It's constantly frustrating that Ella, who is described as having such a lovely jewelry collection and was known to change outfits/jewels midway through a ball, is hardly ever photographed in them. I would love to see more of not only the collection but how she looked in them. She obviously took pride in them (witness the changing) so I don't think she would've been adverse to be photographed in them.
it's much the same with Mariia Pavlovna (the grand duchess Vladimir), don't you think? i mean, she had this fabulous collection of jewelry, but she was always photographed wearing the
same pieces....but gd dss Vladimir, at least, was photographed more often (it would seem). it might simply be due to their respective temperaments -- ie: gd dss Vladimir, while less attractive, was far more self-promoting (in a sense) & Ella was far prettier, and though very aware of her beauty, but was more reserved.
and/or -- both ladies knew where they stood & (to a certain extent) may acted accordingly....meaning: both ladies were vain, but MP the e,
may have felt insecure (re: her looks) & needed "validation"; Ella simply let her looks speak for themselves.
i'm just guessing, though. :-)
.
