Bergman & Yul Brynner they have Ingrid wearing her kokoshnik with a big bow in the back. The women did not have the big bow did they? I've seen it on OTMA in certain pictures but never on adult women in court dress
Angie

[Lisa]

Yes, Angie, you're right. Only the unmaried women had this big bow...

[ChristineM]

I have seen the childrens' kokoshniki.   They are pink grosgrain trimmed with pearls.   Obviously they are different sizes reflecting the difference in age of the girls.   Long satin ribbons are attached.   These were tied in large bows at the nape of the neck.   The kokshniki have not been restored.

It was alongside these kokshniki that I saw the pale green (adult) kokoshnic - likewise unrestored.  I have photographs, but it could take some time to find them - and maybe even longer to successfully post them.

tsaria

[Lanie]

What color were the bows, were they pink as well?

[ChristineM]

Dear Lanie

Yes, the ribbons are pink.   They are duchess satin and are very long.   The kokoshniki are formed of silk grosgrain and are exactly the same shade of pink.   Probably the same shade of dye was used.   These are trimmed with pearls on the outside edge only.   They were held not only by the bows, but with straps of narrow elastic.

They are in a poor condition - quite badly dented and the pearls (artificial) are loose and/or missing.   I will make a determined search for these photos.

tsaria

[Merrique]

Here are some pictures i found on the costume manifesto's website of the girls court dresses.Unfortunately they don't show the colors very well.

[Lisa]

These dresses are not the Tercentenary dresses. The girls wore them about 1908 (in my opinion for Maria Pavlovna's weding)...
You can see them her with these dresses:

[Martyn]

It is a little hard to tell the colour from these photos but it looks like the kokoshnik matches the dress in colour ( I know that the kokoshnik is supposed to pink and the dress ivory or cream).  
What is the fabric of the dress - is it silk moire (watered silk)?

[Lisa]

Which one, Martyn? The 1913 or 1908 dresses?

[ChristineM]

I have seen the dresses in Lisa's photographs.   The fabric is difficult to describe.   It is not moire.   It could be a silk organza or silver tissue with a lining fabric.   The colour is much as seen in Lisa's pictures - silver with perhaps the slightest hint of pink.

I have not seen the kokoshnik above.   It has been restored.   The ones I refer to earlier are in poor condition.   They are pale rose pink silk grosgrain or moire.   They certainly would not match the dress above.  

tsaria

[ChristineM]

Sorry, I omitted - judging from the sizes of the dresses, one of which is shown above - I would say these date from 1913.   The other kokshniki to which I have referred are earlier.   The smallest one is tiny.

tsaria

[Martyn]

I was asking about the dresses in the photos that Merrique has very kindly posted, which I assume are the 1908 dresses and which look to be very palest pink ;the effect does look like silk moire.
The later dresses belonging to Olga and Tatiana look like they are made from duchesse satin.

[nerdycool]

The pictures Merrique posted are the 1908 dresses. There are very different stylings between the 1908 and the Tercentenary dresses. The one that I notice right off is the belt/sash with the 1908. In the pictures of Olga and Tatiana, there is no belt there, instead, it's very fitted and one can tell that the wearer is wearing a corset. The second is the trim of the 1908... it's much more apparent because it was done in a different color than the dress, as where the Tercentenary dresses' trim is the same color as the actual dress (cream), with only slight pink details.

Anyway, it's a shame about the kokoshniks' state of repair. It would be great if they could restore them for when the dresses go on display.