1802 Blue Riding Habit, French. Lady in a riding costume with a black fitted hat and a whip. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. Typical of the riding costumes worn by Jane Austen’s female contemporaries. The style is still in the Empire fashion of a high-waist with the skirt falling from just under the bust and worn under a matching short jacket or Spencer.
1811 Typical Regency Era Man’s Overcoat or Driving Coat. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. Overcoats were called many names: Greatcoat, Carrick or Garrick Coat, Coachman’s or Driving Or Box Coat. With many shoulder capes, or pelerines, to keep rain and snow off the body.
1800 Gentleman In Morning Dress French. Looking In Mirror, Double breasted, long coat high black boots with tan tops red cravat walking stick. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
During the early 1800s 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 were replaced with boot, such as the tan topped boots worn here, and fussy 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. The men in Jane Austen’s life would have worn an elegant outdoor ensemble like this for everyday excursions around the countryside.
What did the lady of the house use to pen notes in Bridgerton and Jane Austen’s years? What sat on the desk of Jane Austen’s male contemporaries when they managed household and estate accounts? books2read.com/SuziLoveWritingTools. Writing Tools, History Notes Book 13.
1816 White Walking Dress of short length and double row of frills at the hem. With pretty pink V-necked Spencer and carrying a reticule, walking shoes and floral wreath in her hair. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. Jane Austen and her contemporaries often walked to places and so would have needed the warmth of a Spencer over her dress in the cold British winters. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819
Definition Spencer: Short jacket, cropped at the waist, worn over a dress, or gown. These close-fitting, tight sleeved, waist length jackets were modeled on a gentleman’s riding coat, but without tails. Delicate and regency dresses provided so little protection from the cold, so over garments were essential for warmth, modesty and good health.
Definition Ridicule, Reticule, Indispensable, or Handbag: From the late 1700s, pockets could no longer be sewn into gowns, as skirts fell from just under the bust and were full and flowing. Instead, women began carrying small bags, known at first as ridicules and later as reticules, to keep necessary items on their person e.g. handkerchiefs, coins, vinaigrettes, calling cards, glasses etc.
Definition Empire Style Dress: Named after the First Empire in France. Empire dresses had a low neckline and 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 high-waisted dress was worn most days. Cotton, silk or taffeta were the popular fabrics. Only the very wealthy could afford white dress in this style as the cottons were imported from India and had to be carefully cleaned, usually by a lady’s maid.
1808 Jane Austen Style Blue Redingote Over A White Dress. Green turban and lace veils. Bodice. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
French fashions like this were copied by English magazines so these styles of hats would have been worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries.
1800s Early Women’s Fashions Collage . Typical of the outfits worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries for daytime and evening activities. An Empire style, or high-waisted white cotton dress worn under a Spencer or short jacket, a Redingote, or coat, for warmth and with pretty hats, shawls and shoes.Women’s Fashions By Suzi Love. High-waisted dresses, hats, muff, parasol, cape, reticule or bag and shoes.
Regency Era women’s fashions are elegant, pretty, and sometimes afford a gentleman a tiny glimpse of a well-turned ankle. Though to me, that sounds more like the lady has sprained her ankle rather than her ankle looking fashionably slim. High-waisted, or Empire style, white gowns defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given to the period when Napoleon Bonaparte built his French Empire. High-waisted, loose gowns were adopted by the aristocracy as a symbol of turning away from the fussy, elaborate and expensive clothing worn in the 1700s.
Dress fabrics were thinner, sometimes almost transparent, which meant outerwear needed to be thicker and more practical. A coat, called a Redingote in France, a Pelisse in England, and a Walking Dress or Carriage Dress in Rudolph Ackermann’s fashion plates, became a necessity to keep out the chilling cold. Half cloaks, cloche or close-fitting hats, and accessories such as oversized fur muffs were very popular.
1810 Couple In Walking Dress, French. Lady in a jade green Redingote, or coat, with paisley skirt, worn over a white dress with sleeves caught up, and hat tied under her chin. Man in a brown tailcoat, tight white pants that button down the sides, black hat and shoes and carrying a walking stick. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
The sort of outfits a lady and gentleman in Jane Austen’s times would have worn while out walking, shopping, or going to visit friends.
Pelisse, or Walking Dress, or Redingote. The Fashion Dictionary description of a Redingote is (réd’ing-göt; red ing gote). Pronounced: red ing gote Woman’s long, fitted coat often cut Princess style and worn open in front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made for men 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 but in the British Regency Era a Pelisse was often made from a lighter fabric, such as cotton.
1804-1814 ca. Breeches, French. Cream silk and linen. Buttoned waist, drop down front flap, or fall, extra fullness in the back for ease of movement, ties at the knees to keep in place. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Definition Pants – Breeches: Men’s close-fitting pants that fastened just below the knees or above the ankles with buttons, drawstrings, or buckles. They had a horizontal front flap called a ‘fall’ which unbuttoned to drop down. Some falls were narrow and some wide. Breeches were worn with stockings. In Jane Austen’s times, or the Regency Era, breeches were worn tighter to show off a gentleman’s manly physique, often leaving nothing to the imagination.
1803 Bodice and Turbans, French. Turbans in red pink purple and blue. Worn over short curled hairstyles. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.) https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1801-1804
Definition Turban: Early 19th-century etiquette required a lady’s head to be covered at all times, even with evening dress. In Jane’s Austen’s world, a lady wore some sort of hat or bonnet during the day when out and about, a cap during the night to keep her hair in place and for relaxed morning dress e.g. for breakfast, and for evenings either a small hat or turban. From 1800 to 1820, hats came in every shape, color, and size. Turbans, jockey caps, and straw bonnets were decorated with flowers, ribbons, lace, and feathers. Turbans, especially decorated with feathers were popular.
