1814 Couple In Walking Ensembles, French. Gentleman in a brown tailcoat with a notched collar and back pockets, vest, white breeches tied under his knees, red fob at the waist, white stockings, high white shirt collar, white cravat, top hat and cane. Lady in adorable pink Redingote with capes.
1801 November 9th Playing Cards. Men and women play cards at round table. Supreme Bon Ton Plate 2. Published by S W Fores. Men and women play cards at round table. Man and woman talk to players. Woman sleeps in upright chair, two others, one with parasol and other fan, walk off arm-in-arm.Men: High-waisted coats, high collars, huge neck-cloths, with pumps or Hessian boots. Women: High-waisted dresses, short sleeves, long trains, very low necklines, short ringlets, two in caps. Via British Museum, London, UK. britishmuseum.org (PD-Art)
In Jane Austen’s times, cartoons posted in the windows of shops were one of the main ways people found news. Common people couldn’t afford newspapers so cartoonists ridiculed the people and the places with cartoons of the daily events happening in London and other cities. The ridiculous fashion trends of the late 1700s and early 1800s were easy targets for satirical cartoons as was the addiction to gambling by women and men alike.
1798 Two ladies in Jane Austen style white walking dresses. Left: Dress has gold trim, white bonnet, green Parasol. Right: Stand up collar, short puffed sleeves, brown shawl and coiled head dresses, both with necklaces. via Rijks Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. rijksmuseum.nl
1810 Fawn Cotton Gown, with a train decorated with embroidered flowers. Regency fashion at its prettiest. The style of Empire style, or high-waisted, dress worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries. via Gemeenteneun Museum Den Haag. Dutch Museum, the Netherlands. http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl
1800s “Admiration”. By Vittorio Reggianini. Oil on canvas. This looks like a typical drawing room scene from Jane Austen’s lifetime, or the early 1800s, or the Regency Era. Via Wikimedia Commons commons.wikimedia.org
1817 White Percale Dress, French. Dress has layers of decoration above hem, black velvet Spencer, or jacket, wide brimmed straw hat trimmed in blue, neck scarf and walking shoes. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Definition Spencers: Short jackets worn for warmth over the high-waisted Empire style gowns said to have originated when Earl Spencer tore the tails off his coat in a hunting accident. In support of military men fighting wars everywhere, fashions for Spencers leaned towards military style embellishments, such as loops, buttons, and braids. Puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves were also very popular. Jane Austen and her friends and family wore Spencers over their high-waisted dresses.
Definition Empire Style Dress: Named after the First Empire in France. Empire dresses had a low neckline and 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 high-waisted dress was worn most days. Cotton, silk or taffeta were the popular fabrics. Only the very wealthy could afford white dress in this style as the cottons were imported from India and had to be carefully cleaned, usually by a lady’s maid.
1815 July Seaside Walking Dress. A high dress, of short walking length, made of French cambric or jaconot muslin, trimmed at the feet with treble flounces of French work, gathered into a rich bead heading, and laid upon the dress, at a suitable distance, one above the other, the body made with open fronts, worn with a full ruff of the French work, corresponding to the trimming at the feet; a long sleeve, drawn alternately across the arm, terminates with a broad wristband, worn plain over the hand. French bonnet of white satin, edged and tied under the chin with satin ribbon of celestial blue; ornamented with a rich plume of white feathers, edged to correspond. French mantle of the twilled silk en suite, richly embroidered at the ends in shaded silks, composing roses or lilies of the valley. Patent silk stockings. Slippers, or half-boots, or blue kid, or primrose colour. Gloves to correspond.
The bodies of the morning and promenade costume continue to be worn with cross or handkerchief fronts, and are generally trimmed, agreeably to the texture of the dress, with quilled tull or ribbon. The quilled ribbon is also predominant in single rows at the feet of all dresses composed of silk, bombazeen, or fancy prints. The prevailing colours are primrose, celestial blue, and evening primrose; the waist short, and the fullness of the petticoat carried to the back. Ruffs of French work are universally worn, except in full dress. The length of the petticoat continues not to exceed meeting the top of the boot and the color of the latter corresponds with the glove, mantle, and trimming of the bonnet.
via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
1809 September. Garden Promenade Dresses. Empire style gowns, shawls, hats, and parasols for walking in the park, to see and be seen, in London or at fashionable resorts. More elegant than walking dresses, which are usually morning dresses with outerwear and more elaborate headdresses. These are the sort of ensembles that Jane Austen and her family and friends would have gone walking in. Foreground lady has a silk shawl mantelet trimmed with an amber silk fringe and fastened on the bosom with a pebble brooch, amber hoop earrings, white Morocco leather shoes, York tan gloves and a blue parasol with a fringe. Straw hat with flowers. Background lady wears a Nun’s hood that falls over her shoulders and holds a purple parasol. Fashion Plate via John Belle’s La Belle Assemblée or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine, London.
1800-1815 ca. Unusual Skirt and Over Gown As Worn In Europe In Jane Austen’s Lifetime. From Holland. Gathered underdress and overdress with short puffed sleeves. via Dutch Museum – Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
The dresses worn in Holland and other parts of Europe were the same style as dresses worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries. Empire waist gown defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given to the loose gowns adopted by the aristocracy as a symbol of turning away from the fussy, elaborate and expensive clothing worn in the 1700s in France to the period when Napoleon built his French Empire.
1807 June Couple In Morning Dress, English. Lady in white dress with lemon cape and an interesting white hat with a tassel. Gentleman in black tailcoat, white shirt and cravat, breeches tucked into high black boots with tan tops, fob and watch chain at his waist, black top hat and cane. via Le Beau Monde, or Literary and Fashionable Magazine, London, U.K.
Definition Morning Dress: Comfortable outfits worn either at home, out shopping, or for walking in the park or country. Presentable but not overly accessorized. For women it was often an Empire style, high-waisted, gown made from sprigged or plain muslin, cotton, or wool and either a Spencer or a coat to cover it for warmth, plus shoes and a bonnet. For men it was breeches or trousers, shirt, cravat, coat, boots and hat. This couple is dressed as a lady and gentleman of Jane Austen’s acquaintance would dress for a morning outing to a village, for shopping, or visiting friends.
