After I saw those Dior photos and the video in the Hall of Mirros (see previous post: a reblog) I remembered a photo I’d seen a few years back in Caroline Weber’s book Queen of Fashion.  I highly recommend you read this book, even if you thing you know everything–and you don’t cos none of us do. Weber puts a spin on how the Queen Consort of France’s dress wasn’t merely frivolous, but also political, philosophical and a mode of self-assertion.

But enough of that. This dress, coif adorned with pearls and feathers, and bejewelled shoes were all the creation of designer John Galliano. Beyond its eye-bulging sumptuousness, Galliano worked the fate of Marie Antoinette right into the fabric of the gown. One hip panel depicts Marie Antoinette frockling at Petit Trianon and the Petit Hameau, in flights of fancy pretending to be a shepardess or a milkmaid. The opposite hip panel shows the fallen Queen dressed in tatters, as she makes her way to the guillotine.