Hi. Once I read a letter from GD Maria Nikolaevna (I think it was her, but in this case it doesnt really matter which sister it was) to her mother Empress Alexandra and in it she asks how old she was when she started wearing long dresses. What does she mean? I have seen many photos of the family and all dresses look long to me. Are we talking about a few cm difference in length? Were there other differences between a young female teenager's clothing and that of an older one?
Apparently, you are talking about this letter (May 17, 1910), which fourteen-year-old Olga most likely asked ten-year-old Maria to write:
My dear Mama!How are you feeling. I wanted to tell you that Olga would very much like to have her own room at Peterhof, because she and Tatiana have too many things and too little room. Mama at what age did you have your own room? Please tell me if it’s possible to arrange. Mama at what age did you start wearing long dresses? Don’t you think Olga would like to let down her dresses. Mama why don’t you move them both or just Olga. I think they would be comfortable where you slept when Anastasia had diphtheria.
I kiss you.
Maria
P.S. It was my idea to write to you.
Four-year-old girls could wear dresses just below the knee, from the age of 12 they wore mid-calf length dresses, girls of 16 wore dresses to the arch of their foot.
I have seen many photos of the family and all dresses look long to me. Are we talking about a few cm difference in length? Were there other differences between a young female teenager's clothing and that of an older one?
You can compare the dresses of Olga(16 years old) and Tatiana(14 years old) in photographs from the celebration of Olga's 16th birthday at Livadia (1911).
Source: Helen Rappaport, The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra, 2014.
