An Asian wearing a European royal court style dress, a fresh style?
Background story of Photo
Experiencing what it's like to be Empress "Sisi" of Austria for the first time^^
You must wonder what it's like for a Chinese girl to wear a European classical royal dress?
Sisi wore this style dress called the Crinoline which was popular in the mid 19th century. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria fell in love and married Sisi leading to her becoming the Empress of Austria.
The dress i'm wearing is a floral lace trim Crinoline dress. Overall, the colour leans on the greener side. The first time I saw this dress, it gave me a sense of innocence as well as clean, natural looking. My favourite part of it is how it combines the Bateau neckline with a V-Neck, wearing it you feel vivacious and full of attitude.
Wearing the Crown
I tie my hair up to put on the crown and find that it's quite heavy, it is after all an emblem of high rank. There is a saying, "To wear a crown, you must be able to bear the weight of the crown first". Nowadays, the saying means being an Emperor with power and status, you must bear great responsibility. Even though it was uncomfortable and very heavy, I thought that for the sake of the photo I should persevere a little longer, at least until a good photo was taken.
Fastening the Corset
Sisi was known for her extremely small waist through the practice of tight-lacing. Throughout her life, she was able to maintain a waist measurement of around 50cm (19inches) and was at the time a muse to many women around the world.
Throughout history, women have used corsets to shape their bodies often to extremities, the idea was to flatten the bust, and narrow the waist making a reverse cone shape that accentuates the hour glass figures that are so desirable.
Although in history, Corsets have been worn at the detriment of the woman's health, I was lucky to only experience a fraction of their pain. After fastening the corset, I already felt as if my breathing ability was reduced by 1/3rd, after 10 minutes I began feeling some discomfort in my midsection. It wasn't unbearable pain but it definitely gave me a lasting impression of what Empress Sisi had to go through every single day.
A smile with mystery
I call the gesture in my photo, "A Smile with Mystery". Even though the corset was uncomfortable, I tried to ignore that discomfort and focus on my expression. I use my hand to gently prop up my chin like i'm thinking about something which makes me smile. In my head, I'm trying to appreciate what it means to be an Empress in Europe. This dress in their eyes would be a symbol of their honour and status.
I like this picture because of it's colour. It embodies innocence, and youth. The background is a deep green colour associated with royal families and contrasts nicely with the floral lace trim Crinoline dress.
照片背后我的想法 第一次体会茜茜公主的感受
你一定会好奇，作为一个亚洲女孩，穿上欧洲传统宫廷服饰是什么感觉？
茜茜公主正是穿着这种克里诺林裙，被弗兰茨选为未来的奥地利皇后。
而我身上这件是碎花布加蕾丝镶边的克里诺林裙。整体的颜色上看，是绿色色系的，第一次看见这件衣服，它给我一种纯真清新自然的感觉，我特别喜欢克里诺林裙带有弧度的一字领和V字领的混合，它给人活泼又非常有性格的印象。
戴上皇冠
将头发盘起来，戴上皇冠的时候，就觉得皇冠有一些沉甸甸的，这毕竟是荣华富贵的象征。记得有一句话就在讲，如果想要带上王冠， 就需要承受它的重量！ 后来比喻为要想做到有王一样的权利和地位，就必须承担起更多的责任。所以当时我心里就想，还好只是为了拍照戴一下而已。
系上束腰
茜茜以纤腰闻名于世，她喜欢强力束腰，腰围终生保持在令人瞠目的50厘米。其实那个年代的女人都痴迷于此。但是系紧束腰的时候，我真的倒吸一口气，助手帮我系到非常紧，紧到没有足够的力气呼吸。没有骗你们，在之后拍摄的时间，呼吸到的空气是正常的1/3，10分钟之后，我的肋骨和胃部感觉到了疼痛，那感觉算不上剧痛，但是是难以忍受的，我一辈子也不会忘记那种快要窒息的勒紧。。。
神秘的微笑
我把自己在这张照片里的动作语言命名为神秘的微笑，虽然束腰勒紧了我的身体，非常的难受，但是为了拍摄，我努力让自己忘记疼痛，体会摄影时所需要我表达的东西。我用手轻轻托着下巴，带着思考和享受的微笑，我尽量让自己的内心体会一个欧洲女王的想法，这一身衣服对于他们来说是一种权利和荣耀的象征。最终我是喜欢这张照片的整体配色的，充满青春气息的碎花布裙与背景布皇室绿的撞击，确实有一种Vogue杂志里华丽复古风的印象。
If you are interested in my other blogs related to Fashion please check out these other blogs below ^^
Girl in Dark Shadow.
A magical fairy in the Land of Oz.
Blue is 3 degree's below Zero..
