19th Century Late. Quill Box and Writing Slope, India. Scalloped base and drawer. Desk opens up to a writing slope and opens again to hidden drawers. Complete with candle holders and ink pots. The type of inkstand that households woulds have in Jane Austen’s times for writing letters and keeping track of estate matters. Many of these exotic and decorative items were brought to England by gentlemen doing their Grand Tour through Europe and Asia. via 1st Dibs Auctions ~ 1stdibs.com
1800 ca. Fawn Cotton Bodiced Petticoat With Front Lacing, English. via National Trust Collections, UK. nationaltrustcollections.org.uk
Because dresses were so light and airy as to be almost see-through, petticoats were needed to protect a woman’s modesty. If a glimpse of an ankle was supposed to turn a man’s head, imagine what would happen if he saw an entire lady’s exposed leg.
Did Jane Austen wear this type of petticoat under her dress? Probably. This wide necked, small shoulder straps and Empire, or high-waisted, undergarment would have provided some warmth plus protect the modesty of Regency Era women. This would be worn under the high-waisted, wide necked, small bodiced type of thin, or even almost transparent, dresses of the early 1800s.
1817 March. Opera Dress, English. The sort of outfit Jane Austen and her contemporaries or the Bridgerton women would wear for an evening at the opera or theatre. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
A blue crape dress over a white satin slip; the dress trimmed round the skirt with a deep blond lace, which is headed with a light and novel trimming, composed of white floss silk and small pearl beads: this trimming is surmounted with a beautiful deep embroidery of lilies, surrounded by leaves. The body and sleeves of this dress, as our readers will perceive by our print, are extremely novel. Head-dress, toque à la Berri; it is a crown of a novel form, tastefully ornamented round the top with lilies to correspond with the trimming of the skirt, and a plume of white feathers, which droop over the face. Ear-rings, necklace, and bracelets, sapphire mixed with pearl. The hair dressed in loose light ringlets on the forehead, and disposed in full curls in the back of the neck. White kid gloves, and white satin slippers.
1804 Royal Mint, Stamping Room, London, U.K. As Jane Austen would have known it. From Ackermann’s Microcosm of London by A.C. Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson.
“Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.” — Jane Austen Emma (1815
1860 New Hebrides, Pacific Ocean.
Nothing had prepared Lady Katharine Montgomery for the jumble of feelings overwhelming her when Alex worshipped her body, first with words and later with his hands and mouth. For years around this house, she’d been forced to appear dowdy, unintelligent, and totally self-effacing to never anger her father, or draw his wrath. Now, though, every degrading restriction was lifted from her mind, body, and life.
Her father was dead. Yesterday, she’d buried her hatred for the despicable man who’d given her life during the quarter hour it took to stand at his grave and, along with all the other hypocrites present, pretend to mourn as they buried his mortal remains. He’d cheated traders, beaten plantation workers, and horse-whipped her within an inch of her life. She and all the other mourners hoped he’d rot in hell.
Last night, she’d felt free to liberate the passionate nature she’d kept buried for six and twenty years for fear of her father’s explosive wrath. But one night with Lord Alexander St. John had changed everything. One night with a lover who was gentle and caring had her aching for more, more of Alex and more of life with him.
1818-1823 ca. Turban, London, U.K. Silk, silk thread, paper, cotton, wire,and hand-sewn. Cap is gathered and full to mimic the shape of a turban which became popular evening wear around 1820 when ‘exotic’ was fashionable.
Silk, silk thread, paper, cotton, wire and hand-sewn. A full cap of white satin gathered into a headband in imitation of a turban. The crown is inset with white net embroidered in circles with white silk thread. The headband is of white satin with three horizontal tucks and edged with white silk plush. Trimmed on one side with artificial flowers made of wired green paper leaves and white muslin rosebuds. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, U.K.
Early 19th-century etiquette required a lady’s head to be covered at all times, even with evening dress. A cap such as this one, gathered and full to suggest the shape of a turban, was popular for evening wear about 1820. The Romantic movement created an interest in the dress of non-European countries, particularly North Africa and the Middle East. Decorative motifs and accessories were borrowed to make current fashions more ‘exotic’. Although knowledge of the proper proportions and construction of a turban was not available to British milliners, the overall shape was approximated for the most fashionable headwear.
1818-1823 ca. Silk Turban As Worn In Jane austen and Bridgerton Times. #Bridgerton #JaneAusten #RegencyEra #HistoricalFashion #Hats https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819 Share on X1810-1820 ca. Pantaloons, Probably Military, British. The type of pants worn by men in Jane Austen’s times when wars were being fought all over the world, especially in Europe. Machine-knitted white cotton decorated with cream silk braid on sides and fronts as seen on Hussar uniforms. Cut to fit the leg and button bottom at waist with three buttons. Front fall buttons over five buttoned fly, two horizontal pockets at front below waistband and fob pocket in waistband. Four metal buttons for braces, two front and two back. Cotton ‘puff’ centre back waist and two linen tapes for waist adjustment. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
Pair of men’s pantaloon trousers made of machine-knitted white cotton and decorated with cream silk braid applied down the sides and on the fronts. This imitates the hussar uniforms of the period and appeared on fashionable men’s dress. The pantaloons are cut to fit the leg and button at the bottom with three buttons. The pantaloons fasten at the front with front falls buttoning over a five buttoned fly. There are two horizontal pockets at the front below the waistband and a fob pocket in the waistband. There are four metal buttons for braces, two at the front and two at the back. These probably are original. There is a cotton ‘puff’ at the centre back waist and two linen tapes for waist adjustment.
Pantaloons also brought the glamour of military uniform into men’s fashionable dress, especially when teamed with Hessian boots. Uniforms worn by the various armies during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) were often very colourful and lavishly adorned with braid and tassels. It is hardly surprising that some of these attractive trimmings should have infiltrated fashion, particularly when nationalistic feelings ran high. Civilian pantaloons were often ornamented with military-style braid that was applied in a vertical band of topside Russia braiding. They were not, however, generally decorated on the front, which suggests that this pair was for military use. The silk braid is applied in the form of an Austrian knot, which was a popular motif on pantaloons of the light cavalry such as the hussars and light dragoons.
“Her own thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions. ” Jane Austen Mansfield Park (1814)
1760 ca. Traveling Ink Set. Rectangular Shagreen case with hinged cover which opens to reveal an unmarked silver mounted inkwell and sander, a pen, and a desk seal.
Definition Shagreen: Type of rough untanned skin, sometimes made from a donkey or a horse, but often from a shark or a stingray.
