Chapter 96. Debut, Part VIII
Translator: Khan
Editor: Aelryinth
She began to explain the detailed design to the shop owner.
"Please engrave the name Chartreu on the front. There will be an address under it, and we’ll put the address of the person who will receive this membership card on the back. Please leave it empty for now. I’ll make a list tomorrow and come back."
Julietta left the blacksmith’s shop and caught a passing carriage. Not knowing that Killian’s minions were looking for brick-and-mortar hair in the very center next door, she walked toward the carriage to return to her mansion, with the inward thought of finding an investor to grow the dressing shop.
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A few days later, a light green wagon bearing the emblem of the family of Kiellini appeared on the street of Eloz. People who were passing the street to shop or go to the promised place turned their eyes on the Kiellini wagon.
Each country’s Emperors and high-ranking aristocrats had their own colors, set for each family. High-ranking aristocrats who were given their own colors used them to show off their specialty when they decorated wagons, letters, the cloaks of their knights, stables, and flags. Only the head of the family and the direct line using the family name could ride the wagon in the family’s colors.
Now that the Duke of Kiellini had gone down to Tilia, the light-colored carriage on the street of Eloz meant that the princess of rumors, the immediate line of the family of Kiellini, was riding it. It was only natural that all the aristocrats who enjoyed shopping, dining, or entertainment on Eloz Street were attracted to the sunny green wagon.
The wagon passed through the main street at a slow pace, and stopped in front of a three-story building in the outer area. Those who were very greatly interested in quickly went after the carriage, and they saw slender Lady Iris, a big hat and veil covering her face, getting off the wagon.
People stared at the building Princess Kiellini was clearly in. Soon, rumors began to spread rapidly in the town of Dublin.
"Oh, my God! I can’t recognize you."
With dark green dresses and sets of hats off, Julietta was not the dull, brick-red haired girl that Amelie and Sophie had seen so many times.
The bright blonde hair was loosely tied up with ribbons of the same color as the wrapping dress, and the thin cloth dress that matched the hot weather in July was beautifully wrapped around her slim figure. Sophie breathed a happy sigh at Julietta’s unexpected appearance after always wearing a baggy dress.
"You’ve finally recovered your figure. How sad it was to keep such a pretty child hidden in such a hideous figure."
Amelie also looked at Julietta with satisfaction and spoke up, "It looks good compared to the way it used to be, but why is the color of a girl’s dress who is just blooming so gloomy?"
All the dresses she had bought and worn in a hurry at Bertino were dark in order not to attract attention. The dress she wore today was a neat neck-length design without lace or other decorations, with only one ribbon of the same color as the dress around her neck.
Julietta smiled at grumbling Amelie. "It’s because I prepared my clothes in a hurry."
"By the way, is it okay for Princess Kiellini to go alone like this, without a single maid?"
Julietta replied to Sophie’s concern, "I haven’t been able to find a private maid yet. Vera, a maid of Marquise Raban, takes care of me, but she’s been out a lot these days to follow the Marquise. That’s why I came here alone."
"You have to get a private maid quickly, even if it is inconvenient."
"I’m careful because she has to be someone I can trust," Julietta answered and walked into the studio.
"But Julietta, what the hell is this ugly thing that came to me yesterday?"
A body with only the upper part, a mannequin with no arms and legs that the blacksmith had sent to be checked first stood in the corner of the workroom.
"Oh! It is here. Did you get only one?" Julietta inquired, scrutinizing the scarlet copper body.
"He said he sent it to make sure it was done right. If there’s nothing wrong, he’ll continue."
"That’s perfect. Tell the blacksmith to make the rest of them as this one is. When you get the rest, you can put them on here and display them in the hall as soon as the dresses are done."
"Are you going to put them here?"
"Yes. They will preview of the dresses in our dressing shop. We’ll also have bags, shoes, hats, and so on." Julietta experimented with a less complete dress hanging on one side of the studio.
"How about it? Is it plausible?"
"How did you end up thinking about this? It must be very different from just illustrations."
"You won’t be able to make all kinds in advance, so you should have them in a picture book, but they’ll feel different about it if they see some kinds of dresses on display. They can try it on in advance."
In this era where there was no ready-to-wear, nobles had to go to the dressing shops and get measured. Then, depending on the mood of the person who would wear the clothes, the designer made the clothes for them.
Designers’ abilities were proven according to how responsive they were, and famous designers were so popular that people couldn’t even wait for their turns during the social season twice a year. As a result, the higher nobility was able to order their clothes in the more famous shops, and the success of the dressing shops varied depending on which aristocrat’s lady and wives ordered their clothes that season.
The famous dressing shops were so busy, their power matched that of most aristocrats. As a result, most of the noblemen of the lower class who were lucky enough to overcome fierce competition and order their clothes from popular designers were forced to wear them, even if they did not like them.
Julietta remembered the stories of the actresses in the theater complaining each time. They could order their clothes from the dressing shops that were famous in Dublin using the power of their lovers, but they used to express their irritation since the dresses were not matched for them. Still, it was very impressive of her to be proud of herself after her irritation, saying that no one could ignore her in these clothes.
Julietta wanted to get rid of the phenomenon where they couldn’t even complain about their clothes, because it was more important to be able to order clothes from a certain dressing shop than it was to like them. She wanted to give consumers the right and freedom to choose and wear clothes that they liked. It was sad to have to wear something so expensive that they couldn’t say they didn’t like it.
Julietta planned to show and choose more diverse designs and decorations to consumers, mostly picture books with similar designs, shoes, and hats. It was scary how much it would cost to do all this, but it was something she really wanted to do.
Julietta explained to Amelie and Sophie about her plan, and then went into the cubicle to try on a dress made over the last few days.
***
"The clothes have arrived from the dressing shop."
The day of Julietta’s debut party finally dawned. From morning on, clothing prepared by Amelie and Sophie day and night arrived at the Kiellini estate. The maids came up with the clothes and various props and put them down in the room.
Meanwhile, Simone had been busy seeing her old friends again after leaving Julietta the job of the dressing shop. The move was aimed at quelling public suspicions about her niece having gone down to Tilia Territory for health reasons. So, it wasn’t until today that she saw Julietta’s debut dress.
She frowned at unfamiliar designs. "It’s different from the clothes that are in fashion these days. Isn’t that too prominent?"
It was now fashionable among ladies and young wives to wear gowns with deeply lined, sleeveless dresses decorated with ribbons and lace. Also, they used to decorate their sleeves with thick wrinkles despite men and women, but these dresses themselves were completely different in form from those dresses.
Julietta replied, looking down at a flower-like dress spread out on the bed. "If I kicked out the best designer in Austern and went out dressed in a similar outfit that doesn’t have anything to do with them, they would think it’s weird," Julietta said to Simone, who was still frowning.