I'm an Australian author of contemporary and historical romances, plus history non-fiction.
My books range from sexy to erotic, late 1700s to the mid 1800s, and with a dash of Australia thrown into the mix. My heroes and heroines challenge tradition and my stories often expose the seamier levels of life.
I now live in a sunny part of Australia after spending many years in developing countries in the South Pacific. My greatest loves are traveling, anywhere and everywhere, meeting crazy characters, and visiting the Australian outback.
I hope my books bring history alive and you have fun adventuring with my roguish heroes and feisty heroines.
What was fashionable for women in Jane Austen’s times? Mourning, riding, daytime, evening clothing, plus underclothing, corsets and accessories. Wars were being fought so women adopted military looks in support of soldiers. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashion1810-1814 History Notes Book 27 Women’s Fashions 1810-1814.
These are the types of outfits worn by Jane Austen and contemporaries in English magazines, where French fashions were obsessively copied despite the two countries being at war for many years. In Jane Austen’s years, she and her contemporaries spent a lot of time walking outdoors. People were encouraged to partake in outdoor pursuits to maintain good health. Fragile slippers were worn for balls and evening events but for walking sturdier shoes were needed, In the early 1800s, these were typically made of leather, had a very small heel, slightly rounded toes and were laced up on the top.
1876 ‘Queen Bess’ Corset By Worcester Company, American. Made of silk, bone, and metal. Named ‘Queen Bess’, this corset was awarded the bronze medal at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 and was patented in 1877. A well documented piece, it is unique in its design, which has been carefully constructed to support the wearer’s outer garments. The straps would assist in keeping the corset in place and hinder any shifting due to the heavy fabrics, and the bustle roll at back would ease any strain the wearer might experience from the excessive weight of the skirt. Credit Line:Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of E. A. Meister, 1950 Accession Number:2009.300.3496a–e
1876 ‘Queen Bess’ Corset By Worcester Company, American. Made of silk, bone, and metal.via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Corsets 1850-1880 History Notes Book 19 Towards the end of the 1800s, corsets changed to give a fashionable silhouette and be a decorative fashion item. Tight lacing helped give a narrow waist and a feminine form under clothing while decorative corsets became desirable fashion items. Victorian corsets for small waists and fashionable silhouettes. Corsets during the Victorian Era, or late 1800s, tightened to give tiny waists and fashionable silhouettes.
1800-1820 ca. Small Pieces Of Drawing Room Furniture as would have been used in houses where Jane Austen lived. Side tables, book tables, chest and foot stool. Collage by Suzi Love.
1800-1820 ca. Small Pieces Of Drawing Room Furniture. Side tables, book tables, chest and foot stool.
1800-1820 ca. Small Pieces Of Drawing Room Furniture As Jane Austen Would Have Used. #Regency #Furniture #BritishHistory
1827 ca. Gentleman’s Dressing Box, London. Mahogany box with brass carrying handles, lid opens to velvet and leather interior with twelve engraved silver topped bottles, all with an engraving of an oak tree. Top tray lifts out to another tray of tools.
1827 ca. Gentleman’s Dressing Box, London. Mahogany box with brass carrying handles, lid opens to velvet and leather interior with twelve engraved silver topped bottles, all with an engraving of an oak tree. Top tray lifts out to another tray. via Antique Tea Caddies, U.K. 1827 ca. Mahogany Gentleman's Dressing Box With Silver Topped Bottles, London. #Regency #Antiques #London. books2read.com/suziloveBoxesCases Share on XHN_11_D2D_Craftsmen created containers of precious metals, leather, silks, and decorated them with jewels to make exquisite and expensive items as well as practical carrying cases. books2read.com/suziloveBoxesCases
Michael Brandon travels to introduce the woman he loves to family but is shocked when his missing brother, presumed dead for years, arrives at the country estate of the Duke Of Sherwyn where several people are stranded due to a severe snow storm. https://books2read.com/suziloveDS December Scandal, Book 3, Scandalous Siblings.
1825 Pale Gold Pelisse, or Walking Dress, or Redingote, British. Pale gold silk with linen lining. Long sleeves puffed at shoulders and narrowed at wrist, large round collar, nipped in high wais and A-line skirt, zig-zag lace trim above the hem. A beautiful example of the love of gold and silver fabrics during the 1820s. Styles may have been simple, but fabrics were definitely not. They were luxurious and expensive. via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Definition Redingote Or Pelisse Or Walking Dress Or Coat: French word developed from English words, riding coat. Long fitted outdoor coat worn over other garments for warmth. Often left open at the front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons. French fashion plates call these coats Redingotes and they are designed for women, men and children. English fashion plates call them a Pelisse, a walking dress, Promenade dress, or Carriage dress. books2read.com/suzilovePelisse
1809 ca. Empire Style, Or High-Waisted, Dress, English. Hand-embroidered white cotton muslin, cotton bobbin lace, shell buttons and linen tape. via National Gallery of Victoria, Australia. ngv.vic.gov.au
The gowns associated with Empire or Regency style have a low neckline and short sleeves and were usually worn for evening, dress, or dancing. Toward the end of the era, dancing dresses featured higher hemlines that rose several inches above the ankle. Day dresses had a higher neckline and long sleeves. The Empire styles at the beginning of the 19th century were made of a soft, lightweight fabric gathered just under the breasts. It featured a low square neckline, and small, short, puffed sleeves with a low shoulder line. Although lawn and batiste were used, muslin was the fabric of choice as it was easy to clean. The thin muslin clung close to the body and emulated styles worn in ancient Greece. Shades of white predominated, with the addition of pale pastel shades worn for day wear.
Empire Style Dress: Named after the First Empire in France. Empire dresses had a low neckline and skirts started directly under the bust and flowed into the classical relaxed wide styles of Greece and Rome. This style of dress is associated with Jane Austen and her contemporaries as a high-waisted dress was worn most days. Cotton, silk or taffeta were the popular fabrics.
Michael Brandon travels to introduce the woman he loves to family but is shocked when his missing brother, presumed dead for years, arrives at the country estate of the Duke Of Sherwyn where several people are stranded due to a severe snow storm. https://books2read.com/suziloveDS December Scandal, Book 3, Scandalous Siblings.
1812 June Couple In Fashionable Walking Dress, English. Lady wears a green cape and hat over a high-waisted, or Empire style, white dress with a pink parasol. Man wears a tailcoat over fawn breeches, yellow gloves, black shoes and hat and a walking stick. Fashion Plate via The Lady’s Magazine Or Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex.
By the end of the 18th century, tailored garments for both men and women were replaced by styles made for ease and comfort, resulting in the neoclassical style of the 1780s. Inspired in part by the statuary of ancient Greece and Rome, the new fashion was epitomized by light cotton gowns falling around the body in an unstructured way, held around the high waist with a simple sash and accompanied by a soft shawl draped around exposed shoulders. This style was ideal for the Indian imports like Kashmiri shawls and Bengali muslin, as used in this embroidered gown.
1780 ca. Gold Silk Banyan, British. For at-home wear, a gentleman had a dressing gown, often with a matching waistcoat, and an undress cap or turban. “This yellow damask banyan with its bold Chinese Chippendale – inspired pattern would have been an imposing sight on the streets or in the drawing rooms of London.” via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org Credit: Catharine Breyer Van Bomel Foundation Fund, 1978 Accession Number:1978.135.1
From the Curator: ‘For at-home wear, a gentleman had a dressing gown, often with a matching waistcoat, and an undress cap or turban.As for breeches, they were not designed especially for this casual ensemble, but rather borrowed from other suits.The dressing gown was cut like a man’s loose coat and usually hung to the floor, though there were also versions that stopped below the knees. Since there were no fastenings, the wearer overlapped the dressing gown in front when he walked so that the sides did not billow out behind him.The sleeves were originally rolled back to form cuffs, but later dressing gowns display the fashionable cuff of their period.In England these dressing gowns were called “banyans” or “Indian nightgowns” because of their kimono-like form and Eastern origin. Banyans were made in a variety of fabrics, including silk brocades, damasks, and printed cottons. By the 1780s, gentlemen ventured out of doors in this comfortable and stylish costume. According to Town and Country Magazine in 1785: “Banyans are worn in every part of the town from Wapping to Westminster, and if a sword is occasionally put on it sticks out of the middle of the slit behind. This however is the fashion, the ton, and what can a man do? He must wear a banyan.”This yellow damask banyan with its bold Chinese Chippendale – inspired pattern would have been an imposing sight on the streets or in the drawing rooms of London.’ via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
