1819 February Pink Ball Dress, English. Underskirt with white lace hem, pink layer with intricate decoration, short puffed sleeves, low décolletage, or neckline, white shawl and white hat with pink feather. Fashion Plate via John Belle’s La Belle Assemblée or, Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine, London. Women’s clothing came in the late 1810s came in a wide range of styles to suit every season and occasion. When attending assemblies or balls, ladies in Jane Austen’s times women wore Empire style dresses which were usually made of light fabric and floaty in style and often of a shorter length suitable for dancing. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819
Definition Ball Dress: At the end of the 1810s, ball or dancing dresses had higher hemlines that rose several inches above the ankle so ladies wouldn’t trip on their hens or flounces and make a spectacle of themselves.
Definition Aigret, aigrette, egret: Plume of feathers or jeweled ornament in shape of feathers worn on head or hats. During the early 19th century, or Jane Austen’s lifetime, or during the years of the Bridgerton series, the favorite feathers were osprey and heron.
1808 Apricot Dress Or Moire Brochee, French. Patterned dress with very low cut bodice, short sleeves, long white gloves, and holding a Lorgnette, or looking glass, and a handkerchief. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
The French magazine, Journal des Dames et des Modes, frequently made fashion plates with a single woman, two women or a woman with a man where they wear the same outfit. The two variations show innovative ideas for decorating plain white muslin dresses with a range of colorful accessories, and the early 1800s were definitely the years when accessories were the fashion highlight. Add a pair of colorful long gloves, a draped shawl or scarf, a reticule, handkerchief, fan or looking glass and the typical white dress is given individuality and personality.
Here is the companion to the above fashion plate with the single lady in her apricot dress. The lady in a grey Redingote is added.
1808 Two Ladies In High-Waisted Dresses, French. Apricot patterned dress with very low cut bodice, short sleeves, long white gloves, and holding a Lorgnette, or looking glass, and handkerchief. Grey Redingote with short puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves and red paisley shawl. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
Who loves Bridgerton and Jane Austen Women’s Fashions? Everyone? Of course we do!
During the early 1800s, dress fabrics and dresses were thin, sometimes almost transparent. These lightweight white cotton dresses were fashionable in Jane Austen’s times, but they were certainly not warm when a lady was out walking or when riding in a carriage. Numerous outer layers could be added for warmth and to brighten and personalize an outfit. These might be an overdress, pelisse or redingote, hat, shawl, gloves, or large fur muff.
A typical outdoor outfit worn by the Bridgerton family, or Jane Austen and her contemporaries, when going outside consisted of an Empire style, or high-waisted, white cotton dress worn under a Pelisse, or Redingote, or coat, for warmth and with an added layer with the pretty shawl. Hats were made to match gowns and cloaks and fashionable women spent an extraordinary amount of time coordinating complete ensembles which included reticules or bags, shoes, shawls, gloves, hats, parasols, and fans. Typical Empire style dresses had low necklines and with skirts that started directly under the bust and flowed into the classical relaxed wide styles of Greece and Rome. These were worn most days and cotton, silk or taffeta were the popular fabrics.
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.
1816 July Opera Dress of White Lace, English. White dress with scalloped lace hem and shawl collar with lace edge, and worn under a gorgeous pink draping shawl. Skirt trimmed with lace festooned at regular distances, edged by plain band of byas satin and finished by pearl ornaments. Plain long sleeve, very full, caught at the wrists and elegantly finished with lace. Hair ornamented with a wreath of French roses, parted in front, and simply dressed in loose curls. Necklace, ear-rings, and bracelets of pearl. White satin slippers, and white kid gloves and a blush colored French silk scarf. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
Extravagant accessories of every color and style were added to the plain white dresses to show individuality and for warmth in cold European temperatures.
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. Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons. For women, the coat was often cut away in the front or left open to show off the dress underneath. French fashion plates call these coats Redingotes and they were worn by men, women, and children. English fashion plates call the coats a Pelisse, a walking dress, Promenade dress, or Carriage dress.
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
1816 December Carriage Dress, English. Pale lemon dress with blue silk hem trimming, blue bow tied at the back with long hanging ends, a half sleeve over a plain long sleeve, tight at the wrist and bound with blue trimming and finished with a narrow ruffle of three falls of tulle. A fichu of tulle with matching ruff. When worn as a carriage dress, the head-dress is a bonnet, the crown composed of white satin at the top and the middle and front of Leghorn. Lined with white satin and ornamented with a white satin band and strings. An indispensable India shawl, yellow shoes and carrying a red ridicule, or bag, and later called a reticule. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
Definition Fichu: Piece of lace, muslin, or other cloth worn about the neck and cleavage to preserve a lady’s modesty. From French word meaning neckerchief.
Definition Ridicule, Reticule, Indispensable, or Handbag: From the late 1700s, pockets could no longer be sewn into gowns nor could separate pockets be tied around their waists and accessed by slits in the gown and petticoats, as skirts fell from just under the bust and were full and flowing. In Jane Austen’s times, women carried small bags, known at first as ridicules and later as reticules, to keep necessary items on their person e.g. handkerchiefs, coins, vinaigrettes, calling cards, glasses etc.. For more on reticules, try my History Notes book 3 http://books2read.com/suziloveReticules
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. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1815-1819
1805 May Two Ladies In Walking Dress and Full Dress, English. White dress with a train under a purple cape, purple reticule or bag, and green parasol. Pink evening full dress with low cut bodice, short sleeves and light draping shawl. via Vernon and Hood at The Lady’s Monthly Museum, London, U.K. Definition Reticule, or Ridicule, or 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. A reticule, or purse, or handbag, was usually carried by a woman during the Regency period to carry all their daily necessities. Earlier, women used pockets that tied at the waistline and were hidden in the folds of their skirts. Empire style, or early 1800s, high-waisted dresses made it impossible to either sewn in a pocket or to tie on a pocket. So women began carrying small, decorated bags called Reticules, or ridicules, which generally pulled close at the top with a drawstring.
Writer Or Reader Of Regency Era?What did Jane Austen and friends wear? Women’s clothing changed dramatically in early 1800s. New silhouette copied simplistic styles of Greeks and Romans. High-waisted white dresses and flowing skirts with color and warmth added by outerwear and accessories. Fashion Women 1801-1804 History Notes Book 25 https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1801-1804
Definition Empire Style Dress: High-waisted white gowns defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given to the period when Napoleon Bonaparte built his French Empire. High-waisted, loose gowns were adopted by the aristocracy as a symbol of turning away from the elaborate clothing worn in the 1700s. This sort of high-waisted dress would have been worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries in England.
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.
1816 October Half-Dress. A gown of lilac sarsnet, cut low round the bust, which is trimmed with pink ribbon, disposed so as to form a wreath; the shape of the back is marked by hands of pink, and a large bow, in the French style, ornaments the middle of it at bottom. The back is full; a plain light front forms the shape in a most becoming manner. Long full sleeve, composed of clear muslin, trimmed at the wrist with a single row of lace, and finished by a pink bow. Fichu to correspond, very full trimmed round the throat with lace. The bottom of the skirt is edged with pink, and trimmed with a single flounce of blond lace, set on very full, and surmounted by a wreath of French roses. Cornette composed of tulle, finished by a quilling of blond round the face, and fastened by a pink bow under the chin; a bow to correspond ornaments it on the forehead, and a bunch of flowers is placed very far back on the head. The style of this cornette, though French, is so simply elegant and becoming, that we have not for some time seen any half-dress cap to equal it. Plain gold ornaments. White kid gloves, and white kid slippers with pink rosettes. Fashion Plate via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’.
Definition Half Dress: Between undress and full dress, respectable outfit without an excess of formal accessories and might be worn either day or evening. Could include Afternoon Dress, such as Afternoon Walking Dress and even Evening Dress if not a very formal evening occasion, such as a theatre attendance or dinner engagement.
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.
1809 White Walking Dress, French. Green paisley shawl, green shoes and close-fitting hat. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
These lightweight white cotton dresses were fashionable in Jane Austen’s times, but they were certainly not warm when a lady was out walking or when riding in a carriage. Numerous outer layers could be added for warmth and to brighten and personalize an outfit. These might be an overdress, pelisse or redingote, hat, shawl, gloves, or large fur muff.
Definition Paisley Shawl: Made of intricately woven and delicate wool with a teardrop motif that originated in Persia and India.
Fashion Women 1805-1809 History Notes Book 26 What did Jane Austen and friends wear? This book looks at early 1800s fashions, which 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. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1805-1809
1806 Two Ladies In White Dresses, French. High-waisted, Or Empire line, dresses, pink and blue paisley shawls, bonnets tied under their chins, and long gloves, one in gorgeous yellow. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. These fashionable ensembles with a variety of fashionable and practical accessories would have been worn by Jane Austen and her family and friends during the day when out walking in the park or visiting village shops. Hats were a necessity to protect fair skin from the sun and scarfs and shawls added color and warmth to an outfit.
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.
Definition Paisley Shawl: Made of intricately woven and delicate wool with a teardrop motif that originated in Persia and India.