(This author is modest about the level of accuracy in the descriptions given.)
It [the book] does not purport to be an authority in the matter of costume, for, as a rule, the historical dresses worn on such occasions are lamentably incorrect. Mary Stuart appears in powder; Louis XIV. wears a beard; and Berengaria distended drapery. No one would probably view the national costumes with more curiosity than the peasantry they are intended to portray, although certain broad characteristics of the several countries are maintained by Fancy Ball-goers.
Source: Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
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