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.