1804 September Exhibition of Water Coloured Drawings, Old Bond Street, London, U.K. Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson. Via Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org (PD-ART)


1804 September Exhibition of Water Coloured Drawings, Old Bond Street, London, U.K. Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson. Via Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org (PD-ART)


1818 May ‘Beau’s of 1818’ By George Cruikshank. Two Dandies shake hands while third watches. All wearing bell-shaped top-hats, extra high collars, short waists, long spurs and yellow gloves. One with moustache wears wide and short white trousers, one wears top-boots and riding-breeches and has monocle in his eye and third has very full trousers gathered above ankle. These are the sort of outfits that the Bridgerton men and Jane Austen’s male contemporaries would have worn. Hand colored etching. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)

1819 January ‘Going to White’s’. By Richard Dighton. Lord Alvanley walks on the pavement going to White’s Club for gentlemen in London wearing a top-hat, double-breasted coat, strapped trousers, and the high collar of a dandy. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
White’s was an exclusive Gentlemen’s Club on St. James Street, London, U.K where well-dressed men, or Dandies, gathered at a special table in front of the large bow window looking out at the street. This became known as a seat of privilege and was used by London’s most famous Dandy, Beau Brummell. Other well-known dandies were William Arden, Joshua Allen, Thomas Raikes and Ball Hughes. Cartoonists loved to ridicule these high-in-the-instep gentlemen who wore the most fashionable clothes and set the fashion trends for the Regency years, and the years when Jane Austen was writing her famous novels.


Fashion Women 1800 By Suzi Love History Notes Book 12 #Regency #Fashion Love gorgeous historical women’s fashions? Take a look at what women wore and carried in 1800 in Europe and around the world. This is the world Jane Austen lived in and the fashions she wore. books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1800


1843 Mail Coach now runs over ground in a little over four hours. Via 1843 The Chace, the Turf, and the Road by Nimrod via Google Books (PD-150)


I love Pinterest for keeping thousands of historical images in some sort of order. And I love using Pinterest Boards as inspiration for my romance books. What about you? Do you use Pinterest for planning something, or just for fun? Need more hints for what to do with your boards and pins? Take a look at these fascinating articles on Pinterest. if you want even more Pinterest information and tips for becoming a power user, check out my Suzi Love Pinterest Boards


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.


An overview of women’s fashions in the first twenty years of the 19th century. What was fashionable for women in Jane Austen’s times, or the early 1800s. Wars were being fought around the globe, so women’s fashion adopted a military look in support of soldiers. In Britain, the Prince Regent ruled instead of his father, King George III, so fashions, like the lifestyle, became more extravagant and accessories went from pretty to opulent. This set includes books 12, 25, 26, 27 and 28. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomenBoxSet
Ladies clothing in the early 1800’s featured a high waist line called an Empire Line, or Empire style dress, with a waist line just under the natural bust line and much higher than the natural waist. The high-waisted, or short-bodied, Regency styles shifted focus away from the natural waist and so left the natural waist unconstricted, in direct contrast to previous and future styles. Britain took these simple European styles and progressively made them more elaborate by adding more and more complicated embroidery onto white fabrics to create the white on white look popular for many years.
The empire look of fine muslin dresses left women more exposed than in the Georgian Era when fabrics had been thicker and styles bulkier. Women, especially in England, preserved their modesty by adding lace, frills, flounces, ruches, and fabric plaits to dresses to adequately cover any parts that might inadvertently be exposed. Outer layers, such as Spencers, Redingotes or Pelisses or coats, and shawls, were also added for warmth and to brighten outfits.
This Empire fashion was totally dependent on a supply of fine, translucent cotton muslin – at first imported from India, then later, less exclusive imitations often woven and printed or embroidered in Britain. Fabrics were soft and lightweight and muslins and other cotton fabrics from India and other Asian countries were in high demand.


1812 March 1st Boxing Match between Ward and Quirk for 100 Guineas a side. By Thomas Rowlandson, British. via The Metropolitan Museum, New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org


1807 Healthful Dipping. Lady in her white linen chemise, or shift, preparing to take a dip in the spa waters. Scenes of Spa life. By F. Eginton, New Bath Guide. ‘How the ladies did giggle and set up their clacks, All the while an old lady was rubbing their backs.’ From Anstey’s ‘The New Bath Guide’. In Jane Austen’s novels, the resorts of Brighton, Scarborough, Cromer, Lyme and the fictional Sandy ton or Sanditon all get mentions. Women bathed in the sea, via bathing machines pulled down to the water’s edge, or promenaded along beautiful walkways, such as in Cheltenham, near Bat in Britain. Visiting seaside resorts became very popular during the Regency years. Le Beau Monde, or fashionable society, went to spa and beach towns to ‘take the waters’ or to holiday in a fashionable town. To see and be seen. Ladies dressed in light muslin gowns but added colorful accessories to make outfits more interesting.
Chemise Or Shift: Sleeveless, mid-calf length garment of white cotton or muslin was worn next to the skin under stays or corset. Called ‘Shift’ from early Georgian (1700-1750) until Late Georgian (1750-1790) to replace ‘Smock’. By 1800, name replaced by ‘Chemise’.

