"That dress completely went out of fashion ages ago, Ami. Tsk, tsk. A little more, and everyone will think it is precisely the same one you wore the last time you were here."
Minako was giving a small reception for the other princesses. The Venusians set a high store on fashion. It was very rare to wear the same dress twice. At least during the social season. People would even have the embroidery cut and redone just for the dress to be a little different., or even borrow someone else's dress, for one to not be seen in the same dress twice.
"I could say the same about your hat."Makoto told Minako.
Makoto wore more roses on her hat. All the Jovians who came with her did, although none as many as her.
"It's just too plain."she continued.
"We came all this way to discuss hats?"Rei smiled. "Then we might have a competition to see who wears the most creative one."she suggested.
On Mars it was tradition to wear feathers on their hats, especially crow feather, and in Rei's case, as Princess of Mars, the most elegant ones had phoenix feathers.
"Oh, Ami would definitely lose."said Makoto.
"What makes you so sure?"Ami demanded.
"Like Minako said, if your dress is so outdated, your hats must be doubly so."
"I said the dress, not the hat."Minako corrected. "And your hat looks perfectly fine to me."she told Ami.
Ami wore a blue broad brimmed hat, with a ribbon and blue flowers, and several small aigrettes on either side, depicting Mercury's winged helmet.
"I knew I should have read Gody's Lady's Book twice before coming here! I guess I should start paying more attention to the fashion section in it."she said, as she stirred her tea.
Gody's Lady's Book was one of the magazines Minako and the others read faithfully. Although Minako paid most attention to the fashion section, as she did with any other magazine. And, of course, apart from the Book, she also read other fashion magazines, especially during the season.
"According to it, hats a little bigger this year."Rei mentioned. "And roses and other flowers are going out of style."she said, especially to Makoto. "It seems feathers are making a come back."
"Crows and phoenix's?"asked Ami.
"I think peacocks are more elegant."said Makoto.
"There's much more variety in feathers, anyway."
"I don't think so."Minako interjected. "But I think it would be fun to hold such a competition between all the ladies at court."
Minako and the other princesses weren't the only ones with fashion on their minds. At the Palace of Ceres, the Duchess of Ceres also sat reading it, along with the noble girls who made up her circle. One of the girls, Malwina, practically taking notes on it.
"It looks like dresses are going to have more flounces this year than last year."Ceres said. "I like flounces."
"Soon everyone will."Malwina smiled.
"Add more to my dresses. Do you suppose I should not wear the flowers in my hair, though?"she asked, as she looked at the hairstyles in the magazine.
"The flowers look perfectly fine. Besides, soon you will be setting the fashion, Your Grace."Malwina smiled. "At least at your own court."
The girls at the Cerean court already favored Ceres's own preferred hairstyle, wearing a bun and braids. Ceres wore a ribbon in her hair, given that Minako favored ribbons so much, and Magellan was one of the fashion capitals in the galaxy.
"What's more fashionable,"one of the girls spoke. "is hats."
"The princess wears ribbons and fascinators, not hats."Malwina replied.
Much of what Ceres wore was from Malwina's own inspiration.
"I will design Your Grace the most elegant hats, and trim your dresses with the most extraordinary flounces."
This was inspired by Princess Beatrice's extraordinary hat she wore at her cousin's wedding. It almost got just as much attention than the bride's dress. Plus, I've always had a fascination with headgear and hair styles, from tiaras and kokoshniks, to veils and peinetta in a mantilla.