The Decatur Daily Review, Illinois, January 7, 1934

You Moomin fans do know that Fancy-Dress Balls are, by definitions, balls where people wear costumes and masks, right? You know that people aren't supposed to wear their ritz or lavish dresses to those things, right? It's just a formal social gathering where they wear costumes and dance. The 90s series wasn't being weird with the costume thing, that's just what those balls entail.

In the comics Moominpappa said he wore a pith helmet to a Fancy-Dress Ball in his youth, do you think he would do that if it was a truly posh, fancy party?

Albumen print of a group of 19th century men dressed in 16th century costume, c. 1890s

John Gielgud, as night, and Gertrude Lawrence, as day, were the two central symbolic figures in the pageant at the Beaux Arts Ball, held at the Hotel Astor, December 4, 1936.

Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images

(via A rare look at daily life in North Korea - Feature Shoot)

these ornate fan covers are apparently a common feature in North Korean households

we as a society should normalize dancing as a social activity again

Hot Take

museums should label 19th-century women’s clothing primarily by formality (except in the case of garments with specific purposes, eg. “cycling costume” or “nightgown”), not by the 10,000 different terms they might be called at the time

my reasoning is that the current hodgepodge of terms, while technically accurate to the period:

1. reinforces the myth that middle- or upper-class women used to always change their dresses many times a day No Matter What, rather than what seems to me the primary-source-supported reality- that they changed situationally, as necessary

2. promotes unnecessary disconnect between the past and the present. we have varying degrees of clothing formality today, just without specific terms for each one. they had garments that could serve for multiple purposes and be dressed up or down with accessories back then. but because we don’t talk about an “afternoon dress” vs. a “ball gown” and they didn’t talk about the dress code for a party being “nice casual” vs. “dressy.” there’s this false idea that our systems of clothing changes/formality are Totally Different. which is really not the case, I think

3. even they couldn’t agree on what to call each individual outfit! I’ve seen fashion plates in magazines where the textual description and the label on the image give the same dress different names

this post brought to you by: Marzi Has Seen Too Many Gowns Labeled “Evening Gown” On Museum Websites Apparently For Their Formality When In Truth They Do Not Have The Single Factor That Usually Made A Dress Strictly For Evening At The Time (namely, revealing more skin about the chest and arms) And Therefore Would Have Stood Just As Well For Formal Daytime Events

Joseph Albert ~ "Eduard Lang, Frl. Clara Lang, Seder, Heinrich Lang / Maskenball von 'Jung-München' 1862 / Der gestiefelte Kater" (Puss in Boots), Februar 1862, Albuminpapier / Münchner Stadtmuseum ~ Sammlung Dietmar Siegert

Joseph Albert ~ "Heinrich Lang / Mask ball, 1862 / Der gestiefelte Kater" (Puss in Boots), February 1862, Albumen print. Münchner Stadtmuseum ~ Sammlung Dietmar Siegert

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Source: twirldresses.com

Frost’s Laws and By-Laws of American Society, S.A. Frost, 1869

Between the puppy dog eyes that Lyse was giving her and all the work Raer (@azure-dragonsinger) put in to alter the dress, Rowan couldn't very well refuse to wear it.

It is essential to me that my 3.5 migration patterns readers understand how insanely horny this story is about to get

1854

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