SHOWCASE 45. SECULAR DRESS IN RUSSIA OF THE 18TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURY

The showcase presents coronation dresses of Russian Empresses, full uniforms and coronation mantles of Emperors, the wardrobe of Peter II, masquerade costumes of Catherine I and Nicholas II and various accessories, i.e. fans, lorgnettes, snuffboxes, watches, swords and walking sticks. The collection reveals both noteworthy aspects of Russian history as well as the development of secular dress in Russia in the 18th-19th centuries.

Until the beginning of the 18th century, the Russian people wore a national costume. In 1700-1701 Peter the Great issued an edict to replace traditional Russian dress by fashionable European clothing. Long Russian garments gave place to short kaftans and camisoles. In addition to them, a male dress of the first half of the 18th century consisted of breeches and a shirt trimmed with lace, as well as stockings, shoes, hat and other accessories. The kaftans of Tsar Peter II were made in French fashion at the beginning of the 18th century. Executed of velvet, brocade and wool, they were richly trimmed with gold and silver threads and lace.

Women had to give up their plain dresses (sarafan) and sleeveless jackets, which concealed the forms of the body and replace them by dresses with very low necklines and short sleeves. European dress required a variety of coiffures and therefore traditional headdresses under which women hid their hair were no longer used. Having previously led a secluded life at home, women now received the right to attend various celebrations, parades and so-called assemblies (a new type of meeting introduced by Peter the Great with food and dancing). Two coronation dresses on display, which belonged to Russian Empresses Catherine I and Anna, were made in the style fashionable in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century. The dresses have a close-fitting bodice, typical of female dress throughout the whole 18th century, a low-cut neckline, very small short sleeves and a wide bell-shaped skirt. In order to produce this bell shape, whalebone hoops were sewn into the underskirt. This type of skirt remained in fashion until the 1760s and was known as a pannier skirt.

 In the mid-18th century, the cut of dresses followed the extravagant lines of rococo—the predominant style of that period. Narrow shoulders, tiny waist and a skirt that flared out on whalebone farthingales were in fashion then. Farthingales were up to 1,5 metres wide and the edges were as much as five metres in circumference. Three dresses with farthingales are represented in the showcase.

Ceremonial dress of the early 19th century reflected the renewed interest in history and national traditions. Official dresses now had long sleeves resembling those in the 17th century. They were still made of silver brocade, which was the privilege of the imperial family only, of heavy silk or satin. The coronation dresses of 1856 and 1896 reveal the rules of the official dress. The renewal of interest in Old Russia affected the ornament as well. The coronation dress (1896) of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna is embroidered with silver faceted threads and thousands of small pearls. From the 18th century, the emperor’s official ceremonial dress was the uniform of the Preobrazhenskv Life Guards. A coronation mantle of gold or silver-gilt brocade trimmed with ermine was an essential part of the coronation attire. The example is the coronation mantle of 1896 displayed in the showcase.