Pristine, pure, powerful, peaceful: the meanings of white are many and various. It should occasion no surprise, then, that dressing in white (and its opposite, black) have long been a popular theme in costumed entertainments. Tracing the history of this colour through clothing, Lucy and Ben discuss some of the more intriguing uses of white in dressing up, from the seventeenth-century royal masque to Donald Trump’s recent, regrettable UK State Visit.

 

Links

• Accompanying images can be viewed at @dressfancypodcast
• Queen Charlotte’s Ball: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Charlotte%27s_Ball;https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6147297/Young-debutantes-charming-display-annual-Queen-Charlottes-Ball.html
• Debutantes in 1957: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25PxVHSdRh4
• Fiona McCartney, Last Curtsey (2007): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Curtsey-Fiona-MacCarthy/dp/0571228607
• ‘Diner en blanc’: www.dinerenblanc.com; https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2017/06/22/diner-en-blanc-2017-how-to-participate-in-the-most-secret-and-chic-dinner-in-white/
• The White Ball, Holland Park (1969):Nick Foulkes, Bals: Legendary Balls of the Twentieth Century  (2011).
• Getting White Tie right: https://www.debretts.com/expertise/etiquette/dress-codes/white-tie-dress-code/; https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/white-tie-dress-code...
• Unlike Trump…https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/a27718121/donald-trump-white-tie-uk-state-visit/
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/07/maam-darling-craig-brown-review-julian-barnes