1809 October Blue Ball Dress, English. A light blue, or grey chemise robe, of gossamer net, imperial crape, worn over white satin, ornamented up the front with French bows and knots of silver. A full melon sleeve, formed of the same material as the dress, and alternate stripes of white satin, finished with bows and knots of silver. A double roll of white satin around the neck by way of a tucker. Hair falling in natural and irregular curls on the forehead, confined in a bow and curled ends, or in plaited braids, at the back of the head with a diamond comb. Diamond bandeau, with necklace, armlets, and drop earrings of the same. Slippers of white satin, with silver clasps, French kid gloves, just escaping the elbow. Fan of carved ivory. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
Definition Bandana Or Bandeau: Narrow strip or band worn around head to confine hair. Made of either twisted fabric, length of pearls, flowers, jewels or feathers. From the French word for “strip.
Almack’s Assembly Rooms often appear in Regency Era romances as they were a well known gathering place for those in the Ton looking for wives or husbands. 1770-1840 . Almack’s or Willis’s Rooms, King Street, St James, London, UK. Almack’s Assembly Rooms, founded by William Almack at No. 26-28, were on the site of the present Almack House. The club was originally a gaming establishment but moved from Pall Mall. The Assembly rooms were on the South side of King Street in St James’s and were opened on February 12, 1765. At the time the subscription was ten guineas for which there was a ball and supper each week for the twelve weeks of the season.
Assemblies were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but only four or five times a season. Dates were listed in the paper along with the names of the Patronesses. When Lady Jersey took over Almack’s around 1815, assemblies were changed to Wednesdays. Many aristocrats were reportedly offended by something that happened at Almack’s but Lord Jersey is reported to have refused to duel over any inferred slights because it would have meant he was forever involved in a duel. The other well-known Patronesses were Lady Bathurst and Lady Downshire.
1826 Almack’s Revisited by Charles White.: ‘It was what most correct persons called ‘horrid bad Almack’s’. #RegencyEra #London #BritishHistory1817 April Ladies’ Voucher for all the Wednesday balls at Almack’s in April 1817. via The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, U.S.A.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.
1765-1840 ca. Almack’s, or Willis’s, Assembly Rooms, South Side Of King Street, St James, London. commons.wikimedia.org
1800s Early Exterior of Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London, UK.
Captain Gronow, an army officer in London around 1814, wrote about the rules of Almack’s in Captain Gronow’s Recollections and Anecdotes, 1864 , but only gives his views on a few years of Almack’s history.
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.
