A woman in a blue dress sitting on a table

The feeling of the silk was a revelation--I had never felt anything so fine on my legs before--and the white satin garters that secured the stockings in place were every bit as pretty as the corset that was still tightening around my waist. No, “pretty” wasn’t the right word, I thought, looking down and noticing the seed pearls woven into the silver lace on the still-tightening corset; “splendid” would be better. The stockings now on, the breeze finally began to lower me gently to the floor again--or rather, to lower me into the silver high-heeled slippers that had appeared on the floor. The shoes were definitely splendid--the heels sparkled with tiny diamond chips, and pearls were embroidered all around the instep. Two large diamond buckles served as the centre of the silver bows that completed the picture. Yes, everything I was wearing was splendid--far too splendid for the likes of me.