TheCountess di Castiglione caused a scandal by appearing at a 1857 costume ball at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as The Queen of Hearts, a thinly veiled allusion to the fact the she was currently the mistress of the emperor, Napoleon III.
She was photographed in the costume by Pierre-Louis Pierson several years later, between 1861 and 1863, apparently wishing to preserve the scandal for posterity.
Fancy dress balls grew so popular in the late 19th century that numerous books were published to suggest new and creative costume ideas. The most popular of these was probably Fancy Dresses Described: or, What to wear at fancy balls. by Adrian Holt. It went through numerous editions throughout the 1880s and 1890s (several of which are viewable online) and listed hundreds of costume ideas.
This hornet costume from the 1884 edition is one of my favorites.
