ABSTRACT

This chapter examines and contextualises the concept of luxury in a Hungarian aristocratic family in late nineteenth-century Budapest and to investigate the ways and mechanisms in which luxury intersected with social representation. It analyses the festive outfits of the Count Andrassy family, which were used as tools by the aristocracy in the construction of their self-image and in legitimising their social position. The analysis is based on the Hungarian gala dress, the diszmagyar, and other festive garments, which operated as costumes in their social theatre. The chapter examines the aristocracy's preference for the Hungarian gala dress or the European festive dress and sheds light on the questions of group identity and self-perception of the male and female aristocrats. The interconnectedness of the urban economy of Budapest, especially of the tailors and dressmakers, and of aristocratic luxury consumption provides the framework for the analysis.