Romantic 19th century fashion

Ballroom dresses, Victorian tartan dresses made of stiff taffeta silk, velvet, embroidery, stunning seams, sleeves, cuffs and much more. It is a delight to see those wonderful dresses, obviously only meant for the happy few. 

 Tartan dresses favoured by Queen Victoria 

Any seamstress will appreciate the amount of work involved in making them. No wonder they were sometimes changed by just making a new bodice or widening the skirt, the latter in case of pregnancy. They must be too expensive to go to waste.  

 Left: A Maternity Dress, Right: just a beautiful silk dress

Below some details of the intricate shoulders and the embroidered hem

The narrow waists are remarkable and although not very good for a woman’s health, it is a sure way to prevent overeating and obesitas. No operation needed.

 Dresses form Pride and Prejudice against a still of the film as background

 Below: Beautiful embroidery even on simple muslim dresses.

There are dresses from Pride and Prejudice, La Dame aux Camellias, from the adaptation of Eline Vere, the novel by Couperus, from The Portrait of a Lady, the film version of the novel by Henry James, starring Nicole Kidman. She was very lucky to wear such a beautifully made dress, of dark red silk and velvet. Difficult to live in, but stunning none the less. It must have made her feel like a queen. There are intricately laced corsets and bodices, and outfits for fashion conscious dandies.

 The complicated sleeves and hem of one of the dresses in the picture above

 Above and below. Nicole Kidman's dress as worn in The Portrait of a Lady. Especially the back is fascinating.

On display were four original dresses worn by the main female characters in Downton Abbey, made of very delicate and sheer fabrics. Either such mansions and country houses were well heated, or the lady of the manor and her daughters must have suffered from cold. Short sleeves or sleeveless evening dresses, of delicate fabrics, could not have warmed them unless the fires were blazing.

 A picture Cora and her three daughters at Downton, wearing beautiful gowns.

To top it all there was a room with stunning evening dresses of famous contemporary designers, who were all inspired by the luxurious fabrics of the historic dresses.

 Left: Intricate sleeves and fastenings, Right: Two identical ballgowns for twins

  The man is more beautifully dressed than the woman. His dress is reflects his rank and position

Left:The elegant pale green dress of the woman is striking in its seeming simplicity

Right: a few dresses by modern designers , inspired by historic dresses

I went to see this interesting exhibition in the Municipal Museum of The Hague – in itself a museum piece, designed by Berlage - as I had a few hours to spend before Evensong, also in The Hague. The lavishness of the dresses and costumes, the ballroom atmosphere, they all formed quite a contrast with the serene and contemplative mood of this quiet Evensong, mainly chanted except for the anthem. Evensong is a time of reflection, not a time for long sermons, but a time of praise in the ancient words of the liturgy, the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis, the song of Simeon who is ready to leave this world now that he has seen the Saviour. 

Spring, early March

The garden - or back yard - still seems very bare. Today there is glorious sunshine, and the temperature has gone into double figures. Even if that is just for today, it is lovely to be outside. I have been clearing out the garden, cutting back dead plants, collecting dead leaves and rubbish so that any bulbs will be more visible. 

The daffodils are standing high, but not yet in bloom, the buds thickening. They are in the shade of trees and shrubs, so will flower a bit later than the ones lining some of our local roads. 

 But the various crocuses have opened their hearts to the light and the sun. They multiply each year and there is nothing I have to do to achieve that. Nature is sometimes very generous.

 The different variaties of Helleborus are hard to photograph as the bend their flowers towrds the ground.

An unusual picture of a helleborus taken towards the sky. Pot luck really. I could not see what I was doing not having a screen which can be turned.

Although I have had snowdrops in my front garden for a month now, they are not half as spectacular as the drifts of snowdrops in the nearby wood.

Seventy years, another commemoration

Today our church choir, together with a Catholic choir, sang a special ecumenical service in The Hague to commemorate the bombing of the Bezuidenhout, a well-known residential area in The Hague which was bombed by mistake by the British. At least 500 people were killed, 400 were missing and a complete area was destroyed. Also the Anglican Church was destroyed together with three other churches. The bombing of Rotterdam is quite well known, but The Hague and Nijmegen were also badly hit by bombs. Two weekends ago I sang with the ECS choir in Coventry Cathedral, also commemorating the war, namely the bombing of Dresden 70 years ago, in a British town which itself had its heart destroyed by bombs at the beginning of the war. Coventry Cathedral is now a symbol of reconciliation, hope and peace. One of their crosses is the cross of nails, a cross made of huge nails which were found amongst the burnt rafters of the old cathedral after the bombing. That cross is used as a symbol of peace and hope. Many churches share that cross and have a replica. What I did not know is that this church in the “Bezuidenhout” has such a cross, which this morning was passed on to another church in The Hague. Apart from the mayor of The Hague and mayors from neighbouring towns and suburbs, as well as representatives of a protestant, Catholic and our Anglican church in The Hague, the Dean of Coventry Cathedral was also present, leading us in prayers and telling something about the mission of reconciliation of Coventry Cathedral. It was good to speak briefly with him, and a surprise to meet him again after just two weeks and after having him lead the services in Coventry Cathedral where we sang. The Hague and Coventry are not twinned as far as I know, but The Hague has a similar function as Coventry Cathedral, it is a city of justice and peace. The Peace Palace, the International Court of Justice, is not far from this particular church, as well as the International Criminal Court. The latter a permanent tribunal which prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. So there are many links, all born out of war and conflict.

It was a moving service this morning, partly in Dutch, partly in English. Apparently there were people in church who were eyewitnesses of the bombing and had survived, losing dear ones. The church is a modern one, built in the fifties or early sixties, a church I used to go to regularly when I still lived at home. It was packed this morning. One wall in the church was decorated with 500 yellow tulips in remembrance of the 500 people who were killed. It was a privilege to be able to be there and contribute to the ceremony by singing in this amalgamated choir.