History of Women in 100 Objects: Lady Curzon's Peacock Dress

At the centre of the Delhi Durbar (1902 1903) to mark Edward V11 coronation as King and Emperor of India was the Coronation Ball with 4,000 guests. When Lady Curzon, wife of the Viceroy of India, entered she was spectacular and beautiful figure, almost six feet tall wearing elaborate and expensive dress designed to accentuate this and signify Britain’s imperial greatness. It was reported that there was an audible gasp as she entered the room.

[@captainstark5496]

Bernadette banner brought me here

[@JojoJojo-bd6dz]

ok..

[@sweettooth7089]

Captain stark same here

[@irEyERWO]

Hello fellow ARMY and Bernadette Banner fan!

[@TiinkerBells]

@@irEyERWO Yesss we're everywhere.

[@AkemiNishikido]

Can't wait until Cathy Hay finishes her project! Bernadette teased us too much

[@countrygirlcurves]

And not a single mention of Cathy Hay..... disappointing

[@louisacapell]

Shes just one woman. I like her too, but, come on, it's been 10 years. It's a lovely beautiful sumptuous dress, but it isnt a phenomenon. It's a very expensive worth, yes, but indian workers embroidered a bunch of fabric, sent it to worth who used one of his quick, tested pattern options to sew it into a dress. It's not like there arent other similar works . Kathy hay does great reproduction hand work... but this dress isnt a 10 year project guys. Many people have recreated worth dresses.

[@VintageBeauty1313]

countrygirlcurves it is really disappointing! She did so much research, and yes it’s been 10 years, but all of the research she’s done in that 10 years! Ugh! It’s almost not fair!

[@louisacapell]

@@VintageBeauty1313 guys, she hasnt been "researching" for 10 years. She just bailed on the project. That's straight from her mouth. Lots of people have done lots of research on lots of worth dresses.

[@Familylawgroup]

Vintage Beauty she has reignited the work with Bernadette and the selection of an embroidery vendor.

[@Truth1561]

@@louisacapell I think you have completely missed the historical impact of this dress. I’m glad Cathy is going to use it as a tool to ignite a discussion about imperialism .

[@bluedragontwo]

The speaker obviously has limited knowledge of this dress. There are no emeralds in the peacock feather, they are actually green beetle wings. They'd have done better had they got Cathy Hay to talk about the dress.

[@PaulSmith-pf2uq]

There might have been emeralds at the beginning, that got replaced soon afterwards, to be used on another dress or jewellery. 'Old money' never threw away anything.

[@bluedragontwo]

@@PaulSmith-pf2uq Sorry but, no there weren't. This dress is very well documented and there were never, ever any emeralds installed on this piece.

[@karenax254]

@@bluedragontwo. Wouldn't the beetle wings have cracked with movements of the wearer, or were they treated with something. Best wishes

[@bluedragontwo]

@@karenax254 The sternocera aequisignata wings are actually very resilient and will far outlast the fabric onto which they are sewn. There are hundreds of examples of 17th and 18th century beetle wing embroidery on display at museums but imo the best are at the V&A. Cheers!

[@karenax254]

@@bluedragontwo. Thank you for the information.

[@colemarie9262]

Lady Curzon was American, as noted below, and there are NO emralds on this incredible dress- they are beetle wings, also as noted below. The entire skirt portion is detailed embroidery made to look like jewels, not filled with jewels. It really is an incredible achievement by the Indian artisans...... who are also left out of the video. Come on, this is a channel with published, buyable works. Do better.

[@jules2291]

Let's not forget cathy hay who gets no significant mention here .

[@Jude74]

It’s not a statement of her husband’s wealth, rather it’s a statement of his father-in-laws wealth. That dress was financed by the Marshall Field’s fortune. Mary Leiter’s father was a partner of Marshall Field. When she wore that dress she was on the front page of the Chicago Tribune, it was immediately tied back to Marshall Fields and made an impact in the US, Chicago and Washington in particular.

[@julied.8277]

Those who decry Cathy Hay's work on this garment have obviously not read or watched anything on the subject. Her research and work is so valuable to the museum they put a small sample of it in the case to show what it would have looked like originally. The cost of recreating it is at least $10k at this point. And if she did it all herself it would take 30 years.Even Worth couldn't do the embroidery in Frannce. So unless you can do better please keep the derogatory language in check.

[@PaulSmith-pf2uq]

Worth could do the embroidery in France, very well. He was using the House of Lesage for beading and embroidery. We don't know the deadlines and what were the demands of Mrs Curzon. Perhaps the beading in India was symbolic.

[@hgfjyrdetryu]

The issue isn't that Cathy Hay is making the dress. The issue is her predatory business practices. She willingly turned down Maayankraj Singh by ghosting him, a major Indian designer working with tons of multigenerational embroiders, and instead opted to outsource to underpaid factory workers. There have also been reports of disregarding the wellbeing of workers and working them to the point of crying, except nothing more can be said about it because they are under a sketchy NDA. She's been sending emotionally manipulative emails to her Foundations Revealed supporters, constantly asking for money and threatening that she is 'out of time'.

[@user-fz4cu1np8r]

INDIAN EMBROIDERY IS EXCELLENT ❤ Indian have an EXCELLENT taste n work..

[@Moonfaye1]

There were no emeralds on the dress, the small green pieces are beetle wings. I was interested in the series until I heard her say that... I'm looking for accurate information.

[@pamelahicks517]

Breathtaking dress and celebration, but deplorable and inexcusable conditions for the native people.

[@Chantlaura11]

Which pre-date the British by centuries. The Brits (who were not unflawed, please understand me -- terrible snobs and all that) did a lot to eradicate much of the barbarism of the subcontinent, such as the suttee. But the Indian caste system was a deeply entrenched part of Indian culture and not easy to crack. If India were still part of Britain, today, I am not sure they could have done much to better the untouchables' conditions.

[@pamelahicks517]

@@Chantlaura11 Yes, you're right.

[@Fujoshiatheart]

Ok.... before your so called British came to India and it was called Golden Bird...yes with our own caste system... what happened after British attacked India ? They made us slaves... they ruled our own land... looted entire country.. My grandfather was a freedom fighter. Don't talk if you don't know the reality. Caste system indeed a curse to our country but British did nothing to remove it from the society. And yes our forefathers lost their lives for our country..we don't want be the part of any country... keep you happy no caste system we will deal with ours..

[@ATHENA2O12]

am I mistaken in that the Lady was born in the USA? Threads, not feathers, beetle's wing, no emeralds...methinks I'll not watch this site again...makes women appear not very thorough

[@rachealsylvester8084]

I want to know who thought that font on the book cover was a good idea and who approved it. I'm also sad to see they didn't do the research to know that the 'jewels' are beetle wings. It is one of the many ways that this dress is so spectacular and should be noted.

[@kaylam9862]

I’m confused about what the font comment means

[@MicaRayan]

One of the most beautiful dress in the modern era

[@Annie1962]

subject is dress, vast majority is showing commentator

[@denisegore1884]

Just what I was going to write. We came to see the dress, not hear some woman bang on about British history in India.

[@NotFckingBen]

@@denisegore1884 exactly, talk about bias huh!!

[@loretta_3843]

"powerful people they are today"? Powerful people they always have been!

[@pedinurse1]

Can I just say that Indian women in America make special trips to Indian to purchase their multiple dresses for their weddings because they are cheaper there. I know this from Indian friends who take a month off from work to buy their 21 dresses for their wedding. So are we really doing better now, get my point???

[@lisafeistritzer1988]

I recently read that the green at the center of the feathers is not emeralds, but rather some type of iridescent beetle.

[@HBADGERBRAD]

The green is not emeralds- they are in fact beetle wings.

[@akarpowicz]

Really barely talked about the dress/

[@Chantlaura11]

Yeah, more interested in castigating the British Imperialism and blaming them for things that predated them by centuries, wasn't she?

[@YT4Me57]

The dress comes with a history of celebrating British imperialism; it was specifically created for that purpose. I would say that it did a great job, since it is still sparking discussions over 100 years later.

[@PaulSmith-pf2uq]

10 pounds (4.5 kilos approx.) is not that heavy. Going around sparkling like a disco-ball would have given her wings! What were the temperatures over there in January is more worrying.

[@bluedragontwo]

10 pounds for the dress and another 10 for support garments

[@alison__16]

Came here from Cathy Hay. Very disappointed that the so called expert on this dress knew so little about it. And when she did talk about the actual dress, and not Britain's political past, her facts were wrong. What a letdown ☹️

[@dcinrb8538]

Cathy Hay

[@smite-ism9134]

"british value india" **smirks** more like value the resources

[@Devils-advocate78]

its a beautiful dress but i dont see peacock feathers. why is it brown?

[@suefraser3611]

The dress is about 115 years old - it has yellowed with age. Check out Cathy Hay's KZbin channel - she has made some samples of how it would have looked as she has set herself the task of recreating the dress. The beaded peacock feathers she has made are spectacular.

[@Devils-advocate78]

@@suefraser3611 cheers sue i will check it out

[@andrathiele2638]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXqsgX-NhdaSZ9U

[@shammydammy2610]

Much of the dress is embroidered in sterling silver shot thread. It has tarnished.

[@NotFckingBen]

Because there are no feathers, but there are threads :)

[@madnessintomagic]

10lbs? More like 50lbs I’d venture.

[@HBADGERBRAD]

aignaciodc it’s gold and silver thread not glass beads. Much lighter as it was designed to be worn for hours.

[@LaineyBug2020]

A more in depth history of the dress itself: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oH6qqpmhq75jbMk

[@af3893]

I wonder who profited from the sale of that dress? Worths? Or the embroiders? The dreamer in me would love to think she had good intentions. She didn’t get a say in the politics or policies. Only the men folk could do that.

[@nicolakunz231]

It's just an Advert!

[@thehappyflapper]

I'm sure this dress was beautiful in it's glory day but I don't think it's the most beautiful dress. Sorry Cathy Hay.

[@srikanth007spl]

Ofcourse when you exploit a whole country by making it your colony you can afford such a lavish dress. This dress when juxtaposed with the several famines that British Raj exacerbated, oppressive taxation and racism gives you the full picture of British Imperialism did to India.

[@Chantlaura11]

How's the Indian caste system working for India in the 21st century? the reinstitution of the suttee? The Brits might sometimes be insufferable snobs, but they brought a lot of good to the country that India has been throwing to the four winds, recently.

[@bluedragontwo]

The lady in question had only been there a few months and was an American heiress, please brush up on your history before you speak.

[@bluedragontwo]

@Saumya Gairola ALL countries pay for their government in one way or another eventually. The riches of early America and dozens of other countries were similarly spent. Had you read my comment yow would know I was speaking specifically about the woman in painting and the dress she is wearing.

[@bluedragontwo]

@Saumya Gairola The United States was also a British colony, who also fought and won independence, but please continue to display your ignorance for the world to see.

[@bluedragontwo]

@Saumya Gairola I find it quite distasteful that you and the op have taken what was and IS a marvelous display of Indian craftsmanship and turned it into politics. Shame on you.

[@illusionary5951]

what a load of crap

[@scarletpimpernelagain9124]

Illusionary Oh look , the first incel/MGTOW has turned up to be vile about women as usual. Eff off you little prick (but then that’s really the problem isn’t it darling).

[@rathivenkatesh1911]

@@scarletpimpernelagain9124 Orrrr, maybe it's the fact that while so much hype surrounds the dress, Indians were slaves under their rule during that time period.

[@Chantlaura11]

The embroidery for the peacock dress was done by Indian artisans -- And no mention of how the caste system operated pre-Empire? or how the British Empire, despite its inherent snobbery and excesses actually was combatting many of the more barbaric customs of the subcontinent? such as the suttee? Condemning the Viceroy for issues that predated him by centuries is rather pushing a particularly unpleasant anti-Western attitude rather than revealing history. So disappointing.

[@me-mx1hb]

i agree

[@10AntsTapDancing]

Commentary sounded very anti western Marxist lefty feminist propaganda to me. The famine and poverty was there before the British arrived. The commentator forgets that the people involved in putting on that big party made money or provided employment to craftsmen and women. Yes, very disappointing.

[@dorothysay8327]

Her moralizing at the end? Unwelcome. History is history. Stop pretending it’s a morality tale for you to misread and exploit.