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.
1795-1810 ca. Roller Printed Dress, English. Empire style, high-waisted, roller printed dress with skirt gathered at the back to create a full skirt and with simple V-necked bodice and long sleeves. Sleeves are closed with a narrow band of fabric which fastens with a hook and eye. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK. 1810 ca. Sewing of Gown. 1795-1799 ca. Fabric Block Printing. Pattern of floral trails blends influences from Indian-painted and printed textiles, and woven silks, a style which remained popular until the end of18th century.
The pattern of floral trails seen on the printed fabric of this gown exhibits a blend of influences from Indian-painted and printed textiles, and woven silks, a style which remained popular until the end of the 18th century. The sleeves of this gown are closed with a narrow band of fabric, which fastens with a hook and eye.
The dress is styled with a high-waisted , fitted bodice, which fastens centrally. The neck, which is trimmed with a 1″ frill of matching material, is rounded a the back and V-shaped at the front. The bodice is lined with white cotton which extends 1/3 of the way down the full length tapered sleeves. A trimming decorations is attached to the wrist of the right sleeve (made from the same material and lined with white cotton), which fastens with a metal hook and eye at the hip. The skirt has an ‘apron’ style front with fastening tapes attached to either side, in addition to this there are vertical pocket slits situated at either side of the skirt measuring 11″. The front and rear sides of the skirt are constructed from one width of fabric – 39.5″ wide. The waistline at the back of the skirt is gathered a the centre and is constructed from two pieces of material measuring 46″ wide.
The cotton has blue threads in the selvedges denoting English origin, and is block printed in a polychrome palette with pencilled blue on a white ground. The design consists of an all-over pattern of delicate floral trails of carnations, pinks an other stylised flowers interspersed by vertical arborescent meanders bearing exotic fruits and stylised flowers. The pattern repeat measures 10.5″ by 10″.
1813 October Morning Dress, English. Jane Austen and her family and friends would have worn this style of relaxed dress and cap. White At-Home dress with morning lace cap and a red shawl. Plain cambric underdress, three-quartered muslin or Chinese silk robe trimmed round the bottom and up the front with Indian border, or needle-work, and finished with a deep flounce of lace. Convent hood and pelerine of white net lace, confined under the chin with a silk cord and tassel. Hair in irregular curls with a fancy flower in the front. Short rosary and cross, plus bracelets, of coquilla beads. Buff or lemon kid slippers and pale tan gloves. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
This is a typical outfit worn at home in the morning in the house, to be seen only by family or close friends. A lady might wear this while writing having breakfast, writing letters, or reading. Called by the various names of Undress, to At-Home dress, or Morning dress, it is the most relaxed ensemble a lady will wear all day. The sort of outfit Jane Austen would have worn when writing her books.
1803 Bodice and Turbans, French. Turbans in red pink purple and blue. Worn over short curled hairstyles. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.) https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1801-1804
Definition Turban: Early 19th-century etiquette required a lady’s head to be covered at all times, even with evening dress. In Jane’s Austen’s world, a lady wore some sort of hat or bonnet during the day when out and about, a cap during the night to keep her hair in place and for relaxed morning dress e.g. for breakfast, and for evenings either a small hat or turban. From 1800 to 1820, hats came in every shape, color, and size. Turbans, jockey caps, and straw bonnets were decorated with flowers, ribbons, lace, and feathers. Turbans, especially decorated with feathers were popular.
What did Jane Austen and friends wear? Early 1800s fashions were elegant and pretty with high waists and fabrics that were almost transparent. These Empire style gowns, named after Napoleon’s first Empress, became popular throughout Europe, and were then copied around the world. Colorful outwear was added to make an ensemble more attractive and warmer. History Notes Book 26 Fashion Women 1805-1809.
https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1805-1809
The Empire waist gown defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given in France to the period when Napoleon 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. Jean-Jaques Rousseau advocated copying peasants and returning to a simpler life and more natural fashions. Unrestricting clothing was part of the new Democracy in France and these simpler and flowing fashions were adopted all over Europe, including Britain and despite the continual wars being fought against France during the early 1800s. Not even war stopped fashions from being copied everywhere.
1818 Blue Pelisse, Or Coat, English. Short puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves, military style braiding to decorate. matching shoes and high bonnet with feathers. Fashion Plate John Belle’s La Belle Assemblée or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine, London. The type of outfit young Regency Era ladies would have worn if they were out shopping on Bond Street, walking in a park, or taking a carriage ride through Hyde Park.
Definition Redingote Or Pelisse Or Walking Dress Or Coat: French word developed from English words, riding coat. Long fitted outdoor coat worn over other garments for warmth. Often left open at the front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons. 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.
Early 1800’s Three Dresses, German. Three dresses showing the new simplistic and relaxed Grecian look. Soft floating fabrics, high- waisted, or Empire style, waist lines with wrist length or short puffed sleeves. Via landeskunde-online.de.
Definition Empire Style: Named after the First Empire in France, by 1800 Empire dresses had a very low décolleté, or neckline and a short narrow backed bodice attached to a separate skirt. Skirts started directly under the bust and flowed into the classical relaxed wide styles of Greece and Rome. This style of dress is associated with Jane Austen and her contemporaries as a simple cotton high-waisted dress was worn most days and accessorized according to the importance of the occasion.
1806 Short-Sleeved White Muslin Dress With Train. Bodice and sleeves have ribbon decoration, evening flowered headdress, half parure of necklace and ear bobs, and gorgeous Indian hand-loomed green shawl. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Definition Half Parure: A Parure is a matched set of jewelry, including a necklace, bracelet, earrings, pin etc. A half Parure didn’t include a jewelled headdress, or tiara.
Definition Shawls: The shawl started off in India as a fine wool garment for men that could be worn as a scarf, turban or as a mantle: the word comes from the Persian shäl. Originally imported from the East, European Kashmir shawls were made first in Norwich and Edinburgh in Britain in the late 18th century. Shawls were an essential item in the early 1800s to cover the thin gowns women wore. They were made of muslin, gauze, silk, wool, and velvet, though cashmere shawls were the softest and most prized.
1802 Two Bodices, French. Two bonnets, one with a veil. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1801-1804
1826 Silk and Linen Riding Habit, American. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
