Philotes, Goddess of Friendship & Affection (philotes) wrote in history_dot_com, @ 2013-01-09 15:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | ~peitho, ~philotes |
Le Bon Ton [Almack's, London, May 1814] (tag: Peitho)
There were so many rules. There were rules about what you could wear at certain times of the day. There were rules about what you may eat depending on what you were wearing at certain times of the day. There were rules about what order you could walk into a dining room to eat certain things depending on what you were wearing at certain times of the day. And so on and so on and so on. One rule led to another, led to another, led to a dozen. It was ridiculous.
And it was all based on class. All the rules were designed to keep people in their proper place, and it was based on something as arbitrary as where and when and to whom they were born. Philotes had never ever been a fan of class designations, and though she was sure that those that surrounded her in the ballroom would like to think they were superior to the generations that came before, the truth was in some ways they were worse. At least the Roman slaves had a chance to earn their way into the next class if they worked hard enough and bought their freedom. Here, a child born to a scullery maid was lucky if they could get a similar job when they were old enough to work.
None of which would have even occurred to the cream of London society that had gathered here tonight to dance and be seen. For the young women, and a good portion of the young men, this was an opportunity to make the right connections and find a marriage partner. Out of the many acceptable qualities they were looking for, though, love was not among them. Love was for the lower classes, not those of breeding. A family that had naught but daughters could only hope to make good, meaning advantageous, marriages for them in order to provide for the girls since women could not inherit. A young man whose family had fallen on hard times would be lucky to find a young lady from a wealthy family, as then the estate could be entailed to the heirs and he could control the family fortune until the child came of age. It was all about money, about social standing, about clawing up to the next rung on the ladder.
Somehow, knowing all of that made the spectacle in front of her a good deal less appealing. Still very pretty though. Lottie couldn't deny that the dresses on display were very lovely. They were so much simpler than those that would have been seen at a like gathering fifty years earlier. No wide skirts, no poofy sleeves, and quite thankfully, no towering white wigs. These dresses reminded Friendship a great deal of those once worn by Roman women of a high class. Not exactly, of course, but the silhouettes were very similar, and the hairstyles almost identical. It was the first time in centuries that she'd felt remotely comfortable in the clothing styles of that particular period.
And the men looked much more comfortable too. They'd also been able to abandon the powdered wigs, as well as the false beauty marks, the frilly lace shirts and the high-heeled shoes. The cuts of the jackets were now emphasizing the broadness of shoulders and narrowness of waists, though Lottie was certain some of those shoulders were actually padded. Not everyone was naturally graced with a wrestler's build. At least the colors had gotten a bit more masculine as well. More greys and blacks, fewer pastels. Those were reserved for young, unmarried misses and their gowns.
She was trying to enjoy her evening, because she knew that Peitho was having a fun time. But when she'd gone to get a glass of ratafia, Lottie had been cornered by Lady Jersey and Mrs. Drummond Burrell and questioned her about her “people” and suggested that they had not given her a voucher. Not having a voucher would get a person expelled from Almack's, and for a mortal in this time period, it was almost like being excommunicated from society in general. Philotes wasn't as worried about that as she was about ruining her friend's night before it had even begun. Fortunately, a few smiles and a bit of her personal energies won the patronesses over and Lottie was deemed not a diamond of the first water, but at least an original. Which promised some interesting introductions later in the evening.
But all of the rules... it was almost as bad as having to wear a corset.