Tsarist splendour: The emperor's old clothes

Gorgeous male finery from Russia on display in London EVEN the socks are sumptuous. The white silk stockings Peter II wore to his coronation in 1728 are richly embroidered with shimmering silver-gilt thread. Two lustrous brocade dressing gowns also belonged to Peter, who was crowned emperor of Russia when he was 12 and was dead two years later. Just about everything in “Magnificence of the Tsars”—which concentrates on, but is not confined to, the coronation attire of Russia’s emperors—is fabulous, including such accessories as a pocket-sized jewelled telescope and a diamond-encrusted gunpowder flask. The very first exhibit is particularly opulent: a costume made for Nicholas II to wear at a 1903 fancy-dress ball has deep cuffs heavy with fat pearls. Its sable-rimmed hat is decorated with spectacular 17th-century ruby, emerald and diamond jewels. But the exhibition is more than a delectable tour of extravagant garments. Fashion, it quickly becomes clear, had a ... (link)