1816. June Blue Merino wool riding dress with high waist and embroidered and ornamented round the bust and cuffs and fastens on the back of the shoulder. Double ruff of fine Vandyke lace is separated from shirt collar by a Chinese silk handkerchief of blue and white. Small round hat made of fine beaver or moss silk, the half boots are of blue kid with Limerick gloves worked and seamed with blue and she is carrying a riding whip. These riding habits were usually designed by men and were in two pieces, a jacket and a skirt, worn over a shirt but this is in one piece and the full skirt falls from directly under the bust. Fashion Plate via John Belle’s La Belle Assemblée or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine, London.

Typical of the riding costumes worn by Jane Austen’s female contemporaries. The style is still in the Empire fashion of a high-waist with the full skirt falling from just under the bust and with a frill and small decorations on the wrists and shoulders to make it look unique.

Definition: Riding Habit: Early 1800s riding habits copied men’s riding fashion and so were often in two pieces. A close-fitting jacket, skirt with a train, and worn over a shirt, or with a fichu covering the neck. The skirt had either a waistband, or straps over the shoulders, to keep it in place. Some habits were made as one piece with the skirt and bodice joined or as a high-waisted dress. Most women’s riding habits were designed by men, rather than female modistes.

 Fashion Women 1815-1819 History Notes Book 28 What did women in Jane Austen’s and the Bridgerton’s years wear? This book looks at what was fashionable for women in the Georgian Era and at the end of the Regency Era in Britain and the reconstruction in Europe after the wars. Lifestyles were freer and fashions expressed this by becoming the focus of most women’s lives. A wardrobe full of opulent accessories was requisite. Includes mourning and riding  fashion, dresses, hats, shoes, reticules or bags, underclothing, and fashion accessories. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819