Of the many museums I visited in Paris this summer, some famous, others obscure, I particularly enjoyed the morning I spent at the Carnavalet Museum of the History of Paris. At the time they were hosting an exhibit on Napoleon’s Paris, and I thought of my fellow Riskies and our readers when I saw these dresses and accessories worn or carried by the ladies of the imperial court:

Embroidered dress

Sleeve detail

Such a deceptively simple dress, but can you imagine the hours of work that went into that embroidery?

This train is sheer grandeur:

Dress with train

And can you imagine flirting behind a fan like this?

fancy fan

This comb must have sparkled in its day:

Comb

I hope you’ve enjoyed this image-heavy post, and that your autumn is getting off to a great start! I promise to bring more actual text next month, when I won’t be scrambling because my daughter is starting 6th grade over a week behind schedule after a teacher strike.