1820 Gentleman’s Cream Redingote, Or Long Overcoat, French. Long pants, or trousers, buttoned at the ankles, frilled shirt, high cravat, vest, red fob hanging at his waist. via L’Observateur des Modes, French.
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1810 Man’s Suit and Girl’s Dress, Portugal. Man’s purple pleated silk jacket, vest, and breeches embroidered with silk threads. Girl: White silk tulle dress embroidered with silk threads and an overdress of yellow cotton satin. via National Costume Museum, Portugal. The sort of men’s formal clothing worn for court and typical girl’s dress as worn in Jane Austen’s times.
1810 Les Invisibles. By James Gillray. Two men walk towards each other, each with a lady hanging to each arm, all have their faces concealed by some part of their dress, hat, or collar, or both. One man has a round hat, with a fantastically curved brim projecting downwards. The other has a huge crescent-shaped cocked hat with the peaks dipping over face and back. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
1790-1800 ca. Men’s Riding Boots. Black leather with wide tan leather tops,
small heel and slightly rounded toes. via Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, USA.
collections.lacma.org
1810 Green Wool Coat With Metal Buttons, European. Velvet collar, lined, cutaway front and two rows of metal buttons. Back has horizontal pockets and gusset and flap with buttons. The sort of coat worn by gentlemen in Britain and Europe in the times of Jane Austen via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
1814 Couple In Walking Ensembles, French. Gentleman in a brown tailcoat with a notched collar and back pockets, vest, white breeches tied under his knees, red fob at the waist, white stockings, high white shirt collar, white cravat, top hat and cane. Lady in adorable pink Redingote with capes.
1800 ca. Brown Striped Trousers, American or European. Button front waistband, small drop down flap, or fall, pockets, and with extra fullness in the back for ease of movement. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. The style of men’s pants that replaced breeches as the fashionable pants item for men in Jane Austen’ times.
1810-1820 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.
1801 November 9th Playing Cards. Men and women play cards at round table. Supreme Bon Ton Plate 2. Published by S W Fores. Men and women play cards at round table. Man and woman talk to players. Woman sleeps in upright chair, two others, one with parasol and other fan, walk off arm-in-arm.Men: High-waisted coats, high collars, huge neck-cloths, with pumps or Hessian boots. Women: High-waisted dresses, short sleeves, long trains, very low necklines, short ringlets, two in caps. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
In Jane Austen’s times, cartoons posted in the windows of shops were one of the main ways people found news. Common people couldn’t afford newspapers so cartoonists ridiculed the people and the places with cartoons of the daily events happening in London and other cities. The ridiculous fashion trends of the late 1700s and early 1800s were easy targets for satirical cartoons as was the addiction to gambling by women and men alike.
