Dress Codes of Historic Court Fashion

Dress codes can tell us so much about historic court fashion and the rules and regulations of royal clothing. But they can also relate to the way we think about, and express who we are today, as much as in the past.

To celebrate the opening of our new exhibition at Kensington Palace, Caterina Berni speaks to Curator Matthew Story and bespoke period tailor Zack Pinsent of Pinsent Tailoring; to explore the Dress Codes we follow every single day.

Decode the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection in our Dress Codes exhibition at Kensington Palace.

See the Royal Wardrobe and items from the exhibition up close in our online collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.

See the garments discussed in this episode:

18th century court suit with silver thread

1920s Court Dress

Vivienne Westwood’s Investiture dress

Mourning Dress with white and mauve flowers.

Japanese Diplomatic Court Suit

Gold Wedding Dress

Duke of Windsor’s Tartan suit

Fancy Dress gown worn gown worn to Queen Victoria’s costume ball