1808 ca. Jane Austen style high-waisted muslin dress with bib front, British. High stomacher front, i.e. a bib front fastened with pins, and embroidered with clusters of flowers and leaves. Embroidery satin stitch, chain stitch and French knots. Dress of muslin, embroidered in wool with a design of flowers and leaves down the sleeves and across the front of the dress. The bodice back and side fronts are lined with linen and there are linen undersleeves. The front of the bodice is made up of a panel of bias-cut muslin, which is sewn onto the skirt rather like the bib of an apron so that it can be placed in position at the neck with pins. When the pins are removed the bib front falls away to reveal linen underflaps which fasten across the bust to give support. This type of bodice construction was common during this period in this style of dress and is known as the high stomacher front.

Embroidered with clusters of flowers and leaves and embroidery is worked in satin stitch, chain stitch and French knots, the design trails down across the front of the dress and around the scalloped hemline to simulate a draped tunic-style garment slit up the side seam. Front bodice has panel of bias-cut muslin sewn onto skirt like the bib of an apron so that it can be placed in position at the neck with pins. When the pins are removed the bib front falls away to reveal linen underflaps which fasten across the bust to give support. Bib front bodice construction was common in the Regency Era, or Jane Austen’s years, in this style of dress and is known as the high stomacher front. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K.