A pair of splendid ceremonial gowns worn in 1913 by the grand duchesses Olga and Tatiana, eldest daughters of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra. The dresses were made in St Petersburgh in the workshop of Bulbenkova and were to be worn at the official event for the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov. The dresses are made from white satin with gold and pink velvet decoration and are designed to be worn with traditional pink velvet halo like head dresses called ‘kokoshnik’. The Empress loved to dress her eldest daughters, known as ‘The Big Two’ in matching clothes. These photographs shows the two grand duchesses wearing their gowns. The 1913 celebrations in Russia were to be among the last opulent state occasions that the Romanov family presided over before the outbreak of World War I and the Revolution that was to engulf them.
(via romanovconfessions)
