“The more I know of the world the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!” Jane Austen ~ Sense and Sensibility (1811)
1811 Woman Carrying Cloth and a Package. Sewing a dress? Green dress with a white bodice, green spotted cornet for a hat. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. Even though this a French fashion plate, this is typical of the Empire dresses worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries. Low necklines and skirts that started directly under the bust and flowed into the classical relaxed wide styles of Greece and Rome. These high-waisted dresses were worn most days and cotton, silk or taffeta were the popular fabrics.
1790-1810 ca. Linen and Metal Corset, American Or European. Front Lacing. #Corset #RegencyEra #GeorgianEra #JaneAusten. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveCorsetBook16
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1823 Pelisse or Redingote or Walking dress, or Coat, English. Made for a wedding trousseau in 1823. Intricate decoration from rouleaux applied in floral shapes, and trimmed with wire wrapped in silk thread which stands out from the garment in loops at the ends. ‘Vandyke’ style of pointed shoulder pieces were fashionable at the time. Via Museum Of London, UK.
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 Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons.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. books2read.com/suzilovePelisse
Definition Vandyke: Edging of v-shaped points, the name coming from the Flemish painter, Sir Anthony Vandyke, who was known for his short pointed beard.
11811 Half-Mourning Dress, French. Black dress, high white neck ruffle, black hat with white trim and white shoes.
In November, 1810, Princess Amelia, youngest daughter of George III, died. At the end of 1810 full mourning of complete black would have been worn but by the beginning of 1811, half mourning would still have been to respect the loss of a royal family member. Half-mourning allowed touches of silver, grey, mauve and white to be added to a mostly black outfit and would be worn after the period of full mourning was ended, times depending on the relationship to the deceased person. Garments and accessories could either be trimmed with black, jet jewelry worn, black ribbons added, or a layer of black net or gauze added to a dress or hat.
Jane Austen and her family would have worn this type of outfit when mourning a relative or friend. However, as black dresses, black tunics, and black lace shawls were popular throughout the Regency years, it is often hard to decide what was definitely made for mourning and what was simply fashionable wear. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashion1810-1814
Definition Half or Slight Mourning: Allowed touches of grey and white to be added to full, or deep, mourning ensembles. Some lustre, or shine, was allowed in fabrics and accessories. After a time, mauve or deep purple could also be worn.
1812 June Green Riding Dress, English. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’. This riding habit was probably made in two pieces. It has a vertical front decoration and is embroidered with black at the cuffs à la militaire. The small riding hat from black beaver is adorned with gold cordon and tassels and with a long ostrich feather of green in the front, or a green hat with black tassels and black feather. Black half boots, laced and fringed with green, York tan gloves, and riding crop. When this dress is worn as a carriage or walking costume, it is made as a pelisse without the riding jacket, and confined round the waist by a fancy belt of black and green. This habit was made by Mr. S. Clark, 37 Golden Square.” Riding habits and accessories were generally the only ladies’ clothing made by tailors rather than dressmakers.
1800 ca. Heptagonal Bag, French. Old rose moiré silk panels on steel cockade frame. Cut steel rosettes at rivets. Steel turn-key closure. White ribbon on steel rings. White silk lining. Credit: The Elizabeth Day McCormick Collection via Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, U.S.A. mfa.org
Reticule Or Bag: As the silhouette of dresses became more form fitting and fabrics lighter and more transparent, pockets could no longer be hidden in the folds of skirts or underwear. Something else was needed to hold a lady’s essentials. Small purses, like men’s money pouches, were used by women to carry money for gambling, sewing necessities, and women’s daily requirements such as combs. A bag or purse, often with a drawstring to pull closed and usually made of cloth or covered cardboard and often decorated with beading or embroidery was called a reticule, or ridicule. They came in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. Jane Austen and her contemporaries would have purchased or hand made reticules, or bags, for each other for gifts and carried them with them whenever they went out.
1802 Silk and Metal Dress, Spanish. Brown silk dress with very high waist, decorated bodice, zig-zag hem decoration, long straight sleeves. I can picture Jane Austen and her female friends and family wearing this sort of dress to a dinner party or musical evening. via Metropolitan Museum, NYC, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
1875-1899 ca. Side Lacing Maternity Corset, Possibly England Or Germany. Embroidered cotton with metal and boning, possibly used as a maternity corset. This corset is made of cream cotton with red machine-embroidered trim and trimmed with a scallop edged tape. The corset is made in four parts and fastens at the front with a busk and with five white metal loops and studs. At the back are seventeen sets of white metal bound eyelets for threading through a lace. At each side, there are twelves sets of metal bound eyelets to fasten with elasticated laces. There is a vertical opening at the bust which fastens with three bronze gilt press studs, clamped into the fabric, and a diamond pattern impressed on the head which shows on the face of the fabric. On the reverse of the stud is a mark.
The corsets reach from the bust to the middle of the hip descending to a point at about the middle of the belly in the centre front. They are machine-stitched and seem lightly boned, encased and sewn to the face of the fabric. Bound at the top and bottom with grey tape. The breast gussets and side lacing suggest this is a maternity corset. Corsets designed for pregnancy and nursing were advertised throughout the 19th century. This maternity corset is a typical example. It is constructed like a fashionable corset, with boning and a central busk. It has side laces, to enable the wearer to adjust the corset to her changing figure. The cups can be opened for breastfeeding by releasing the press studs. via Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.
Are you a reader or writer of Regency Romance? Love Jane Austen’s books? Want to know more about the mourning, riding, underclothing and other Regency Era women’s fashions in Regency romances? What was fashionable for women in Jane Austen’s times? Mourning, riding, daytime, evening clothing, plus underclothing, corsets and accessories. This book looks at what was fashionable for women in Jane Austen’s times, or the early 1800s, or the Regency Era in Britain. Wars were being fought around the globe so women’s fashion adopted a military look in support of soldiers. Fashions, like the lifestyle, became progressively more extravagant and accessories went from colorful to over-the-top.
https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashion1810-1814
