RetroXotique

See the full story at Dave's Website Tales of the Veils
Chapter 25 – A Gown fit for a Queen

The following morning, Anna Rosa was woken, bathed and then, instead of her usual attire, but a pink blinding burqa was thrown over her head and she was led through the many corridors of the Academy of Modesty and Submissive Behaviour by her maid. Finally, they halted and the Colombian girl guessed that they had reached their destination

Anna Rosa’s blinding burqa was removed and she found herself where she expected to be; in the PE room next to the glass display case. Obviously, another session of end of term modelling was in order. This time however, instead of her usual helper, two maids were present, as well as the Headmistress. Furthermore, a large chest had been wheeled in along with a dressing table laden down with a multitude of powder, paints and styling tools. Finally, an ominous-looking lacing trapeze hang from the ceiling. Evidently, the outfit that she was destined to wear this day was going to be far more complex than in the past.  

Madame Dorozhkina signalled to the two maids who, removed all of Anna Rosa’s clothes including her corset and she gave a sigh of relief and rubbed her aching ribs, she had to halt while a hip length shift was passed over her head and some fine silk clocked stockings embroidered with the fleur de lyes of France were smoothed on her legs and tightly gartered. Then Dorozhkina brought over a pair of glass shoes which to Anna Rosa’s amazement had fifteen centimetre Louis heels.

Anna Rosa grimaced in anticipation and the shoes were forced onto her feet using a shoe horn. Once on, they were tighter on her toes than any previous pair and tied tightly across her instep. Anna Rosa straightened and tried to take a step and swayed alarmingly and one of the maids hurried forward to give her support. The Colombian girl’s feet were held nearly vertical by the shoes and her already cramped toes were put under additional pressure from her own weight pressing down on them. With bent legs and the maid’s support she tried a few tottering steps across the chamber, wincing each time her weight came down on the toes. After several attempts with rest in between she could manage to just about walk unaided although she was most ungainly and her knees were still bent as she tried to keep her balance.

Madam Dorozhkina however, was anxious to continue the dressing, in her hands she carried a pair beautifully embroidered stays, but it was not their beauty that held Anna Rosa’s attention it was several other attributes, she saw that they were a good deal longer than any of her previous stays and also higher in the front, the shoulder straps were wider and set at a strange angle and the most imposing thing about the stays was their rigidity, The Headmistress held them at the side and they did not collapse at all, they were solid and the Colombian girl could see that there was no room at all between the bones at the waist.

“No. 34, these are ‘grand corps’ stays and are longer tighter in the waist and rib and more rigid than any thing you have tried before,” the Headmistress announced firmly.

Anna Rosa held her arms out and the stays shoulder straps were passed over them, She gasped as she felt the weight of them, they were so heavy compared to her ‘normal’ pairs. Even unlaced the shoulder straps held her arms pushed backwards. She was then attached to the trapeze which was duly raised. One of the maids rapidly threaded the lace and began to tighten the stays, as she did so Anna Rosa reached down and lifted her breasts and even had to force them up as high as they would go to lift them above the rim of the stays, as the stays clamped around her upper body she could feel that they were absolutely solid and her body would not be able to resist as it enforced it strict upside cone shape upon her torso. The maid concentrated on the top of the stays getting them tight around the ribs, before moving her attention to the bottom. As she had noticed already before these stays were longer than any of her other and they sat slightly over he hips. The maid did not try adjust them upwards and Anna Rosa winced as the rigid lower edge of the stays was pulled to her hips and she could feel it scraping across her pelvis as it tightened. The pain increased as the corset was forced inwards and could not rise much upwards against initial tightening around the Colombian girl’s ribs. The maid noticed her discomfort and tied off the laces to allow Anna Rosa to get used to the pressure.

“You may rest for a short while No. 34, whilst your body recovers,” announced Dorozhkina, “but be warned, there are still twelve centimetres left to close.”

Anna Rosa could not believe it! Twelve centimetres and these stays already felt tighter than her usual corset. She guessed that it was the length but she said nothing. After all, questioning is unfit behaviour for a modest girl. “We must start on you hair now No. 34,” said the Headmistress.

A trolley full of the hair fixings was wheeled into the chamber by one of the maids, overloaded with drapes of false hair. Anna Rosa tottered and winced over to beside a low stool which had been provided for her ‘comfort’ and tried to bend, with much creaking and absolutely no give, the stays held her upright and she had no desire to force them as with the little bend she had managed the stays dug painfully into her pelvis. It was obvious however, that any sitting down on the stool would be an impossibility, so Dorozhkina ordered one of the maids to remove it and a much higher one was brought in. This Anna Rosa found that she could sit – or to be more exact, ‘perch’ – upon , requiring very little bending at the waist, and some steps were placed behind her to allow the maids enough height to arrange her hair.

She first combed out Anna Rosa’s  current style, and then commenced with her task which Anna Rosa hoped would last perhaps an hour at most.

Six hours later she began to wonder as she was still perched on the stool and the maids were still fussing behind her. They had begun by first fitting a large padded form onto her head. The form was two feet tall and nearly twice as wide as her head at its highest point. Then, Anna Rosa’s hair had been divided into hanks and then passed through holes around the base of the form and pinned tightly to the padding of the form. Anna Rosa could feel the skin on her face and head being dragged as the tension increased all round. The maids moved the around the form repeatedly, unpinning a hank and repining it tighter until they were at last satisfied that the form was held solidly. At this point Anna Rosa was sure that every strand of her hair was now in tension and pulling on her scalp and it was quite painful. 

Her maid then took the first of many massive hanks of pomaded false hair and pinned it to the front of the form and then let it hang down in front Anna Rosa’s face reaching well past her waist, bit by bit the hank was taken up and over the top of the form, combed flat and attached with many pins. After three hanks had been attached the front of the form was just covered, another two hanks were required to cover each side and then using a comb dipped in pomade the maid moved repeatedly from the side to the front to the other side combing the hanks so that they blended together and the whole front became smooth. This operation took over two hours and Anna Rosa was becoming restless and wanted to move her head as the her neck was now aching to due the heavy weight of the from and all the hair.

“That's enough for the moment,” the headmistress announced to Anna Rosa’s surprise. “This is quite an ordeal for a girl to go through – I should know, and so we shall take a rest. Get No. 34 a glass of water!" 

Anna Rosa was startled by this unexpected show of compassion and relished the proffered water and slight break. It was not however, to last for long for immediately after she had finished, she had her wrists fastened to the lacing trapeze again and the lacing was recommenced, the corset being tightened slowly from top to bottom and back again. Anna Rosa could feel the bottom of the stays digging in painfully to the flesh above her hips and her shoulders being dragged back by the backward set shoulder straps. After the stays had been closed another five centimetres, the maid tied them off, and Anna Rosa’s wrists were released from the trapeze. She was now at the best waist that she had managed so far, but these stays felt much tighter as they were so rigid and so long, viewing herself in the mirror she could see her now huge and high breasts, heaving up and down as she panted for breath. They were lifted so high, nearly level with her shoulders that a slight ridge was now present at the top of the breasts, the shoulder straps forced out her chest and as such her breasts so that created a huge plateau so that Anna Rosa could not see past them to her feet.

Madame Dorozhkina left her until her panting had subsided a little and then ushered her back to the dressing stool, Anna Rosa winced as she lowered herself onto the stool as the stays dug even more into her pelvis and crushed her waist even more, her breasts were lifted even higher and started to ache and shoulders muscles were on fire as they were pulled back by the shoulder straps of the stays.   

Her maid immediately busied herself filling the massive two foot gap at the rear of the hairstyle, slowly starting from the neck she pinned on hanks of false hair, and then curled them around ‘rats’ which were padded sausage shapes of material, after an hour she had filled the gap with thirteen large curls. She then blended the curls into the main hair. Next came several large spirals of hair that hung down to Anna Rosa’s shoulders, these formed from more hanks of hair which was heavily pomaded and then formed around heated curling tongues.  

An 18th century wig similar to Anna Rosa's new hairstyle

When the last of the spirals was attached Madame Dorozhkina pronounced the hair style finished and helped Anna Rosa up. Then a long shift, which a maid referred to as the ‘powder gown’ was fitted tightly around her, and she was led over to a small mobile capsule in which a stool stood. She gingerly lowered herself onto the stool door was closed. Then, to her shock, powder, thick and dry began cascading from an opening in the roof. At first Anna Rosa wondered what it could be for, but then she remembered watching some old films of 18th century Europe where noble women wore massive wigs of powdered grey hair. ‘So, my fate today is to be transported back two hundred years,’ she mused, her grasp of history never being the best. After half an hour of powdering the massive structure time and again the maids were satisfied and Anna Rosa left the closet the air of which was now so thick with powder that it was difficult to breath.

 She was then led over to the dressing table her head now beginning to wobble as the weight of the wig was now becoming irksome. 

 “I know that the wig is difficult to manage,” announced the Headmistress, evidently reading her charge’s thoughts, “and so we shall provide some support." 

 She signalled the two maids who carried over with some difficulty a heavy weighted pole with a strap at the top. Anna Rosa had assumed it was some sort of clothes horse, but it was placed behind her and the large rigid strap was placed around her neck and tightened until it became rigid and the weight of the wig was then transferred to the pole. Her maid then began to decorate the hairstyle with feathers, strings of pearls and in the front a large silver reproduction of the fleur de lyes.

 After this she began to put on some facepaint and with a thick layer of white paint from Anna Rosa’s forehead al the way down to her breasts, saying that she would fill in the neck when they removed the strap, her lips, cheeks and even her nipples were heavily rouged. Next instead of painting in high eyebrows she glued on some black fur eyelids which curled up at the outside. Patches were then carefully applied to cheeks and above her lips, her eyelids were then painted with heavy kohl pencil. The whole of her face was then painted with enamel so that it shone.

 “Please do not smile or open your mouth to wide No.34 as it will crack,” instructed the Headmistress.

 The neck strap was then removed and the gap covered with the white paint, It was now four thirty and Madame Dorozhkina stood back.

 “I think we better continue the lacing,” she announced.

 So Anna Rosa was again led over to the trapeze and submitted to the lacing. Her maid was now concentrating on the lacing at the bottom of the corset, she quickly pulled them in another couple of centimetres. Anna Rosa could feel her legs going weak and her head spinning. She slumped into unconsciousness but was not out for long for almost immediately, a maid revived her with some acrid smelling salts.

 Anna Rosa coughed causing even more pain from her corset but slowly her head stopped spinning and legs began to feel less rubbery. The pain at her crushed waist and compressed waist was enormous, and when she was released she began to stagger around the room followed by the two maids pushing in at the waist with her tow hands, and leaning one way and then the other trying to get some relief. After fifteen minutes the pain subsided into a throbbing ache and stayed that way as long as she moved carefully, any sudden movements caused the bottom the stays to dig into the hips and the pain to return.

 Madame Dorozhkina sent for another glass of water allowed Anna Rosa to get what rest she could perched on the edge of the stool with her back rigid. The maids returned and Anna Rosa drank the water and tried to relax, but all the time her now massive breasts were heaving as panted for what little breath the iron-like stays would allow her. 

 After some ten minutes had passed Madame Dorozhkina decided that she was ready for another tightening.

 Anna Rosa reluctantly tottered over to the trapeze and the ordeal began again, the two maids pulling in yet another three centimetres. Anna Rosa just about hung in but, then her legs failed and she began to see stars. Once again the smelling salts were used and after another half an hour she had calmed herself enough to begin dressing.

 They stood the Colombian in the centre of the room and attached hoops which extended over three feet either side of her, and then standing on chairs they passed over her head a thick petticoat, as they were smoothing this down and tying it at Anna Rosa’s waist. Then they continued with the dressing with a heavy sky blue skirt and bodice, next a twenty foot long train of the same blue cloth lined with white was attached to hooks at her shoulders. After a bit of touching here and there Madame Dorozhkina was satisfied and Anna Rosa turned slowly (which was all she could manage) to view herself in the full length mirror. She did not recognise image that she saw in the mirror. The hoops of the skirt were so wide that they overflowed the mirror and would have been wider than Anna Rosa was tall except for the wig. As for the wig it towered over her head and her face looked so small in relation, and as for the face it bore little resemblance to her face at all, the paint and the patches so disguising her features. Further down her breasts rose high nearly to her neck and the rouge on her nipples could just be seen above the shining blue bodice and then down to her now minute waist which looked even tinier against the spread of the skirt. It looked so small Anna Rosa was convinced that if she fell off the high heels that she would snap in the middle.   

Madame Dorozhkina stepped behind Anna Rosa and folded the train up to her shoulders and hung the fold onto the hooks at her shoulders with loops hidden in the train after three folds the train was off the floor and Anna Rosa’s knees were wobbling again this time under the increased weight of the heavy cloth of the blue train. A maid then produced a pair of gold pattens which were fully six inches high and with maids supporting Anna Rosa’s arms she bent down and one after the other Madame Dorozhkina fitted them to Anna Rosa’s shoes giving the Colombian girl an increased height with the shoes, the pattens and the wig of nearly three feet.  

The cloak was then carefully passed around the dress and the wig and closed around Anna Rosa’s face. Madame Dorozhkina then reached up to close the veil and the hesitated.

 “You have forgotten the plumpers!” she then exclaimed in horror.

 A maid went over to the dressing trolley and returned with to flattened and rounded pieces of cork.

 “Open you mouth a little No.34, these will plump up and give you lovely rounded cheeks.”   

Anna Rosa opened her mouth and the two pieces of cork were pushed into her cheek pockets, forcing her cheeks out a little. With the aid of the two maids, Anna Rosa made a slow unstable progress on the pattens across the room to where a short pole was standing. She understood exactly what this was for. Her skirts were lifted until she was over it, and then resting her bottom on the tiny thin ‘seat’ provided, (a protrusion on it naturally going into her rear channel), she was declared complete and the maids left. Only Dorozhkina remained. She walked around her charge, humming and harring, and then final stated, (with not a small note of pride), “No. 34, you make the best Marie Antoinette that I have seen in a very long while!”  

Anna Rosa as Marie Antoinette, Queen of France

Author’s note:- Discerning readers may note many similarities between this chapter and Mike’s story ‘Rebecca of Halstead Hall’ which can be found on Tight Tales, a subsidiary of the Long Island Staylace Association site. The parallels are intentional; the story has long been a favourite of mine and no one can write a dressing scene like Mike, particularly not I. Consequently, I have nicked chunks of ‘Rebecca’, but I fully acknowledge this. If anyone is offended, I can alter things, but instead, I suggest you read ‘Rebecca’ instead. It is incredible.

See the full story at Dave's Website Tales of the Veils