Editing Elizabeth of Russia (section)

==Court==
[[File:eliabeth lanceret.jpg|thumb|{{lang|ru-Latn|Elizaveta Petrovna}} ''in'' {{lang|ru-Latn|[[Tsarskoe Selo]]}} (1905), painting by [[Eugene Lanceray]], now in the [[Tretyakov Gallery]].]]
[[File:Elizabeth of Russia's departure.jpg|thumb|Departure of Elizabeth from [[Anichkov Palace]]]]
Elizabeth's court was one of the most splendid in all Europe.{{sfn|Antonov|2006|p=107}} As historian [[Mikhail Shcherbatov]] stated, the court was "arrayed in cloth of gold, her nobles satisfied with only the most luxurious garments, the most expensive foods, the rarest drinks, that largest number of servants and they applied this standard of lavishness to their dress as well".<ref name="j">"The Iron-Fisted Fashionista" Russian Life Nov.–Dec. 2009 by Lev Berdnikov, p. 54</ref> A great number of silver and gold objects were produced, the most the country had seen thus far in its history.{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=164}} It was common to order over a thousand bottles of French champagnes and wines to be served at one event and to serve [[pineapple]]s at all receptions, despite the difficulty of procuring the fruit in such quantities.{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=134}}

French plays quickly became the most popular and often were performed twice a week. In tandem, music became very important.{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=160}} Many attribute its popularity to Elizabeth's supposed husband, the "Emperor of the Night", Alexei Razumovsky, who reportedly relished music.{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=160}} Elizabeth spared no expense in importing leading musical talents from Germany, France, and Italy.{{sfn|Bain|1899|p=151}} She reportedly owned 15,000 dresses, several thousand pairs of shoes and a seemingly unlimited number of stockings.{{sfn|Antonov|2006|p=107}}

Attractive in her youth and vain as an adult, Elizabeth passed various decrees intended to make herself stand out: she issued an [[Sumptuary law|edict]] against anyone wearing the same hairstyle, dress, or accessory as the Empress. One woman accidentally wore the same item as the Empress and was lashed across the face for it.<ref name="k">'The Iron-Fisted Fashionista' Russian Life Nov.–Dec. 2009 by Lev Berdnikov, p. 59</ref> Another law required French fabric salesmen to sell to the Empress first, and those who disregarded that law were arrested.<ref name="k"/> One famous story exemplifying her vanity is that once Elizabeth got a bit of powder in her hair and was unable to remove it except by cutting a patch of her hair. She made all of the court ladies cut patches out of their hair too, which they did "with tears in their eyes".{{sfn|Sebag Montefiore|2001|p=24}} This aggressive vanity became a tenet of the court throughout her reign, particularly as she grew older. According to historian [[Tamara Talbot Rice]], "Later in life her outbursts of anger were directed either against people who were thought to have endangered Russia's security or against women whose beauty rivalled her own".{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=148}}

Despite her volatile and often violent reactions to others regarding her appearance, Elizabeth was ebullient in most other matters, particularly when it came to court entertainment. It was reported that she threw two balls a week; one would be a large event with an average of 800 guests in attendance, most of whom were the nation's leading merchants, members of the lower nobility and guards stationed in and around the city of the event. The other ball was a much smaller affair reserved for her closest friends and members of the highest echelons of nobility.{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=135}} The smaller gatherings began as masked balls, but evolved into the famous metamorphoses balls by 1744.{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=136}} At these metamorphoses balls, guests were expected to dress as the opposite sex, with Elizabeth often dressing up as Cossack or carpenter in honour of her father.{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=136}} Costumes not permitted at the event were those of pilgrims and harlequins, which she considered profane and indecent respectively.{{sfn|Bain|1899|p=154}} Most courtiers thoroughly disliked the balls, as most guests by decree looked ridiculous, but Elizabeth adored them; as Catherine the Great's advisor Potemkin posited, this was because she was "the only woman who looked truly fine and completely a man.... As she was tall and possessed a powerful body, male attire suited her".{{sfn|Sebag Montefiore|2001|p=26}} [[Kazimierz Waliszewski]] noted that Elizabeth had beautiful legs, and loved to wear male attire because of the tight trousers.<ref>Kazimierz Waliszewski "La Dernière Des Romanov, Élisabeth Ire, Impératrice De Russie, 1741–1762". Plon-Nourrit et cie, 1902</ref> Though the balls were by far her most personally beloved and lavish events, Elizabeth often threw children's birthday parties and wedding receptions for those affiliated with her Court, going so far as to provide [[Dowry|dowries]] for each of her ladies-in-waiting.{{sfn|Talbot Rice|1970|p=138}}