Bal Costumé of 1845

The ball was held on 7 June 1845 in Buckingham Palace. It was themed on European courts Georgian period. The guests included members of the aristocracy and would number 1,200 in total.^[1]

The theme of the ball was the Georgian period, in particular the 1740s and 1750s, and guests invited were instructed to wear costumes reflecting the period. Among them were members of the court and aristocracy as well as foreign royals and diplomats were instructed to wear the courtly dress of their respective countries at that time.^[2] Unlike the Bal Costumé of 1842, Victoria and Albert did not dress as any historic figure in particular but wore generic courtly dress of the period. With many of the guests wearing powdered faces and powdered wigs which had been popular at the time, which would give the ball the secondary name of Bal Poudré or "powdered ball".^[3]

James Planché, an antiquarian interested in fashion history had published the History of British Dress in 1830. As a costume designer he was frequently consulted by guests of the Bal Costumés aiming for historical accuracies in their dress.^[4] Similarly to the first Bal Costumé three years earlier, it was hoped that the ball would boost the silk industry of Spitalfieds.^[5]

• Devonshire House Ball of 1897
• Costume party
• Bal Costumé of 1842
• Bal Costumé of 1851