Royal Fashions: Reflections on Modernizing the Image of Siamese Queens in the Late Nineteenth Century

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In reaction to the colonization of Southeast Asia by England and France, the actions of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V; r. 1868-1910) show how Siam resisted colonization both by enacting reforms to modernize the government and by projecting a “modernized image” of the country and its monarchy. This campaign consciously used not only art and architecture but also royal costumes as political tools for projecting to the West a modern image of the kingdom and of the royal family. While the King himself adopted contemporary English fashions (e.g., Victorian and Edwardian styles of costumes) for official events with foreigners, the Queens and other high-ranking female royalty created hybrid costumes that combined traditional Siamese textiles and royal garbs with European garments (e.g., men’s style jackets and women’s blouses, shoes, and tiaras). This paper investigates the costumes of the two chief queens of King Chulalongkorn, Her Majesties Queen Saovabha Phongsri and Queen Savang Vadhana. Each Queen had a different style that clearly projected their contrasting attitudes toward such topics as women’s rights and careers. They also utilized and promoted traditional Siamese textiles to an international level.



M.L. Pattaratorn Chirapravati is an art historian who specializes in Buddhist art and Southeast Asian art visual cultures. She received her Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Art history and Southeast Asian Studies at Cornell University. She has published extensively on ancient Buddhist art (e.g., Votive Tablets in Thailand: Origin, Styles, and Uses (Oxford University Press, 2007) and Divination Au Royaume De Siam: Le corps, la guerre, le destine (Presses Universitaires de France, 2011). She co-curated two major art exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco entitled The Kingdom of Siam: Art from Central Thailand (1530–1800) and Emerald Cities: Arts of Siam and Burma (1775–1950). She is a faculty member in the Art Department and former Director and Vice Director of the Asian Studies Program at California State University, Sacramento. She is also former Head of Studies, Division of Arts and Humanities at Yale-NUS College (Singapore).