1800 ca. Bicorn, Or Two Cornered, Black Silk Hat, Possibly Made In Great Britain or France. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
Definition: Bicorn Or Bicorne: Two cornered, or pointed, hats often worn by military men because the rain would drain off either side of the hat and away from the body. They could also be easily flattened to carry under arm. This sort of hat would have been worn by gentlemen around the turn of the century and during Jane Austen’s writing life.
1800 Riding Dress of A Young French Man. Blue cutaway coat with wide collar, loose pants tucked into high black riding boots, high white cravat, brown gloves, riding crop and a very small black hat. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
1804-1829 ca. Two Gentlemen and A Lady, Italian. Dressed as ladies and gentlemen would be in the times of the Bridgerton family and Jane Austen and friends. Gentleman in a caped overcoat with black top hat and red umbrella. Lady in walking costume of lavender cape over red dress, red shawl, white bonnet and black walking shoes. Gentleman in blue opera cloak with red lining, black top hat and black shoes. Men And Women In Costumes, 1804-1829 The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division, The New York Public Library. nypl.org The sort of fashionable outfit and items worn or carried by Jane Austen and her contemporaries when out walking. Outfits were always heavily accessorized with coats, shawls, hats and parasols.
What did Jane Austen and friends wear? Early 1800s fashions were elegant and pretty with high waists and fabrics that were almost transparent. These Empire style gowns, named after Napoleon’s first Empress, became popular throughout Europe, and were then copied around the world. Colorful outwear was added to make an ensemble more attractive and warmer. History Notes Book 26 Fashion Women 1805-1809. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1805-1809
The Empire waist gown defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given in France to the period when Napoleon 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. Jean-Jaques Rousseau advocated copying peasants and returning to a simpler life and more natural fashions. Unrestricting clothing was part of the new Democracy in France and these simpler and flowing fashions were adopted all over Europe, including Britain and despite the continual wars being fought against France during the early 1800s. Not even war stopped fashions from being copied everywhere.
A portrait from 1810-1814 of Rudolph Ackermann, shop owner and founder of ‘The Repository Of Arts’ magazine, The Strand, London. via National Portrait Gallery, London. Plus, an image of Ackermann’s premises in 1809. His ‘Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashion, Manufactures, etc.’ was published from 1809 to 1829 with images of Regency London, Regency furnishings and grand homes as well as beautiful fashion prints and descriptions every month. Ackermann originally supplied artists, amateur and professional, with supplies for watercolor painting. In 1799, he began manufacturing and selling his own watercolor paint blocks which were supplied by other colourmen, although at least three colors were his own mixture – Ackermann’s Green, White and Yellow. From 1817, his eldest son Rudolph Ackermann junior was responsible for the watercolor manufacturing. Ackermann also trained as a carriage designer. He began publishing prints and colour-plate books like ‘The Microcosm of London’ and ‘Doctor Syntax’ in the early 1800s.
The Repository of Arts was one the most popular magazines in Jane Austen’s time as it displayed everything ladies wanted to learn e.g. history, important country seats and houses in England, music, current events such as theatre plays, plus fashion plates and embroidery patterns. Ackermann’s shop in The Strand, London, was one of the fashionable places to shop during the Regency Era. The Repository also included poetry, travel reports, society reports and upcoming lectures. It also included serious subjects e.g. politics, legal matters, medicine and agriculture, a meteorological journal and details of the London markets. In 1817, the price of the magazine was 4 Shillings, so quite expensive for the time.
In the first issue, published for January 1809, Ackermann included an ‘introduction to the history of the useful and polite arts’ which said: “It is universally admitted, that to cultivate a taste for the arts, and an acquaintance with the sciences, is a pleasure of the most refined nature; but to do this without regard to its influence upon the passions and affections, is to ‘tear a tree for its blossoms, which is capable of yielding the richest and most valuable fruit.’ The cultivation of this taste may and ought to be subservient to higher and more important purposes: it should dignify and exalt our affections, and elevate them to the admiration and love of that Being who is the author of every thing that is fair, sublime, and good in nature.”
1825 Brown stays with center front busk, back lacing, hip shaping, breast gussets, widely spaced straps, cotton embroidered in ivory silks with hearts. via Kerry Taylor Auctions. kerrytaylorauctions.com https://books2read.com/SuziLoveCorsetBook17
The main purpose of corsets was to support and shape the breasts. Though they still slimmed the midriff, this was not the prime purpose of a corset in the 1820s. The waistline of dresses had lowered to below the bust line and nearer to the true waist so corsets were longer and were given added shaping by stitching and cording and by shaping the breasts with pleated or gathered cups.
1815 The First Quadrille at Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London. Left to Right: Marquis of Worcester, Lady Jersey, Clanronald MacDonald and Lady Worcester. “It was not until 1815 that Lady Jersey introduced from Paris the favourite quadrille, which has so long remained popular. I recollect the persons who formed the very first quadrille that was ever danced at Almack’s: they were Lady Jersey, Lady Harriett Butler, Lady Susan Ryde, and Miss Montgomery; the men being the Count St Aldegonde, Mr Montgomery, Mr Montague, and Charles Standish.” From The Reminiscences of Captain Gronow 1810-1860.
The patronesses of Almack’s controlled a lot of a young lady’s acceptance into English society in Jane Austen’s times. To be given a voucher and admitted to an assembly, there was an introduction into London’s polite society.
1800-1830 ca. Reticule, or Bag, American. Bottom of bag shaped like basket and made of stiff deep cream colored mohair with minute blue figure, two panels of light blue painted silk moiré, upper part of bag of deep cream colored figured silk, blue silk ribbon, drawstring and bows trimming lower part of bag. via Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, U.S.A. mfa.org
Definition Reticule Or Ridicule Or 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.
1817 January Carriage Costume, English. Red velvet pelisse trimmed with ermine to match muff, tops of sleeves caught up à la Mancheron with military silk chain work, Russian hussar cap of ermine with gold military chain, Limerick gloves and matching kid half-boots.
The ‘General Observations on Fashion and Dress’ describes this fashion plate as, ‘The truly elegant and costly carriage costume of which we have given so beautiful a specimen in our Plate, while it confers the highest honor on the taste of the inventress, is likely to be a most prevailing out-door covering for the carriage amongst ladies of wealth and fashion, being particularly adapted for the open barouche, as the manner in which it is made, with warm hussar cap of light and valuable fur, shields the fair wearer from all the severity of the pinching frost or cutting north wind.’
The Fashion Plate was invented by Mrs. Bell, a relative of the publisher, John Bell, and most likely also the writer of the general observations. Fashion Plate via John Belle’s La Belle Assemblée or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine, London.
Definition: Coat or Redingote Or Pelisse: Long fitted outdoor coat worn over other garments for warmth. French word developed from English words, riding coat.
Definition Sleeve à la Mancheron: An ornamented trimming or puff attached to the upper sleeve.
1817 Evening Mourning Dress, English. Black short length dress, layers of feathers on the skirt, long lace headdress falling from an upswept hairstyle and black shoes. Fashion Plate via John Belle’s La Belle Assemblée or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine, London.
Mourning – Full Or Deep Mourning: Entire ensemble and accessories must be black. Shiny fabrics were not allowed so bombazine became the fabric of choice for many. Hats had veils added and jet was the preferred jewelry.
Mourning – Half or Slight Mourning: allowed touches of grey and white to be added to full, or deep, mourning ensembles. Some lustre, or shine, was allowed in fabrics and accessories. After a time, mauve or deep purple could also be worn.
