In Jane Austen’s years of the early nineteenth century, women often wore light-weight dresses under which was worn a range of underclothing to stop gowns appearing transparent and sticking to a lady’s body. To preserve modesty, underclothing included a chemise next to the skin, then a corset, and then petticoats to give shape to a dress and to keep it away from her body.
‘Omnibuses, under the name of carrosses a cinq sous, were started in Paris in 1662. Seven vehicles to carry eight passengers each, all inside, were built, and on March 18th, 1662, they began running. The first one was timed to start at seven o’clock in the morning, but an hour or two earlier a huge crowd had assembled to witness the inauguration ceremony, which was performed l)y two Commissaires of the Chatelet, attired in their official robes. Accompanying them were four guards of the Grand Prevot, twenty men of the City Archers, and a troop of cavalry. ‘
In 1828, George Shillibeer, a London coach builder, visited Paris where he was impressed by the efficiency of the new horse-drawn bus service. The following year, he started a single horse-drawn omnibus connecting Paddington and Regent’s Park to the City of London. Passengers were picked up and set down anywhere along the route and fares were paid on board, in contrast to short-stage coaches which had to be booked in advance.
This new omnibus was pulled by three horses and carried 22 passengers who sat inside and were protected from the weather. Fares were sixpence and one shilling, less than a hackney cab or short-stage coach, but still too expensive for the lower classes.
1829 July 4th George Shillibeer Omnibus, London, U.K. First Omnibus between Paddington and Bank of England via the New Road, now Marylebone Rd., Somers Town and City Rd. Via Wikimedia Commons.
In 1832, the London City monopoly of hackney carriages was removed, so horse buses expanded and within two years there were 620 licensed horse buses in London. By the Great Exhibition in 1851, London’s increase in visitors meant this number doubled and the number of routes increased to 150. By 1856, several bus operators were taken over by the new London General Omnibus Company until, with 600 omnibuses, they were the largest bus company in the world. In 1833, the first real steam omnibuses, the ‘Era’ and ‘Autopsy’ were invented by Walter Hancock, of Stratford, and started on the London roads. The ‘Era’ was the better omnibus of the two, and the most flattering things were said and predicted of it. Enthusiasts declared that omnibuses of this type would enable passengers to be carried at a cheaper rate and greater speed. The ‘Era’ ran from Paddington to the Bank, the same route as the horse-drawn omnibuses, and carried fourteen passengers, the fare being sixpence all the way. It travelled at the rate of ten miles an hour. Travel on these roads was also dangerous as highwaymen stopped and robbed anyone who came along. Male or female made no difference to highwaymen in Britain, nor to the bushrangers in Australia or the gangs on American roads, as they robbed indiscriminately and often with violence.
By the end of the 18th Century, however, travel as a pleasurable pursuit came into vogue and numerous guides were written for traveling all over the British Isles as well as on the continent. The 1812 ‘Tour Of Dr. Syntax’ was an ironic look at the new obsession of travel and travel guides. Before he set off for the Lake District, Dr. Syntax said to his wife, “You well know what my pen can do, and I’ll employ my pencil too: I’ll ride and write, and sketch and print and thus create a real mint: I’ll prose it here, I’ll verse it there and picturesque it everywhere. I’ll do what all have done before; I think I shall and somewhat more.” Georgian and Regency travelers were envious of aristocrats, even if they were of the nobility themselves, and loved to view all the British Great Houses.
A gentleman and his wife would even drive up to the front door of a mansion house and demand to be given a tour of the house. If they weren’t admitted, they would write in their journals of the inhospitable nature of the people on a particular estate. Thomas Pennant, William Mavor, and others, loved to write about these bad experiences and have them published. Paterson’s British Itinerary, a travel guide had 17 editions between 1785-1832 – it outlined the roads used by the stage and mail coaches, the tolls, the bridges, etc. This new touring craze created an industry of hospitality that encompassed more than simple mail coach trips from place to place, and more than a noble family traveling from their country seat to the Metropolis of London for parliamentary sittings. Inns had to improve the quality of the linens and meals if they wanted to attract the wealthier traveling class. Before that, many travelers carried their own linen, crockery, glasses, and utensils, as they didn’t trust the hygiene or standards of country inns.
Travel became something written about by poets with many sonnets written to the beauty of places like the Lake District in England, or the pyramids in Egypt. Inns became cleaner and more respectable so they could welcome travelers of the upper classes. This also meant that women could travel more as roads were slowly improved from rutted tracks that were only suitable for horse riding to roads that family coaches could travel along, though these roads were still narrow and subject to extremes of weather, such as flooding. The race was on to travel from places like London to Edinburgh in the fastest possible time.
1802 Full Dress of Blue Court Suit, French. Man’s grand parure, or full dress, with white lace on the tailcoat and ruffles on the shirt, jewels, white stockings, black dress shoes, sword and a bicorn hat under his arm. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costume Parisien. Typical menswear for court in most parts of Europe in the early 1800s, or Regency Era, or Jane Austen’s times, included a tailcoat, a vest or waistcoat, breeches, stockings, dress shoes, and hat.
1818 Printed Cotton Gown, American. Brown high-waisted, or Empire line, gown as would have been worn during Jane Austen’s lifetime. Sleeves are puffed at the shoulders with unusual puffs to decorate the long straight sleeves. Hem has multiple rows of ruffles to decorate. via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
1800-1850 ca. Reticule, Or Bag. Brown bag with monogram and drawstring, British. The Bridgerton family and Jane Austen and their female contemporaries would have sewn, gifted and used a bag similar to this. via Snowshill Manor, National Trust, U.K. nationaltrustimages.org.uk
Definition Reticule: Bag or purse, often with a drawstring to pull closed and usually made of cloth or covered cardboard and often decorated with beading or embroidery. A reticule, or purse, or handbag, was usually carried by a woman during the Regency period to carry all their daily necessities. Earlier, women used pockets that tied at the waistline and were hidden in the folds of their skirts. Empire style, or early 1800s, high-waisted dresses made it impossible to either sewn in a pocket or to tie on a pocket. So women began carrying small, decorated bags called Reticules, or ridicules, which generally pulled close at the top with a drawstring.
1806 Short Sleeved White Muslin Dress With Train, French. Bodice and sleeves have ribbon decoration, evening flowered headdress, half parure of necklace and ear bobs, and gorgeous Indian hand loomed green shawl. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1805-1809
Definition Jewelry – Parure: Matched set of jewelry, including a necklace, bracelet, earrings, pin etc. Half Parure had no headpiece.
Definition Shawls: The shawl started off in India as a fine wool garment for men that could be worn as a scarf, turban or as a mantle: the word comes from the Persian shäl. Originally imported from the East, European Kashmir shawls were made first in Norwich and Edinburgh in Britain in the late 18th century. Shawls were an essential item in the early 1800s to cover the thin gowns women wore. They were made of muslin, gauze, silk, wool, and velvet, though cashmere shawls were the softest and most prized.
1819 February Pink Ball Dress, English. Underskirt with white lace hem, pink layer with intricate decoration, short puffed sleeves, low décolletage, or neckline, white shawl and white hat with pink feather. Fashion Plate via John Belle’s La Belle Assemblée or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine, London. Women’s clothing came in the late 1810s came in a wide range of styles to suit every season and occasion. When attending assemblies or balls, ladies in Jane Austen’s times women wore Empire style dresses which were usually made of light fabric and floaty in style and often of a shorter length suitable for dancing. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819
Definition Ball Dress: At the end of the 1810s, ball or dancing dresses had higher hemlines that rose several inches above the ankle so ladies wouldn’t trip on their hens or flounces and make a spectacle of themselves.
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, or during the years of the Bridgerton series, the favorite feathers were osprey and heron.
1816 October Half-Dress. A gown of lilac sarsnet, cut low round the bust, which is trimmed with pink ribbon, disposed so as to form a wreath; the shape of the back is marked by hands of pink, and a large bow, in the French style, ornaments the middle of it at bottom. The back is full; a plain light front forms the shape in a most becoming manner. Long full sleeve, composed of clear muslin, trimmed at the wrist with a single row of lace, and finished by a pink bow. Fichu to correspond, very full trimmed round the throat with lace. The bottom of the skirt is edged with pink, and trimmed with a single flounce of blond lace, set on very full, and surmounted by a wreath of French roses. Cornette composed of tulle, finished by a quilling of blond round the face, and fastened by a pink bow under the chin; a bow to correspond ornaments it on the forehead, and a bunch of flowers is placed very far back on the head. The style of this cornette, though French, is so simply elegant and becoming, that we have not for some time seen any half-dress cap to equal it. Plain gold ornaments. White kid gloves, and white kid slippers with pink rosettes. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
Definition Half Dress: Between undress and full dress, respectable outfit without an excess of formal accessories and might be worn either day or evening. Could include Afternoon Dress, such as Afternoon Walking Dress and even Evening Dress if not a very formal evening occasion, such as a theatre attendance or dinner engagement.
Definition Empire Style: Named after the First Empire in France, by 1800 Empire dresses had a very low décolleté, or neckline and a short narrow backed bodice attached to a separate skirt. 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 simple cotton high-waisted dress was worn most days and accessorized according to the importance of the occasion.
19th Century Embroidered Silk Bag, Japan. Metal clasp and chain, embroidered with a beautiful bird and flowers. via Ruby Lane Antiques. rubylane.com
Definition Reticule: Bag or purse, often with a drawstring to pull closed and usually made of cloth or covered cardboard and often decorated with beading or embroidery. A reticule, or purse, or handbag, was usually carried by a woman during the Regency period to carry all their daily necessities. Earlier, women used pockets that tied at the waistline and were hidden in the folds of their skirts. Empire style, or early 1800s, high-waisted dresses made it impossible to either sewn in a pocket or to tie on a pocket. So women began carrying small, decorated bags called Reticules, or ridicules, which generally pulled close at the top with a drawstring.
