1805 Regency Group of Ladies and Gentlemen dressed as Jan Austen and her family and friends would have dressed. Ladies in dresses, bonnets, shawls, gloves, and carrying a reticule, or bag, and a parasol. Gentlemen in tailcoats, overcoats, trousers, vests, cravats, hats, boots and shoes and carrying walking sticks. via Men And Women In Costumes, 1804-1829.
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division, The New York Public Library, U.S.A.
1816 August Walking Costume, or Pelisse, or Coat, English. Round dress, composed of cambric and trimmed with lace. The body is let in with a profusion of lace. Plain long sleeves, very full, except at the wrist where the fulness is confined by small plaits, sleeve finished by double frill of lace. Over the dress is a Pelisse of blue and white shot sarcenet, lined with white sarcenet and trimmed with white satin. Pelisse sleeve is very full and finished at the wrist by a cuff and bows of ribbon. Pelisse is made half high and finished at neck with a triple fall of rich lace but the neck is bare. White satin hat is turned up in front and ornamented with flowers. Kid gloves, blue kid shoes and a parasol. We are indebted for this tasteful dress to Mrs. Gill of Cork Street, Burlington Garden, London. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
Definition: Pelisse Or Redingote: Woman’s long, fitted coat often worn open in front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons.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. Jane Austen and her contemporaries wore long coats like these to keep warm when out and about, visiting, shopping etc. The thin muslin dresses worn in the early 1800s were little protection against European winters. #Regency #Fashion #History
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’.
1800 Elegant Young French Gentleman. Pulling on his top coat over a long tan coat. Tan gloves, brown hat, brown boots, cane. Fashion Plate via suzilove.com and Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Overcoats: Called many names: Greatcoat, or Carrick, or Garrick, or Coachman’s, or Driving. Or Box Coat. Overcoats were voluminous and covered the other clothing. Usually with many capes, or collars, or pelerines covering the shoulders and with buttons down the front. Popular in the 19th century for riding, driving and travel as they kept the wearer warm and snow and rain off the body. Greatcoat: Overcoat with capes around the shoulders for men. Carrick or Garrick Coat: Other names for a gentleman’s inclement weather coat and worn for driving or travel.
1805 Pink Redingote, French. Also called a Pelisse, a Walking Dress, or a Carriage Costume, in England. High-waisted, short puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves with elaborate embroidery to decorate, and close-fitting gold hat tied under her chin. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. Jane Austen and her contemporaries would have worn long coats like this one to keep warm when out and about, visiting, shopping etc. The thin muslin dresses worn in the early 1800s were little protection against European winters, so coats of some sort were added, plus colorful accessories like this shawl and the hat to add color and another layer of warmth.
Definition Redingote Or Coat Or Pelisse: Long fitted outdoor coat worn over other garments for warmth. French word developed from English words, riding coat. French fashion plates call these coats Redingotes and they are designed for women, men and children. English fashion plates call them a Pelisse, a walking dress, Promenade dress, or Carriage dress.
1805 Lady With Her Sketching Portfolio In Half Dress, French. White, At-Home, High-waisted, relaxed & flowing dress with white cap and pink flowers to match, long gloves, slippers. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. Definition Caps: Worn as morning caps, night caps, or under other hats. Jane Austen and her family and female friends would have worn caps like these, sometimes during the morning at home, to bed to keep their long hair from becoming knotted, or under a bonnet to hold a hairstyle in place. Caps sometimes had hanging ties, or tails, and were also called ‘follow me lads’, or ‘flirtation ribbons’. Or flaps covering theirs called Lappets. Magazine Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien, French. French fashion magazine published between 1797 and 1839 and second oldest fashion magazine published in France. Pierre de la Mesangere was editor and published every five days, which is why there is an abundance of French fashion plates from these years in France and internationally.
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1800s Silver and Carved Mother of Pearl Writing and Desk Set, French. Wax Seal, Dip Pen and Letter Opener in the style that Jane Austen would have used to write her novels and her letters. via Ruby Lane Antiques. rubylane.com. books2read.com/SuziLoveWritingTools
1817-1820 ca. Spencer, English. Green silk, brown satin puffs, silk cord on deep V collar and sleeves. With the rise of fashionable waistlines in women’s dresses after around 1800, women’s outerwear followed suit. This jacket with very short bodice and long sleeves was known as a Spencer and was named after the male coat made famous by the Earl Spencer. The jacket is said to have originated in an accident to Lord Spencer in hunting when his coat tails were torn off and a cropped jacket was invented. via Museum of London, UK. museumoflondon.org.uk. books2read.com/suziloveSpencers. Jane Austen and her contemporaries often walked to places and so would have needed the warmth of a Spencer over her dress in the cold British winters.
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.
1700s Late Pair of Pattens, English. Iron supports underneath leather and wood. Pattens: Under shoes that strapped onto shoes and worn outdoors and to lift shoes and dresses out the mud. People in Jane Austen’s lifetime would have used these to protect the hems of dresses and legs of men’s pants, plus protect delicate shoes. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. collections.vam.ac.uk.
1800-1815 ca. Sprigged Mull Dress. Typical of the white cotton high-waisted dresses in vogue in the early 1800s. They replaced the more formal gowns from the end of the 18th Century and moved away from heavier and more decorative fabrics. This is the type of dress Jane Austen and her contemporaries would have worn on a daily basis. via Whitaker Auctions.
