All posts tagged: La Belle Otero

Notes on a Perfect Victorian Figure

Published by The Dreamstress

I describe Julia as having a perfect Victorian figure. And I also describe Lillie Langtry II as having a perfect Victorian figure. Clearly Julia and Lillie don’t have the same figure. Julia has the perfect Victorian figure in the minds of fashion designers of the era: tall, slim, softly curved, small of waist and round of bosom without being voluptuous.  Her figure could be the model for every woman ever drawn in a fashion plate between 1870 and 1890. Lillie II, on the other hand, has the figure of Lillie Langtry and La Belle Otero, the figure that every (well, most) Victorian men ermmm…idealised (well, you know what I mean!).  Tiny waists, full hips and bosom, and petite enough to still be pickupable. I guess some things don’t change.  What fashion dictates and what men desire from a woman’s body is rarely the same thing.  I guess we should just love what we have and ignore the rest!

Rate the Dress: La Belle Otero

Published by The Dreamstress

Poor James! Not only is his rather decent go at being a king completely overshadowed by the queen who preceded him, but you, dear readers, declared that he ruled over the most unflattering period in men’s fashion…ever. With that said, you didn’t think that James’ own outfit was as bad as it could have been, considering the period, though most of you noticed his distinctly scrawny legs. James rated a 4 out of 10. This week, let’s look at something that doesn’t show any leg…just everything else. You didn’t like Garbo’s take on Mata Hari, but a few of you mentioned that Mata Hari’s own costumes were rather attractive. It turns out that they weren’t particularly original though. Actress and courtesan La Belle Otero was photographed in her own exotic eastern dancer attire in 1905. Unlike Mata Hari, La Belle wasn’t trying to hide her lack of bosom with her costume, as she was said to have the most famous pair in the world. What do you think? Is 1905 pseudo-Oriental exoticism better than the …