The sky over Versailles was turning a fuzzy pale pink and my hairsprayed-within-an-inch-of-its-life bouffant was sagging. The train of my dress was a wreck—covered in dirt and gravel dust and wet from the garden's morning dew. It was a new day, but I hadn't slept, so things seemed a bit…backwards. By about 225 years.
It's because I had attended the 5th annual Bal de Versailles, a masquerade party thrown by the King's Castle where thousands of costumed partygoers are permitted to roam around the palace like Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, from 11:30pm until the first light of dawn. Tickets start at $86 and anybody can attend—so long as you're dressed appropriately. By which of course I mean a full-on corseted gown with era-appropriate accessories…