Category Archives: History

1820 ca. High-Waisted Cream Pelisse, Or Coat, as fashionable in Bridgerton times. #Bridgerton #RegencyFashion #Pelisse #Coat

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1820 ca. Cream Pelisse, English. Empire, or high-waisted, coat, long sleeves, collar, shoulder extensions over the sleeves and elaborate front decoration, corded cotton, cotton thread, and shell buttons. via National Gallery of Victoria, Australia. ngv.vic.gov.au books2read.com/suzilovePelisse

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 Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons.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.

1820 ca. Cream Pelisse, English. Empire, or high-waisted, coat, long sleeves, collar, shoulder extensions over the sleeves and elaborate front decoration, corded cotton, cotton thread, and shell buttons. via National Gallery of Victoria, Australia. ngv.vic.gov.au https://books2read.com/suzilovePelisse
1820 ca. High-Waisted Cream Pelisse, Or Coat, as fashionable in Bridgerton times. #Bridgerton #RegencyFashion #Pelisse #Coat books2read.com/suzilovePelisse
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1816 White short length dancing dress as worn by the Bridgertons and Jane Austen. Multiple frills above hem and a black bodice. #Bridgerton #RegencyEra #JaneAusten #HistoricalFashion

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1816 Ball Dress, French, as worn by the Bridgertons and Jane Austen. White short length dancing dress, multiple frills above hem, black bodice with a back bow, hair braided and pinned into an upswept evening style. Fashion Plate  via  Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.

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 of light fabric and floaty in style and often of a shorter length suitable for dancing.

1816 Ball Dress, French. White short length dancing dress, multiple frills above hem, black bodice with a back bow, hair braided and pinned into an upswept evening style.Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
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1775-1777 ca. Gold, Silver and Cut Diamonds Snuffbox With Medallion, Russian. #GeorgianEra #Antiques #Russia

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1775-1777 ca. Snuffbox With Medallion, Russian. Made by Johann Baltasar Gass St Petersburg, Russia. Gold, silver, cut diamonds; chased, engraved and pounced. via liveinternet.ru

18th Century Snuff Boxes. Not only were boxes made to serve a purpose, but decorative boxes of all types were prized, especially in the 18th Century when everything decorative and extravagant was in vogue and taking a pinch of snuff was fashionable. Snuff is made from ground or pulverized tobacco leaves and is sniffed from a pinch of snuff placed on the back of the hand. Flavorings were added to the tobacco to give a fast hit of nicotine and a lasting scent. Snuff began in the Americas and was used in Europe by the 17th Century.

1775-1777 ca. Snuffbox With Medallion, Russian. Made by Johann Baltasar Gass St Petersburg, Russia. Gold, silver, cut diamonds; chased, engraved and pounced. via liveinternet.ru
1775-1777 ca. Snuffbox With Medallion, Russian. Made by Johann Baltasar Gass St Petersburg, Russia. Gold, silver, cut diamonds; chased, engraved and pounced. via liveinternet.ru

Snuff became popular from the mid 1600s to the mid 1800s and was more popular than smoking. Inhaling snuff, or snuffing, was first seen by a European missionary in 1493 in Christopher Columbus’s new world within Haiti’s indigenous Taino. Until then, tobacco had been unknown to Europeans, but its use spread quickly throughout Europe during the 1500s.  By the second half of the 17th century, ornate boxes started being produced to keep the precious powder dry and an entire industry making accessories blossomed around the fashion of taking snuff.  Noblemen, and some women, carried extravagantly decorated snuff boxes with them at all times and would offer a pinch of their own particular blend to friends and family. Therefore, these boxes were always on display and so it became a competition to see who could have the most bejeweled or expensive box possible.

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1800s Early The Metropolitan Police In Jane Austen and Bridgerton Years, London. #JaneAusten #Bridgerton #BritishHistory #RegencyEra #police #London

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The Metropolitan Police, London Before 1829

  • Policing in the 17th and 18th centuries – one unarmed able-bodied citizen in each parish a man was appointed or elected annually to serve for a year unpaid as parish constable. 
  • Worked in co-operation with the local Justices in observing laws and maintaining order. 
  • In towns, responsibility for the maintenance of order was conferred on the guilds 
  • Later conferred on other specified groups of citizens
  • These supplied bodies of paid men, known as The Watch
  • The Watch guarded the gates and patrolled the streets at night
  • Huge social and economic changes and increases in town populations meant parish constables and Watch systems couldn’t cope. 
  • In 1812, 1818 and 1822, Parliamentary committees investigated crime and policing. 
  • Impotence of the law-enforcement machinery was a serious menace
  • Conditions became intolerable and led to the formation of the New Police
  • The Metropolitan Police
  • Established by an Act of Parliament in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel
  • Peel appointed 2 Commissioners
  • Appointed 895 Constables, 88 Sergeants, 20 Inspectors and 8 Superintendents. 
  • Superseded the local Watch in the London area but the City of London was not covered. 
  • Numbers increased
  • Grew to include the Greater London area (excluding the City of London) 
  • Included parts of the Home Counties and all Royal Naval Dock Yards throughout the country. 
  • First officer was given the warrant number ‘1’ 
  • Today the service is reaching near to a quarter million
  • The warrant number is unique to the officer
  • Different from the shoulder number which changes as the officer moves stations.  Scotland Yard
  • Colonel Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne organized and designed the New Police
  • The two Commissioners occupied a private house at 4, Whitehall Place
  • The back opened on to a courtyard and used as a police station
  • This address led to the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police being known as Scotland Yard.
  • Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary. Regarded as the father of modern British policing as he founded the Metropolitan Police Service. 

Other Police organizations

  • Some older police establishments remained outside control of the Metropolitan Police Office  
  • The Bow Street Patrols, mounted and foot, commonly called the Bow Street runners.
  • Police Office constables attached to the offices of, and under the control of, the Magistrates.
  • The Marine or River Police.
  • By 1839 all these establishments had been absorbed by the Metropolitan Police Force. 
  • The City of London Police was set up in 1839 and is an independent force to this day.
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 ? 2 July 1850) Portrait by Henry William Pickersgill. British Conservative statesman, twice Prime Minister of U.K., Chancellor of Exchequer, and Home Secretary. 1829 Founded the Metropolitan Police Service. Via Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org
1800s Early The Metropolitan Police In Jane Austen and Bridgerton Years, London. #JaneAusten #Bridgerton #BritishHistory #RegencyEra #police #London books2read.com/suziloveROver
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Rates of Postage of single Letters in Pence In Great Britain in Jane Austen’s times. #JaneAusten #RegencyEra #Postal #BritishHistory

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Rates of Postage of single Letters in Pence In Great Britain in Jane Austen’s times.

  • From any post-office in England or Wales, to any place not exceeding 15 miles from such office – 3
  • For any distance above 15, and not exceeding 30 miles — 4
  • For any distance above 30, and not exceeding 50 miles — 5
  • For any distance above 50, and not exceeding 80 miles – 6
  • For any distance above 80, and not exceeding 12O miles — 7
  • For any distance above 120, and not exceeding 170 miles – 8
  • For any distance above 170, and not exceeding 230 miles — 9
  • For my distance above 230, and not exceeding 300 miles – 10
  • For any distance above 300, and not exceeding 400 miles – 11
  • For any distance above 400, and nut exceeding 500 mites – 12
  • 1802 Picture of London Printed for R. Phillips via Google Books (PD-180)

The Twopenny Post- Office.

  • There are two principal offices, one in the General Post—office yard, Lombard—street  and the other in Gerrard-street, Soho. There are also numerous receiving houses in both the town and country.
  • There are SI X collections and deliveries of letters in town daily, (Sundays excepted) and there are two dispatches from, and three deliveries at, most places in the country, within the limits of this office.
  • 1802 Picture of London Printed for R. Phillips via Google Books (PD-180)

1802 Rates Of Postage Of Single Letters In Pence. From: 1802 Picture of London Printed for R. Phillips via Google Books (PD-180)) © SuziLove.com
1802 Rates Of Postage Of Single Letters In Pence. From: 1802 Picture of London Printed for R. Phillips via Google Books (PD-180))
Rates of Postage of single Letters in Pence In Great Britain in Jane Austen’s times. #JaneAusten #RegencyEra #Postal #BritishHistory https://books2read.com/suziloveROver
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1802 August. Two Ladies in Evening Dresses In the Styles Worn By Jane Austen. #RegencyFashion #HistoricalFashion #JaneAusten

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1802 August. Two Ladies in Evening Dresses in the high-waisted, or Empire line, styles worn By Jane Austen. White dress with pink trim, pink fan, and pink plumed headdress. Aqua blue dress with white bodice and a blue trimmed evening headdress.

 The Empire dress which evolved in the late 1790s began as a chemise shift gathered under the breasts and at the neck. 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. 

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.

1802_August_EveningDresses_PinkBorder
1802 August. Two Ladies in Evening Dresses In the Styles Worn By Jane Austen. #RegencyFashion #HistoricalFashion #JaneAusten https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1801-1804
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1821 December High-Waisted Green Promenade Dress, Or Pelisse, English. #Regency #Fashion #Pelisse

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1821 December Green Promenade Dress, English. High waisted coat over white dress with ruffled collar, vertical front bows, short puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves, matching ruffled bonnet and yellow gloves. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’, London, U.K.

1821 December Green Promenade Dress, English. High waisted coat over white dress with ruffled collar, vertical front bows, short puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves, matching ruffled bonnet and yellow gloves. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann's 'The Repository of Arts', London, U.K.https://www.suzilove.com/wp-admin/books2read.com/suzilovePelisse
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1800s Early Typical Outfit Of A Gentleman Riding His Horse In The Time Of Jane Austen. #HistoricalFashion #RegencyFashion #JaneAusten

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1800s Early Typical Regency Gentleman Riding His Horse. Fashions In The Time Of Jane Austen.

From the finish of the 18th century until 1820, men’s fashions in European and European-influenced countries moved away from the formal wear of brocades, lace, wigs and powder to more informal and relaxed styles. Focus was on undress rather than formal dress.  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. 

1800s Early A Gentleman Riding His Horse.
1800s Early A Gentleman Riding His Horse.

In 1806, the Journal des Dames et des Modes stated, ‘The informal outfit for a young man includes a coat of similar style, snug pantaloons which are probably knitted, and a striped waistcoat.’ 

Skirted coats were replaced with short-fronted, or cutaway, tailcoats worn over fitted waistcoats and plain, white linen shirts. Knee breeches were gradually replaced by tight-fitting pantaloons and later trousers, decorative shoes with buckles were replaced with a variety of boot styles, and fussy and ruffled neckwear gave way to intricately tied, white linen neck cloths. A Regency Era, or early 1800s, gentleman was outfitted in more practical fabrics, such as wool, cotton and buckskin rather than the fussy brocades and silks of the late 1700s. 

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1600 Pair of Backless Chopines, or Shoes, made of Pine-wood and Leather, British. #Shoes #FashionHistory #BritishHistory

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1600 Pair of Backless Chopines. Pine-wood covered with punched kid leather. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.

Definition Chopine: Women’s platform shoes worn in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Used as a patten, clog, or evershoe to protect shoes and dresses from mud and street soil. Worn in Venice by courtesans and patrician women from 1400-1700.

These chopines are made of pine-wood. The wood is covered in kid leather with punched decoration and figured silk underlay. This pair are fairly modest. More extreme versions were over 50 cms high. Chopines were based on the shoes worn at Turkish baths. They were first worn by Venetian prostitutes and fashionable Venetian aristocrats then adopted them. The chopine was originally a form of overshoe, which is why it has no back. Later versions could be worn as either overshoes or on their own.

1600 Pair of Backless Chopines. Pine-wood covered with punched kid leather. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
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Cartoon: 1812 -1813 Woman elaborately clothed and wearing neck ruffle steps off the kerb into the street. #cartoon #Regencyfashion #janeausten

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1812 -1813 Woman elaborately clothed and wearing a fichu, or neck ruffle, steps off the kerb into the street. She holds up her dress before stepping over the dirty Parisian gutter. French Cartoon Series Le Bon Genre Plate 54. Published by: Pierre La Mésangère. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashion1810-1814

  • Le Bon Genre, or Good Taste, series pokes fun at the absurdities of the fashion styles adopted by high society.
  • Plate 54: Manches en Spirale. Profusion de Garnitures. Mouchoir servant de porte-clef.
  • Manches en Spirale: Spiral Sleeves. Spiraling or puffy sleeves of the late Empire period looked like three-scoop ice cream cones. 
  • Profusion de Garnitures: Profusion of Trimmings.
  • Ridicules the excessive use of ruffles, bows, and lace on a garment. 
  • Mouchoir servant de porte-Clef: Handkerchief used as a Keyring. Women made a fashion statement by carrying richly decorated handkerchiefs that doubled as makeshift keyrings.

Definition Fichu: Triangular piece of lace, muslin, or other cloth worn about the neck and cleavage to fill in a low bodice or neckline and preserve a lady’s modesty. From the French ‘thrown over’.

1812 -1813 Woman elaborately clothed and wearing a fichu, or neck ruffle steps off the kerb into the street. French Cartoon Series Le Bon Genre Plate 54. Published by: Pierre La Mésangère.
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