(A marvel of Victorian engineering, the Suez Canal opened in 1869 and affected both trade patterns and politics, with the resultant ease of access for Europeans to parts of Africa enabling a new wave of colonization efforts during the 1880s. Apparently its impact was such that even a decade after its opening it inspired a fancy dress costume design!)
The description is identical across three editions of the same manual:
Long flowing robe of cloth-of-gold, with waves of blue satin bordered with pearls, underskirt of red satin embroidered in Egyptian designs. A gold key at the girdle; Egyptian head-dress of pearls, turquoise, and diamonds; girdle of roses and lilies.
Sources:
Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 2nd Edition, Illustrated. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1880.
Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, 5th Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1887.
Holt, Ardern. Fancy Dresses Described, Sixth Edition. London: Debenham & Freebody, 1896.
The 1896 edition of Holt may be found online at the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.
I'm slightly disappointed that this is not so much a representation but more a costume with plenty of Suez related colours and themes. I still like the idea though.
Posted by: Neil W | September 3, 2011 at 05:22 AM
Yeah, I kind of like this one myself. And I still need an idea for next year's fancy dress ball...
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 25, 2011 at 12:48 PM