1800s Early Gentleman John Jackson, London, U.K. #Regency Boxing was known as pugilism and was wildly popular in the Regency Era with all classes of men both as a spectator sport and an athletic hobby. Pugilists didn’t wear gloves. Jackson was a champion prize fighter from 1795-1818 ca. Opened his boxing studio where he taught young bucks the manly art of self-defense. via Wikimedia Commons.
1860–1870 ca. Pink Silk Bag, Or Reticule, Italian. Two layers of contrasting pink silk with tassels and a drawstring. via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Definition Ridicule, Reticule, Indispensable, or Handbag: From the late 1700s, pockets could no longer be sewn into gowns, as skirts fell from just under the bust and were full and flowing. Instead, women began carrying small bags, known at first as ridicules and later as reticules, to keep necessary items on their person e.g. handkerchiefs, coins, vinaigrettes, calling cards, glasses etc. http://books2read.com/suziloveReticules
The term ‘ridicule’ derived from the Latin ‘ridiculum’ and first used in France during the 17th century and meant subjecting something or someone to mockery. As women’s tiny bags were mocked, or ridiculed, for being a useless fashion accessory carried outside when they were first used in the late 1700s, it’s likely this is how the name ‘ridicule’ started. The later term ‘reticule’ derived from the Latin reticulum, meaning ‘netted bag’ and was applied when bags became larger and often made from netting. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, they were also known as indispensables as they carried all the personal items a lady needed upon her person every day. They were easily made by ladies, easy to carry and became an indispensable fashion accessory.
In the early nineteenth century, reticules started to look like future handbags as they were often made from rigid card or molded mâché or card into a variety of shapes. Early bags were circular and with a drawstring but as women wanted their reticules to look individual they could be made with two halves and a hinged metal closure or with concertina sides. Materials varied from silk, cotton and string and shapes were round, hexagonal or lozenge shapes with shell shaped bags becoming very popular during the Regency and Romantic Eras.
1800s magazines were written for well bred women who could read, so they gave plenty of ideas for how ladies could make and embellish reticules for their own use and as pretty gifts. Needlework was highly encouraged as a pastime for a lady so bags were frequently embroidered or decorated with beading. By the 1820s, reticules became more like our modern handbags using soft leather gathered at the top or hard leather with a rigid fastener and metal chain for carrying.
1840 Group In An Outdoor Setting, French. Two men in top hats. Modes de Longchamps’. Men’s outfits, a woman’s riding habit and a small boy, all tailored by Robin of 21 Rue Saint Marc, Paris. via Le Bon Ton. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
1818 September Morning Dress and Spencer, English. Empire style, high-waisted white dress with elaborate blue decoration above hem, short blue Spencer, or jacket, with puffs at the shoulders and straight sleeves, cap with plumes, or feathers, tied under her chin and holding another plumed bonnet, blue walking boots, and wearing blue gloves. Fashion Plate via Ladies Magazine.
Definition Empire Style Dress: High-waisted white gown defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given to the period when Napoleon Bonaparte 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.
Definition Spencer: Short jacket, cropped at the waist, worn over a dress, or gown. These close-fitting, tight sleeved, waist length jackets were modeled on a gentleman’s riding coat, but without tails. Delicate and regency dresses provided so little protection from the cold, so over garments were essential for warmth, modesty and good health.
Light-hearted look at Young Lady in Jane Austen’s times, or early 1800s. A glimpse into both the frivolous and more serious occupations filling a young lady’s day in the lifetime of Jane Austen, or the Regency Era, or the early 19th Century. Historic images and historical information show her fashions and frolics.
https://books2read.com/suziloveYLD
1812 Two Ladies, French. Orange sleeveless Redingote over a white dress with high neck frill and interesting sleeves. High-waisted white dress with blue pattern on the short sleeves and hem. Both with gloves, matching bonnets and shoes. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
1788 Armchair or bergère en cabriolet. Part of a set by Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (French, 1748–1803). Made for Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, for her Cabinet de Toilette in Palace of Saint-Cloud, France. Carved, painted and gilded walnut; modern cotton twill embroidered in silk. Made for Marie-Antoinette’s dressing room at the château de Saint Cloud. The queen’s initials are carved on the top rail.
The Palace of St. Cloud belongs to the Duke of Orleans, is situated on the declivity of a mountain washed by the Seine. . . . The view from the house is delightful. By Harry Peckham, A Tour through Holland and Part of France
Louis XVI purchased the country residence of the duc d’Orléans a few miles west of Paris for Marie-Antoinette in 1785. Being in need of renovation, the palace was enlarged and altered for the queen, and many pieces of furniture were commissioned from Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené. A member of an important dynasty of Parisian chairmakers, Sené had been appointed menuisier to the Crown in 1784.
A 1788 description of this set, four matching armchairs and a stool, shows that it was for one of Marie-Antoinette’s private rooms at Saint-Cloud, her Cabinet Particulier. Frame of the daybed embellished with carving of ivy and garlands of roses, ionic capitals on the short legs and Egyptian female half-figures on tapering supports. These figures express the queen’s taste for ornaments from ancient Egyptian art, well before Napoléon’s North African campaign made it fashionable. The bergère, or armchairs, has a medallion on top with Marie-Antoinette’s initials framed by myrtle branches and roses. The matching screen has classical female figures on its feet and top rail.
The 1789 inventory of Saint-Cloud records the entire suite in the queen’s Cabinet de Toilette, or dressing room. The set is upholstered in white cotton twill, embroidered with a small floral ornament in silk. Known to have worked on needlepoint projects all her life, Marie-Antoinette did the embroidery herself. The colorful floral embroidery on the light cotton ground conveys a sense of summer, the season Marie-Antoinette preferred to spend at Saint-Cloud. via Epigraph. Peckham 1788, p. 199.
1840 London.
Lady Rebecca Jamison ticked off numbers on the fingers of one revolting brown glove. “First, I’m not a thief. Second, I’m not a courtesan needing coin. Third, I’ve never been your mistress.” She looked down at her maid’s drab clothes, shuddered. “And if the women you’re taking to your bed dress this shabbily, I suggest you raise your standards.”
The Duke of Sherwyn drew several shuddering breaths. “Correct, on all counts. Now, appease my burning curiosity. What deception did you employ to hoodwink my servant?”
One shoulder lifted in the semblance of a shrug. “Oh, that! A child’s ploy. I laid coins on the fourth step and paid a street urchin to knock on your door and then run. When your gatekeeper bent to retrieve the coins, I slipped around the door and inside.”
Incredulity, then infuriation, surrendered to mirth. The simplicity of her ruse, alongside her detached style of recounting her deception, startled him into a snort of amusement.
“Huh! My ever-vigilant butler diverted by the sight of a few pennies.”
“Oh, no, not mere pennies. Gleaming new gold coins. Rest easy. Your servant’s momentary distraction cost me a high price.”
He lifted his hand to hide his smirk. Since he’d become Sherwyn, Jenner’s behavior vacillated between extreme formality due a duke or nose-lifting disdain owed to the family’s black sheep. This chink in Jenner’s polished armor pleased him.
He dipped his head, and said, “I bow to your finesse as a trickster. Now for my next pressing question. Why are you here?”
“I need your assistance.”
He grinned. “Ah, so once again your white knight is being asked to draw an imaginary sword and defend your ladyship’s honor.”
She groaned. “If only things were still as uncomplicated as in our childhood games.”
Embracing Scandal, Book 1, Scandalous Siblings Series. https://books2read.com/suziloveES
