Those aren't glass dangles on the Grand Duchesses' dresses - they're diamonds. Nonetheless, even the poor in those days did what they could to look dignified and show self-respect. Russian peasants of the time would have one set of traditional clothes, maybe passed down in the family, to wear for feast days and weddings.
There's not a hint of haughtiness about any of them imo.
That family - not just the Romanovs, but the British, the Dutch, the Germans, the Danes, all related - were not especially gifted people. The best of them realized this, and served their countries to the best of the abilities with real humility, bolstered by faith that it was all ultimately in God's hands. We can see this ethic surviving in Queen Elizabeth II.
The episode of Rasputin is very colorful, of course - one of the few things every high school student remembers about Imperial Russia - but also terribly sad. I can't feel anything but sympathy for the poor parents who just wanted their son to live, and not to suffer.
You must be referring to the official portrait posted. I don't see that well, but it does look like there are jewels on some. Some of their other nice dresses were like we had from that era, but their sport clothes seemed to have those horizontal stripes, nautical theme.
I sometimes wish women would go back to wearing pretty dresses like that (minus the jewels), but few would look so nice because they're fat or it's just different the way they carry themselves now. I guess that's why I like films from that era.
That family - not just the Romanovs, but the British, the Dutch, the Germans, the Danes, all related - were not especially gifted people.
I wasn't aware of that, guess I never expected much by way of intellectualism which seemed to be an exception from royals. The Romanov royal family of the last czar were better looking than many other European royals imo. I find Nicholas very handsome, his wife a little less so but very attractive; they sure had the genetic combination to produce beautiful children.
I don't have a good handle on what the peasants were like other than descriptions I've read from can't remember, Tolstoy?, frustrating to landowners because they tended to drink too much (probably the men moreso than the women) and hard to goad them into working, but I know some must have worked very hard and suffered greatly so it's not nice to generalize or stereotype.
Little Alexis probably wouldn't have lived too long even if his life had not been cut short in such a cruel manner. Hemophilia is still incurable, but there is more they can do to ease the pain of it, blood transfusions today that probably lengthen their life span from what it would be otherwise.
I had a paternal aunt who when very young was extremely pretty and had a royal bearing like that, just seemed to come naturally. And she was the daughter of a farmer, but then there is royal blood in her line or it just came naturally to her. Her grandfather was handsome, too. My father when young had a certain something about him, not movie-star handsome, but distinguished-looking. Most of the rest of them were unattractive to downright homely.