Dressing Up On Holiday: Versailles

Greetings bloglets – sincerest apologies for my lengthy absence! I have now officially left La France and am back in Blighty for good (or for bad – you decide!) I said goodbye to Paris in a rather special way that I plan on sharing with you all in due course, but first I thought I’d do my second “Dressing up on Holiday (in France)” post.

As you may recall, I escaped the city a couple of weeks ago to go join my family for a mini-holiday near Paris. On my last day with them we visited one of the most splendid places ever to be produced by this (or rather, that) glorious country: the Palace of Versailles.

The town of Versailles acts as a wealthy suburb of Paris, about 20 km from the capital. The palace there was the centre of power from 1682 until the French Revolution in 1789 and is seen as the ultimate symbol of the ancien regime and the French absolute monarchy. The building itself began life as a hunting lodge for Louis III, but was expanded into one of the largest palaces in the world by Louis XIV. This was where the royal family and court lived until 1789 when they were moved to the Palais de Tuileries (which no longer exists) in Paris.

After this, all of the furniture from Versailles was sold (I know, it breaks my heart too!) and the palace itself only survived because the Convention decided to keep it for the “public good”. The building then became a museum for all of the artworks the Revolutionaries had taken from princely homes and churches.

In its heyday, however, courtiers were forever vying for rooms in the palace for themselves and their families. Indeed, some historians have said it was more like a giant apartment block than a palace, perhaps even a hotel – since keys to each room had to be left when the lodging was vacated. Not a very good hotel though- they didn't even have toilets until 1768! The glitz and glamour of the 18^th century, eh?

One of the most famous rooms in the palace – and perhaps in the world – is the Hall of Mirrors, construction on which was started in 1678. In a century where mirrors were extortionately expensive, this room acted as an indisputable reflection (heh) of the grandeur and magnificence of the Sun King’s reign. It was in this room that Louis XV met Madame de Pompadour – at a masked ball celebrating his son’s marriage. She was dressed as the hunting goddess Diana, he was dressed as a Yew Tree. Not an option that ever occurred to me at Halloween but one I will very much consider this year. Even I would dress like a tree if I could meet Mme de P – quelle babe.

One of the other two palaces on the grounds at Versailles – the Petit Trianon – was built for Madame de Pompadour, though sadly she died before it was finished. Instead it became the safe pseudo-rural haven of Marie-Antoinette who would come to escape the pressures of court or to play in the fake hamlet she had built nearby. The Grand Trianon (the second Palace on the grounds) provided another escape from court, this time for Louis XIV and his mistress. Parts of it were also used in the promotional video for Dior’s latest campaign. 

For this shoot, I took inspiration from Chanel’s 2013 Resortcollection – which was also Versailles-inspired.  I stuck to a similar colour scheme of red, white and purple and used my beloved net petticoat to form faux panniers (or, at least, I tried to). I went with BIG jewellery and trainers to give it a bit of an edge – though obviously, Chanel’s gold flatforms would have been better...

Dress - H+M
Petticoat - Lindy Bop
Fake Vans - New Look
Necklace and Earrings - H+M
Sunglasses - H+M

As a tourist attraction, Versailles is stunning and, once you’ve gotten in, really rather well-maintained. But therein lies the rub... When we arrived, the first thing we saw was almost enough to put us off completely: the entire front courtyard was full of a HUGE snaking queue which some were saying they’d been standing in for upwards of two hours. Super. In fact, this was just the queue to get in, after you’d gone through the whole queue for tickets! SO – advice: 1) palace is closed on Monday, we went on a Tuesday and it was extra-busy – go later in the week; 2) book tickets in advance to avoid at least one queue; 3) get there early. Like, EARLY early. We arrived at about 11 and the queues were already insane. Otherwise, would highly recommend this gem. See you soon!