1809 Messrs. Harding Howell and Co., London, UK. View of interior of Harding Howell and Co., draper’s shop on Pall Mall. Ladies examine latest fashions and fabrics which they could then request of their dressmakers. This house extended 150 feet from front to back and was divided by glass petitions into four departments, furs and fans, haberdashery, jewellery, ornaments and perfumes, and millinery. bl.uk
1809 July Opera Dress. I can picture aristocratic women wearing this sort of gorgeous outfit to the opera or an evening event.
Round convent robe of Egyptian brown tissue worn over white satin underdress, ornamented at feet, bosom and sleeves with broad Antique lace, out on full, and narrowing in front, white satin appliqued stomacher embellished with gold lattice work and continued in a straight line down to the hem. Headdress is a gold net caul, enclosing the hair at the back and finished in front with a Mechlin veil displaying the hair on the forehead and falling over the left shoulder. Necklace and armlets are a single row of Bohemian pearl with topaz or diamond snaps. Grecian scarf of rich Andalusian silk, contrasted with the robe and wrought at the ends in a deep Tuscan border of gold or colored silks. White satin slippers, trimmed with brown foil or gold, French kid gloves, opera fan of white crepe with a border of jessamine. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
1800 ca. Chemisette, English. In Jane Austen’s times, there were several ways for women to keep their modesty when the fashion trend was for low cut bodices and loose flowing dresses e.g. Chemisette, Fichu, Pelerine etc.
Definition Chemisette: Sleeveless under-bodice covering neck, shoulders and breast, usually of muslin or lace and worn to fill in the neckline of a dress. French term for vestee, gilet, etc. via Killerton House, U.K. & National Trust.
1808 Jane Austen Style Blue Redingote Over A White Dress. Green turban and lace veils. Bodice. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
French fashions like this were copied by English magazines so these styles of hats would have been worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries.
1800-1820 ca. Woman’s Gloves, Spanish. Repeating pattern of concentric ovals across fingers shows their high quality and workmanship. Scalloped, pierced, pinked edges of cuff have geometric elements with floral garlands. Scene of gentleman presenting a gift to a young seated woman. European etiquette allowed a woman to receive gloves as a gift from men other than her husband so gloves were carefully chosen for their novelty. Spain produced high quality printed leather gloves using intaglio process. via Cooper Hewitt, New York City, USA. collection.cooperhewitt.org
Now surviving in museum collections throughout Europe and North America, this style of glove must have been a brief, but very popular fad of the last years of the 18th century. As gloves were one of the few gifts a man could give to a single woman he was not engaged to marry, new designs and colours were eagerly sought after to provide variety in this staple form of present.
Printed kidskin gloves of this type were fashionable from the last decade of the 18th century until the 1820s. They were suitable for wearing with the long sleeved day dresses which women adopted in the last decade of the century. Long gloves continued to be required for court dress which retained its short sleeves. By this date many European countries were manufacturing gloves, both in leather and in woven or knitted textiles made of silk, cotton, linen or wool.
Printed kidskin was used for gloves and for the backing for fans. English fan makers were printing on leather before 1720. The intaglio method of printing used a copper plate. The design was engraved with a buril or dry point into the plate, then the plate was immersed in ink and the leather placed on it in a screw press. Several different pairs of gloves could be printed at a time and if the pattern wore off with use, they could be reprinted.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.
Love the charming chatelaines and chains women wore in Jane Austen’s and Bridgerton’s times? Check out this fascinating read! #bridgerton #janeausten #chatelaine #suzilovebooks books2read.com:SuziLoveChatelaines
The Bridgerton women and Jane Austen and contemporaries carried keys, writing tools, sewing items and other personal necessities on their person by long chains, or a chatelaine, that hung from their waist. Early chatelaines were simple essentials but later chatelaines were decorative and expensive. http://books2read.com/SuziLoveChatelaines
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. Women in charge of households dangled long chains from their waists to keep essentials within easy reach e.g. keys, notebook and pen, watch, sewing items, vinaigrette or perfume, or magnifying glass. Early chatelaine were simple essentials. Later chatelaine were decorative and expensive. books2read.com/SuziLoveChatelaines
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.
What were chatelaines used for?
1800s Early Women’s Fashions Collage . Typical of the outfits worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries for daytime and evening activities. An Empire style, or high-waisted white cotton dress worn under a Spencer or short jacket, a Redingote, or coat, for warmth and with pretty hats, shawls and shoes.Women’s Fashions By Suzi Love. High-waisted dresses, hats, muff, parasol, cape, reticule or bag and shoes.
Regency Era women’s fashions are elegant, pretty, and sometimes afford a gentleman a tiny glimpse of a well-turned ankle. Though to me, that sounds more like the lady has sprained her ankle rather than her ankle looking fashionably slim. High-waisted, or Empire style, white gowns 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.
Dress fabrics were thinner, sometimes almost transparent, which meant outerwear needed to be thicker and more practical. A coat, called a Redingote in France, a Pelisse in England, and a Walking Dress or Carriage Dress in Rudolph Ackermann’s fashion plates, became a necessity to keep out the chilling cold. Half cloaks, cloche or close-fitting hats, and accessories such as oversized fur muffs were very popular.
1810 Couple In Walking Dress, French. Lady in a jade green Redingote, or coat, with paisley skirt, worn over a white dress with sleeves caught up, and hat tied under her chin. Man in a brown tailcoat, tight white pants that button down the sides, black hat and shoes and carrying a walking stick. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
The sort of outfits a lady and gentleman in Jane Austen’s times would have worn while out walking, shopping, or going to visit friends.
Pelisse, or Walking Dress, or Redingote. The Fashion Dictionary description of a Redingote is (réd’ing-göt; red ing gote). Pronounced: red ing gote Woman’s long, fitted coat often cut Princess style and worn open in front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made for men with several capes and trimmed with large buttons. French word developed from English words, riding coat. reefer. Single- or double-breasted, fitted, tailored, over-all coat usually made from sturdy fabric but in the British Regency Era a Pelisse was often made from a lighter fabric, such as cotton.
1804-1814 ca. Breeches, French. Cream silk and linen. Buttoned waist, drop down front flap, or fall, extra fullness in the back for ease of movement, ties at the knees to keep in place. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Definition Pants – Breeches: Men’s close-fitting pants that fastened just below the knees or above the ankles with buttons, drawstrings, or buckles. They had a horizontal front flap called a ‘fall’ which unbuttoned to drop down. Some falls were narrow and some wide. Breeches were worn with stockings. In Jane Austen’s times, or the Regency Era, breeches were worn tighter to show off a gentleman’s manly physique, often leaving nothing to the imagination.
1795 August Mother and Daughter walking in the country wearing white morning dresses and matching hats. Mother wears short blue gloves, aqua blue ribbons and a shoulder shawl, or fichu. Daughter wears long yellow gloves, a straw hat with pink ribbons and carries a fan. via Nikolaus Heideloff’s Gallery of Fashion.
