Seen on the Blogosphere

Lisa's Guide to Helping a 21st Century Woman Dress for a Regency Ball provides four pages of advice and instructions on how to dress for a ball. Detailed illustrations are included.

Click here for similar posts:

• Putting on a Regency Ball

• Making your own regency clothes
  

The Spencer Jacket

A noticeable feature in Regency fashion is the military inspiration in jackets and bodices, with elaborate cuffs, Hussar + Brandenburg pipings, closings and decorations, and also epaulettes and shoulder decorations echoing the male military uniforms. The Spencer jacket itself was originally a male garb, worn by Earl Spencer, and it was fashionable in continental Europe from ca. 1790 to 1820 (a bit later in rural districts). It was a practical and warm addition to the thin chemises and dresses, and became immensely popular.

Excerpt is directly from the Regency Project, an amazing reproduction fashion site.


Anea's new site is here.


Images from the Kyoto Costume Institute

Regency dress in the neoclassical style

This regency dress is luscious. Just look at the superb workmanship. It's a breathtaking hand-embroidered mull dress with whitework embroidery and a rare train. It is also a near-perfect embodiment of the Neoclassical style. (1800-1810) At $985 it sold quickly. What a steal.

To view the site with its samples of original clothing, Vintage Textile, click here.





Also on the site, an embroidered French silk purse, c.1780-1800 with the words, "Quand on aime tout est plaisir." Plaisir? Oh, yes. How true.

A regency lady gets dressed

Progress of the Toilet, a series of engravings created in 1810 by James Gillray, a renowned and prolific British caricaturist, show three illustrations that depict a young lady being dressed by her maid. The details in these prints from an extensive print collection at the Yale University Library are striking and informative.

In the first plate, The Stays, Gillray depicts a young lady in her undergarments and wearing a cap, stockings, and slippers. On the floor sit a bowl and pitcher with water. Toiletries, pins, and jewelry are scattered on top of her dressing table. She inserts a busk between her breasts as her maid tightens her stays. Find a more detailed explanation about regency undergarments and regency fashions by clicking on the bolded words.


Elaborate powdered wigs of the previous century gave way to simpler hair styles, some cut quite short. In the illustration entitled The Wig, the maid prepares to place a short curly wig on her mistress' head. Note that the mirror is now full length and that the side table looks different. Our young lady sits in a simple muslin day gown, with neck and arms covered, reading a book as her maid prepares her. A bonnet and an open robe or pelise (on chair) will complete her toilette. Find more regency hairstyles on this site.

In the third engraving, Dress Completed, we observe our young lady dressed for the evening and putting on evening gloves, which, typical of the day, are loose at the top. Her maid holds a shawl and fan, and her reticule hangs on a hook on the wall. The side table is no longer visible; her fashion plate book/magazine lies discarded on the floor. Our young lady's slippers probably looked like this pair below. For a comprehensive view of footwear during this era, click here.

In The Mirror of Graces, 1811, a Lady of Distinction write, "Perhaps it is necessary to remind my readers that custom regulates the veiling or unveling the figure, according to different periods in the day. In the morning the arms and bosom must be completely covered to the throat and wrists. From the dinner-hour to the termination of the day, the arms, to a graceful height above the elbow, may be bare; and the neck and shoulders unveiled as far as delicacy will allow."

Find regency clothing for sale on this site and a regency timeline in fashion here.

My Favorite Regency Gown

Describing the exquisite Regency gowns in its collection, The Museum of Costume & Assembly Rooms, Bath: The Official Guide states on p 32:

"These simple, light gowns were inspired by the neo-classical taste and were intended to imitate the draperies of ancient Greek and Roman statues. Muslin was an ideal dress fabric because it was soft and almost transparent, gently outlining the natural contours of the figure. It could also be washed easily (unlike silk) which made the fashion for white possible."

View ravishing details of my favorite regency gown, which is for sale (click on dress in link and scroll down): Directoire silk gauze dress, c.1805. Fashioned from gossamer silk gauze woven with the Neoclassical stripes then popular. The draped folds and lace appliqués on the short puffed sleeves show masterful design. A rare fancy period dress with the original trim.

The Mirror of Graces, 1811

The Mirror of Graces, written by a Lady of Distinction in 1811, is a first-hand source that describes the dress and manners of ladies during the Regency Period. Some speculate that the book was written by a governess or lady's companion who was a close observer of the upper classes, but not a member of it.

Here is her observation on "the detail of dress."

"The mantle, or cottage-cloak, should never be worn by females exceeding a moderate en bon point; and we should recommend their winter garbs, such as Russian pelisses and Turkish wraps, to be formed of double sarsenet, or fine Merina cloth, rather than velvets, which (except black) give an appearance of increased size to the wearer. In the adoption of furs, flat-ermine or fringe fur is better suited to the full-formed woman than swan's down, fox, chinchilli, or sable; these are graceful for the more slender. Women of spare habit, and of a tall and elegant height, will derive considerable advantage from the full-flowing robe, mantle, and Roman tunic. The fur trimming, too, gives to them an appearance of roundness, which nature has denied;and to this description of person we can scarcely recommend an evending-dress more chaste, elegant and advantageous, than robes of white satin trimmed with swan's-down, with draperies of silver or gossamer net."

Find a listing of fabric and cloth on the Phrontistery site:

"This is a rather odd category, listing 269 names of kinds of fabric and cloth. There is an enormous variety in fabrics, with many different national, historical and regional varieties. It is interesting to note, however, that almost all of the types of fabric listed below are variants or blends of just five basic fabric types (silk, cotton, linen, wool and worsted)."

Fashions of the Regency Era

View gorgeous gowns on this site. They're so mouthwatering you would want to wear them.

Click here for more costumes and fabulous clothes, and a selection from the Museum of Costume in Bath.

Oh, ladies, this is going to be such fun!