I love when the same fashion plate is repeated with two ladies or a lady and a gentleman. 1808 Ladies In High Waisted Dresses, French. Green dress with short sleeves, white frill back bow and white lace headdress. White dress with short puffed sleeves, paisley shawl and red coral necklace. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1805-1809. Gorgeous Regency Era clothing came in a wide range of styles to suit every season and occasion. Ladies in Jane Austen’s times wore Empire style dresses which were usually of light fabric and floaty in style so accessories were essential to keep women warm.
What was fashionable for outer wear in past centuries? Different names in different countries: Pelisse, Redingote, Coat, Or Walking Dress. The Bridgertons and Jane Austen and her contemporaries wore long coats like these to keep warm when out and about, visiting, shopping etc. The thin muslin dresses worn in the early 1800s were little protection against European winters.   http://books2read.com/suzilovePelisse
1660-1700 ca. Gaming Purse, Probably French. Green velvet trimmed with copper-gilt thread. Gaming or gambling with cards popular 17th-century pastime and any gentleman or lady not playing games like Quadrille and Basset would have been considered ‘low-bred and hardly fit for conversation’ according to ‘The Compleat Gamester’, published in 1674. Typically, gaming purses had flat, circular bases with sides gathered on a drawstring. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
1817 Dandy In Blue Tailcoat, French. White breeches tucked into black boots with tan leather high tops, fob at waist, high white cravat, red waistcoat, black top hat and walking stick. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Dandy: The author of The Hermit in London, a series of sketches published in 1819—1820 observed: ‘A distinguished Exquisite is padded all over to-day; and all the other foplings are, on the morrow, mere walking pin-cushions. A fat prince, or a fat dandy, requires confinement in his limbs; and all his subjects are immediately restrained within the same limits. One day, the back is to be as broad as an Irish chairman’s, and the shoulders to be bolstered up to imitate a hod-man; and the next, the shoulders are to be flat, and a man is to be pinched in and laced up until he resembles an earwig. All these are Master Snip’s maneuvers, who continues to make his bill equally long, whether the spencer or the box-coat be in vogue.
Beau Brummell was one of the most celebrated dandies of all time. Cartoonists ridiculed these high-in-the-instep gentlemen who wore the most fashionable clothes and set the fashion trends for the Regency years, the years when Jane Austen was writing her famous novels and the years when the Bridgerton series is set.
1789-1790 ca. Man’s Red Riding Coat, England or France. Wool plain weave, full finish, with metallic-thread embroidery, tan breeches, black riding boots and crop. Credit: (M.2007.211.46) via Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, USA. collections.lacma.org
1800 Outfit Of A Young Man With Grey Cutaway Coat, French. Grey cutaway coat, red vest or waistcoat, high white cravat, yellow breeches with red fob at waist, yellow gloves, black boots with tassels, hat and walking stick. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
In the early years of the 19th century, men’s fashions changed dramatically. Coats were cut higher in the front and finished in long tails at the back. Waist length square-cut waistcoats were displayed beneath tailcoats. The lining of the shoulders and upper chest of the coat was sometimes quilted to improve the fit and some dandies wore boned corsets to give them a small waist. Trousers became increasingly fashionable in the first quarter of the 19th century as men gradually adopted long trousers rather than knee breeches. At first long length pants were only worn for day and informal dress and breeches were still required for court dress, but by the 1820s trousers were accepted as evening wear.Â
Typical menswear in the early 1800s included a tailcoat, a vest or waistcoat, either breeches, pants, or the newer trousers, stockings, shoes or boots, all worn with an overcoat and hat. This basic ensemble was accessorized with some form of neckcloth or cravat, gloves, walking stick, cane or riding crop, handkerchief, fobs, watch and perhaps a quizzing glass or eye glass. The tan hat from the late 18th century was worn and developed into the top hat which was worn for day and formal dress throughout the 19th century. Hair was carefully styled into a windswept look or worn short and curled.
Hessian Boots: In the 1790s, British Army officers wore boots called Hessians, named after German mercenaries who fought alongside the British in wars, including in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The soldiers from the German state of Hesse were called Hessians and their boots took their name from Hesse, where they were made. The Hessian boot was made from soft, highly polished calfskin, knee high, curved top and with a V cut at the front and often had a decorative tassel.
They were shaped like a stirrup so the rider could easily insert their feet into the stirrups and the feet were kept securely in place. But tassels on Hessian boots were designed for wearing with breeches and didn’t suit tight fitting and fashionable new trousers that dandies like Beau Brummell wore in 1800s and so were replaced by Wellington Boots.
In 1823, the New Monthly Magazine had a comical story about tight pantaloons and Hessian boots being a perfect pairing. ‘…. tight pantaloons without Hessian boots were as preposterous as a haunch of venison without currant-jelly, or a leg of pork without peas-pudding.’ https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionMen1800-1819
1800 ca. Brown Silk Trousers, French. Though these pants are French, the men in Jane Austen’s life would have worn similar trousers. Drop down front flap, or ‘fall’, buttoned waist front and back, extra fabric in the back for ease of movement and ties at calves to hold in place. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A.
1801 Typical Gentleman’s Suit, French. Normal outfit worn by men in the times of Jane Austen, or the Regency Era, or the early 1800s. Blue tailcoat with brass buttons, taupe breeches tied beneath the knees, white stockings, black dress shoes, black hat, gloves and cane. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Typical menswear in the early 1800s included a tailcoat, a vest or waistcoat, either breeches, pants, or the newer trousers, stockings, shoes or boots, all worn with an overcoat and hat. This basic ensemble was accessorized with some form of neckcloth or cravat, gloves, a walking stick, cane or riding crop, handkerchief, fobs, a watch and perhaps a quizzing glass or eye glass.
1815 Pink Dress, French. Cashmere dress with white underdress showing the sleeves, decorated hem, turban of tulle and satin, diamond pointed hem, slippers and shawl. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819
Definition Aigret, aigrette, egret: Plume of feathers or jeweled ornament in shape of feathers worn on head or hats. During the early 19th century., or Jane Austen’s lifetime, the favorite feathers were osprey and heron.
