1805-1810 ca. Red Shoes With Laces. via Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. mfa.org
In Jane Austen’s years, she and her contemporaries spent a lot of time walking outdoors. People were encouraged to partake in outdoor pursuits to maintain good health. Fragile slippers were worn for balls and evening events but for walking sturdier shoes were needed, In the early 1800s, these were typically made of leather, had a very small heel, slightly rounded toes and were laced up on the top.
1804–1815 ca. Fawn Cotton Dress With Embroidery Beading, Austrian. Simple Empire style dress with A-line skirt from a high waistline and short bodice as Jane Austen and contemporaries across Europe would have worn. Fawn colored cotton with deep bead embroidered hem, embroidery on the wrists and around the wide scooped neckline. Transparent fabrics of the early were beginning to be replaced with fabrics with more weight that were less likely to tear. Plain silks in vivid colors were at first made up in the simple lines of muslin dresses but then plain gowns began to be decorated with intricate contrasting applications and beading. This dress was part of “The Fine Art of Costume” exhibition, 1954 October 15th at the Met Museum, N.Y.C. via Metropolitan Museum, NYC, U.S.A. metmuseum.org.
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.
1810 Man’s Suit and Girl’s Dress, Portugal. Man’s purple pleated silk jacket, vest, and breeches embroidered with silk threads. Girl: White silk tulle dress embroidered with silk threads and an overdress of yellow cotton satin. via National Costume Museum, Portugal. The sort of men’s formal clothing worn for court and typical girl’s dress as worn in Jane Austen’s times.
18th Century Gustavian Sofa with Bow Carving. via 1st Dibs Auctions.
1815 Blue Striped Dress, Norway. Empire style, or high-waisted, dress with short puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves and gold trim. I can picture Jane Austen and her female friends and family wearing this sort of dress to an evening event. via Nordiska Museet, Nordic Museum, Stockholm, Sweden. digitaltmuseum.se
1810–1850 ca. Corset, American or European. Front lacing, extra wide straps for under a
square neckline dress. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Surviving stays, or corsets as they became to be called in the nineteenth century, show that both longline and shorter corsets were worn and that they were made of cotton, silk and sateen. A lot of these corsets were front fastening, plus many were laced at both the front and the back so our aristocratic fictional heroines could indeed dress and undress themselves without the assistance of a maid.
Corsets 1810-1830 History Notes Book 17 This book shows how corsets changed to fit well under clothing, give maximum support and comfort. Corsets pushed up breasts and showed off the bust line beneath a square-cut and low-cut neckline as in the early 1800s, or Regency years. Jane Austen and her female and friends wore these corsets. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveCorsetBook17
1810 ca. Spencer, Or Short Jacket, Of Printed Cotton, Europe. White base with rose and zigzag motifs in pink, red, yellow and green. via Mode Muze, Netherlands ~ modemuze.nl. Spencers were needed to cover the flimsy dresses made of lightweight fabrics of the Regency years, to provide warmth and some protection from windy conditions when the transparency of gowns might cause modesty issues. Jane Austen and her contemporaries often walked to places and so would have needed the warmth of a Spencer over her dress in the cold British winters.
Definition Spencer: Short body-hugging jacket worn for warmth and modesty. Said to have originated in an accident to Lord Spencer while hunting when his coat tails were torn off and he wore it as a short jacket.
1810 Green Wool Coat With Metal Buttons, European. Velvet collar, lined, cutaway front and two rows of metal buttons. Back has horizontal pockets and gusset and flap with buttons. The sort of coat worn by gentlemen in Britain and Europe in the times of Jane Austen via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. metmuseum.org
1800 ca. Brown Striped Trousers, American or European. Button front waistband, small drop down flap, or fall, pockets, and with extra fullness in the back for ease of movement. via Metropolitan Museum, N.Y.C., U.S.A. The style of men’s pants that replaced breeches as the fashionable pants item for men in Jane Austen’ times.
1750-1770 ca. Back Lacing Linen Corset, European. Made of linen, lining of natural linen, chamois leather to strengthen, straps of linen, stiffening of whalebone. Corset: deep point, hip flaps, lacing at the back, Netherlands.
Description: Quilted linen corset with vertical tunnels and with ribs. Whalebone stiffening, point on front, hip flaps, front shoulder straps of fabric plus long narrow linen strips to tie. Lined and has chamois leather at armpits, front point and waist. Linen corset with a deep thickened point at the front, hip flaps, and lacing at the back. Fully quilted with vertical tunnels, with ribs. Thickened tip at the front is slightly triangular. Above for round shape due to wide horizontal rib. Flares from the waist into hip phlangers, or fingers. Lacing eyelets and criss-crossed lacing at the back.
Front shoulder straps are of the fabric with very long linen straps with narrower linen strap, total 110 cm, and two horizontal linen loops on top of the backs. There is a narrow linen strip on all seams and along all edges. Armpits and the front point are reinforced with chamois leather and chamois leather is at the waist with straps attached. Via Mode Museum Province of Antwerp
Corsets 1700-1790 History Notes Book 15 This book shows how body wraps, stomachers and stays were worn during the 1700s. They created a variety of fashionable silhouettes to suit the elaborate fashions worn for court and daily life during the 18th Century. Wearing the correct underclothing was essential for keeping garments in place and giving the best fashion display.
