1819 Typical Gentleman’s Outfit, French. The type of outfit worn by Jane Austen’s male family and friends. Brown cutaway coat with extra long tails, white trousers, high white cravat, heeled black boots with spurs, gloves, black top hat and a cane. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Trousers: The word Trouser came into usage in the late 1600’s, so we’ve had trousers around for a long time. But at first, they were mostly for lower classes. Revolutionary France started a trend for sans-culottes, which meant trousers or pantaloons instead of culottes, or knee breeches, which were associated with the aristocracy. The styles of the revolution moved across to England and were taken up by those who either sided with revolutionary ideals or who took them up as part of a protest against the establishment set. Early on, trousers were generally a bit looser than pantaloons or breeches and ended at the ankles, often with side slits to get the foot through or straps under the foot straps to keep the trousers in place.
1815 White Walking Dress, English. Lady reading outside. Aqua pelisse, or coat, open to reveal a yellow lining, yellow gloves, high bonnet with feathers and blue shoes. Jane Austen and her family and friends would have worn this style of walking ensemble and as Jane Austen was very fond of reading, it’s easy to picture her looking like this. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
‘Brent,’ Lady Lillian murmured as she entwined her fingers with his and gave him a begging look. ‘If I promise we’ll leave in an hour or two and not stay until dawn, will you keep my secret. Let me have a couple of hours here to watch and learn and…’
Earl Mallory frowned. ‘And what? Has your companion, whose name I still don’t know, made some sort of arrangement?’ He looked worried and suspicious, and with good right. Perhaps she’d reveal half of their plans, enough to pacify him and give them room to explore without him hovering like a distraught father.
‘Please, let me go on my way. You can do whatever you came for, too.’
His hands were on his hips and he looked angry. ‘I did not come here to find a mistress, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m more than happy to leave now and take you home.’
She mimicked his stance by putting her hands on her own hips and scowling at him. ‘I am not leaving. Not until I’ve explored all the upper rooms as well.’
‘The upper rooms? Are you mad? A lady cannot go prowling around the bedrooms. There will be couples in those bedrooms having–’
‘Having sex? I do know these things. I’m a widow, not a spinster.’
‘Huh! And what will you do if you walk into a room where there are more than two people? Perhaps three or four, or even five, in one bed.’
‘Oooh, do you know which rooms they are in?’
‘I do not. And I don’t wish to know.’ He sucked in a breath and pointed a finger at her face. ‘And neither do you.’
‘I’m my own person now and I’ll do what I want. I’m going upstairs to explore, and to observe. To join in if I’m asked.’
‘You deserve better than the men you’ll find here, Lillian. Go to a respectable ball. Dance with some decent men. Find another husband.’
‘Why are you eager for me to risk a repeat of my miserable marriage, when you’ve declared that you’ll never marry again?’
‘Because you’re a woman and I’m a man.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘That’s a very biased view, and I thought you better than that.’
He groaned. ‘You’re right. It’s unfair to tell you to risk more unhappiness when I won’t.’
‘How dare you.’ Lady Lillian spat the words at the Earl of Mallory and gave him her fiercest glare. ‘You shouldn’t have interfered like that. If those gentlemen recognize you, they might work out who I am, which is exactly what you wanted to avoid.’ She huffed. ‘Besides, I instigated that kiss.’
‘Why would you do such a brazen thing? Risk your good name and your life in such an impulsive manner.’
She sighed, all her anger deflating. ‘My good name evaporated when Geoffrey’s sexual preferences became known after his death. The men he mixed with kept his secrets when he was alive, and possibly even liked whips and ropes as much as Geoffrey, but dead men can’t reveal their secrets so they felt safe to expose him, while distancing themselves from those activities.’
‘But why would they risk incriminating themselves?’
‘I learned later that two girls had died, a day apart and in different areas of London, but both had been physically tormented and their bodies were left in parks in Mayfair. Government officials were sent to investigate after a minister’s wife and children stumbled upon one of them, and there was a push to find the culprit and to close down any houses of ill repute in respectable neighborhoods.’
‘I read about the murders, but surely they don’t think Geoffrey had anything to do with that. He wasn’t the most respected man and nor was he a decent husband, but I cannot imagine him killing women.’
‘The enquiry cleared Geoffrey, but as those houses were places that Geoffrey and his cohorts visited, his so-called friends decided to toss out Geoffrey’s name and draw the scrutiny away from them.’
Brent took her hands and shook them lightly. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
She shrugged. ‘Geoffrey was dead and I simply wanted to forget all the sordidness and start afresh.’ She waved a hand at the guests, whose conversations had become bawdier and louder the more punch was consumed and, as inhibitions were drowned in liquor, both women and men had stripped away clothing and were well on their way to public sex. ‘Here, I can reclaim myself, because everyone indulges in excesses and they don’t judge each other badly because they’ve let down their guards for an evening.
1815 March Brown Promenade Dress, English. High-waisted dress with decorative hem, white sleeves, white fichu, blue scarf, brown hat decorated with flowers. Jane Austen and her contemporaries would have worn this style of outdoor walking outfit and flowered hat. Fashion Plate via The Lady’s Magazine Or Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex.
Definition Redingote: Woman’s long, fitted coat often worn open in front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons. French word developed from English words, riding coat. reefer. Single- or double-breasted, fitted, tailored, over-all coat usually made from sturdy fabric.
Definition Fichu: A piece of lace, muslin, or other cloth worn about the neck and cleavage to preserve a lady’s modesty. From French word meaning neckerchief.
George Bryan “Beau” Brummell (June 7th 1778 – March 30th 1840) Arbiter of men’s fashion and friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV. Established mode of dress for men that rejected overly ornate fashions for understated but perfectly fitted and tailored clothing. Look based on dark coats, full-length trousers rather than knee breeches and stockings, with immaculate shirt linen and an elaborately knotted cravat. 1855 Engraving of Beau Brummell from an article in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine.
1807 Game of Billiards By Louis Leopold Boilly, French. Ladies playing billiards as they did in Jane Austen’s time. via Heritage Museum, Russia ~ heritagemuseum.org
1823 Couple In Walking Dress, French, as worn in Europe and England in the Regency Era. Redingote, or Coat, with matching hat, neck frill of Gros de Nice lace. Gentleman in tailcoat, short length brown trousers, yellow vest, high white cravat, top hat and black shoes. via Modes Françaises L’Indiscret, France.
1818 ca. Lemon Dress, England. High-waisted, or Empire style, as worn in the times of Jane Austen, or Regency Era. Linen and lace dress with short puffed sleeves. via Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, USA. collections.lacma.org. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819
What did an older lady do in the Bridgerton family’s and Jane Austen’s times, or the early 1800s. An easy to read overview of what an older lady did, wore, and how she lived in the early 19th Century. Information for history buffs and pictures for readers and writers of historical fiction. Older Lady’s Day, Regency Life Series, Book 5, by Suzi Love. books2read.com/suziloveOLD
Through historic images, historical information, and funny anecdotes, it shows how an older lady in Jane Austen’s times fills her day, where she goes, and with whom she spends her time. This light-hearted look at the longer Regency years is an easy to read overview of what people did and wore, and where they worked and played. There is plenty of information to interest history buffs, and lots of pictures to help readers and writers of historical fiction visualize the people and places from the last years of the 18th Century until Queen Victoria took the throne.
