1815 Blue Striped Dress, Norway. Empire style, or high-waisted, dress with short puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves and gold trim. I can picture Jane Austen and her female friends and family wearing this sort of dress to an evening event. via Nordiska Museet, Nordic Museum, Stockholm, Sweden. digitaltmuseum.se
1810–1850 ca. Corset, American or European. Front lacing, extra wide straps for under a
square neckline dress. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Surviving stays, or corsets as they became to be called in the nineteenth century, show that both longline and shorter corsets were worn and that they were made of cotton, silk and sateen. A lot of these corsets were front fastening, plus many were laced at both the front and the back so our aristocratic fictional heroines could indeed dress and undress themselves without the assistance of a maid.
Corsets 1810-1830 History Notes Book 17 This book shows how corsets changed to fit well under clothing, give maximum support and comfort. Corsets pushed up breasts and showed off the bust line beneath a square-cut and low-cut neckline as in the early 1800s, or Regency years. Jane Austen and her female and friends wore these corsets. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveCorsetBook17
1810-1850 ca. Bridgerton or Jane Austen Style Front Lacing Corset With Extra Wide Straps, American Or European. #Bridgertons #JaneAusten #RegencyFashion #Corset #RomanticEra https://books2read.com/SuziLoveCorsetBook17 Share on X
19th Century Late. Quill Box and Writing Slope, India. Scalloped base and drawer. Desk opens up to a writing slope and opens again to hidden drawers. Complete with candle holders and ink pots. The type of inkstand that households woulds have in Jane Austen’s times for writing letters and keeping track of estate matters. Many of these exotic and decorative items were brought to England by gentlemen doing their Grand Tour through Europe and Asia. via 1st Dibs Auctions ~ 1stdibs.com
1800 ca. Fawn Cotton Bodiced Petticoat With Front Lacing, English. via National Trust Collections, UK. nationaltrustcollections.org.uk
Because dresses were so light and airy as to be almost see-through, petticoats were needed to protect a woman’s modesty. If a glimpse of an ankle was supposed to turn a man’s head, imagine what would happen if he saw an entire lady’s exposed leg.
Did Jane Austen wear this type of petticoat under her dress? Probably. This wide necked, small shoulder straps and Empire, or high-waisted, undergarment would have provided some warmth plus protect the modesty of Regency Era women. This would be worn under the high-waisted, wide necked, small bodiced type of thin, or even almost transparent, dresses of the early 1800s.
1817 March. Opera Dress, English. The sort of outfit Jane Austen and her contemporaries or the Bridgerton women would wear for an evening at the opera or theatre. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
A blue crape dress over a white satin slip; the dress trimmed round the skirt with a deep blond lace, which is headed with a light and novel trimming, composed of white floss silk and small pearl beads: this trimming is surmounted with a beautiful deep embroidery of lilies, surrounded by leaves. The body and sleeves of this dress, as our readers will perceive by our print, are extremely novel. Head-dress, toque à la Berri; it is a crown of a novel form, tastefully ornamented round the top with lilies to correspond with the trimming of the skirt, and a plume of white feathers, which droop over the face. Ear-rings, necklace, and bracelets, sapphire mixed with pearl. The hair dressed in loose light ringlets on the forehead, and disposed in full curls in the back of the neck. White kid gloves, and white satin slippers.
1804 Royal Mint, Stamping Room, London, U.K. As Jane Austen would have known it. From Ackermann’s Microcosm of London by A.C. Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson.
1813 Yellow Redingote Or Coat, French. Hooded coat with gorgeous white trim, yellow boots, yellow velvet bonnet with a white plume. Jane Austen and her female family and friends wore fashions like these. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Redingote, or Pelisse, or Walking Dress, or Promenade Dress: Going by many names, this is a coat copied from men’s overcoats but worn by both men and women. Generally, opens down the front, worn for warmth over a dress or coat and breeches, and has a military look with front vertical buttoning or decoration. Called a Redingote in French periodicals but English magazines called them by many other names: pelisse, carriage dress, walking dress, promenade costume.
19th Century Brass Travelling Inkwell and Quill Holder, Turkey. Carried by scribes as they travelled from one settlement to another and carried these held in their belts. Would have come from Turkey. The type of inkwell that travellers in Jane Austen’s times might have carried for writing letters when away from home. Many of these exotic and decorative items were brought to England by gentlemen doing their Grand Tour through Europe and Asia.via Ruby Lane Antiques.
1780 Watch on a Chatelaine, Germany. Silver Repousse Verge With four chain chatelaine. via Heritage Auction H.A.com.
Definition Chatelaine: The word Chatelaine is French and means the keeper of the keys. Chatelaine” derives from the Latin word for castle. In Medieval times, the chatelaine was in charge of the day-to-day running of the castle. What did a chatelaine do? Most important task was keeper of the keys. Also ordered supplies, did bookkeeping, supervised servants, taught castle children, and organized guests. books2read.com/SuziLoveChatelaines
What were chatelaines used for?
1798 Woman’s Light Blue Douillette, Or Housecoat, French. Trimmed with pink velvet, pink fan, black slave sandals, apricot hat with black trim. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Description Douillette: A coat or housecoat, sometimes quilted, worn in France.
